...and my username is lightwriter
I have a newfound respect for black and white photographers. Photography 101 is harder than I thought. I'm used to correcting my photos' contrast and brightness on the computer, but now I am learning how to shoot the photos correctly in the first place. There are so many different things that one has to remember throughout the whole process that it gives me a headache just thinking about it.
I've yet to take a photograph that satisfies me. I know I'm just an amateur in a Photo 101 class, but when the teacher looks at my photo and says it's "not bad", I wilt. I want him to at least look at my photos and say it's "pretty good." I'm currently making a B- in the class (which has probably gone down to a C after my last project...), and that frustrates me to no end. I think the reason that I am so frustrated is because I am used to naturally doing well in art classes. I naturally excel at composition and design, but I'm not naturally excelling at photography. I'm mediocre. I usually pick up a new artistic skill much faster than this.
Photography is more technical than traditional art, and I think that trips me up. I am terribly abstract. Let me say that again: I am terribly abstract. I absent-mindedly shoot photos focusing only on repetition, lines, shapes, shadows, positive and negative space, and balance...but consequently ruin what could have been a good photo because I forget everything but the design. I completely over-expose or under-expose it (since my light meter's not working). I often forget that the light source is in a stupid place. It often has way too much contrast and hot areas and is usually beyond the help of a filter. Then my photo teacher makes a snarky remark about the fact that I didn't have enough sense to put the light source behind me. In response, I don't know whether I want to simply disappear or say something cheeky back to him, for snarky teachers deserve cheeky students, even if the student isn't usually cheeky. This world is all about balance.
I wish I could get a Digital SLR so that I could see my mistakes immediately, correct them, and therefore learn how to operate a manual SLR a bit more efficiently, but DSLRs are horrendously expensive. I has no monies. I feel extremely lucky to have recently bought this $20 Mokona plushie, as you see in the photo. I suppose some might think it's a terrible waste of money, but for some reason that little plushie makes me so happy every time I look at it. My photos don't make me that happy when I look at them. I suppose practice makes perfect, though. With experience, I'm sure I will get better and start using the left side of my brain for once. But practice sure does cost an awful lot. The photo paper is costly. So is the film. Maybe I should focus more on printmaking than photography...
