There are moments when I think that I`m crazy because I started to do blogging. Why is that? It`s because I`m a rookie on most of the skills you need to be able to keep a lifestyle blog (or at least to make it successful from what I´ve understood).
I`ve preferred other things than sitting in front of the computer. Internet and social media are still a quite big mystery for me. And writing, well, when I was a teenager I wrote a diary and in working life I`ve written plans, strategies and reports. And now when I write my posts, a Finnish-English dictionary is my best friend.
One new thing is also photography.
My one and only camera is Canon PowerShot G11
My camera is not SLR camera but I found that its features fit to my kind of photographing and skills at the moment
If you have a motivation, everything is possible
Ability to take good pictures is obviously important in kind of blogging that is based on photos. However I haven`t used a camera with a thought for a long time. There are more years in my life when I`ve dreamed that I start to express myself by photographing than years that I`ve actually done that.
I am not a technique oriented person. Actually I`ve been avoiding things that include a lot of technique and things that I can`t touch. I`ve needed concreteness to learn and I’ve been living my life with a feeling. No matter what I`ve done in my life, motivation has always been important to me. I have needed my own internal reasons and genuine interest to start to do something.
I`ve noticed that if you have the motivation and will, everything is possible – also learning things needing features in which you are not that good at. Along the SaimaaLife blog idea I got the motivation to make my photographing dream to come true.
I can do all the photo adjustment by myself which is important for my learning
My camera is small and light which is also important, because I keep it with me almost all the time. Big and heavy camera would be impractical in many photographing situations.
Vari-Angle LCD helps me to take pictures of myself when I`m alone. It also gives me a lot of different photographing possibilities.
My own style and good technique as a long term goal
My father-in-law has been photographing for over 30 years. I told him about my photographing dream and asked him to choose a suitable first camera for me. At the time his recommendation was Canon PowerShot G11. I bought it and noticed that it really is a good camera for me to start my new hobby. I`ve decided not to buy another camera before I would have learned the basis of photographing and photo editing, found my own photographing style and found which features are especially important in my camera.
I started photographing from zero less than two years ago. First I just took pictures. Then I read some basic theory books about photographing, took more pictures and learned some photo editing. I`m still a rookie photographer because I have only little time for my photographing hobby. However, as I wrote in my first calligraphy post no matter how little time you have the main thing is that you start and that you practice, practice and practice.
While learning photographing I`ve noticed again that the best way to learn is to learn by doing. Slowly I`ve started to understand the basics of photographing and been able to put the things I`ve learned into practice. I`ve realized that if I want to be a good photographer one day I need to learn also the technique of photographing. I`ve also realized that if I want to bring up emotions in my photos (and I do) the technique is not everything – I need to be able to capture those feelings and emotions in photos. And if I want people to remember me and recognize my photos, I need my own style. Compared to my father-in-law I`m just in the beginning of my photographing hobby. When I look at his photos I can only dream to be able to take some day something similar. But I`m fine with the photographing skills I have now. I only need to remember that:
- As long as you have the motivation everything is possible for you.
- Don`t be afraid of technique. Like anything else it is just a matter of learning.
- You find your own style only through trial and error.
- Don`t lose your ability to live the life with a feeling. It`s essential if you want to be present in the moments of happiness of your life, to remember them and to be able to capture them in your photos.
