A "Terrible" Thing...

Photography is a "terrible" thing, indeed. Once we are hooked up, it's an almost impossible thing to run away from.

I still remember one special day, some 20 years ago (23 years, to be exact) when I saw one photo I had shot with a small compact film camera. It was a photo of a small fisherman's boat, in the middle of a silvery river, with reflections of sun light all over the place. 

I got hooked up. Addicted. I still am. 

Like most of us, I am a self taught amateur photographer.  The little I know I have learned reading photography magazines, back in the 90's. So, I am missing a lot of knowledge in what photography is concerned. But I'm still learning. Hey, I'm here for the fun!

Wherever I go, I see photos. It is a passion that I share with Sami and Eva.  And this passion will make me write here in this blog, from the point of view of a common guy that loves his hobby.

We'll see how it turns out.

See you!

Orlando N

This is me, Eva.

I have liked making pictures all my life; 

Textile has been my way for many years to express

ideas and feelings with textile material.

Some years ago I bought my first digital camera.

I found out it was no longer a problem to take many pictures,

to test what I liked and what came out of all the hundreds 

and hundreds of pictures. It was the beginning, 

one day I found out that the camera was by my side everywhere. More and more serious the feeling of getting somewhere. It will never end, I will always have the feeling of getting somewhere, 

to learn and find out.

At a time I made a big mistake: I started to delete pictures I 

didn´t like. I became critical and started to put more effort in what I was doing, shooting the picture. I could not see my mistakes as a subject of learning. 

Today I do save every picture because I can learn from them. 

I have also learnt the way I see pictures is changing. 

What was very important from start might change during 

the process that is going on within yourself.

In other words my advise save every picture 

even if it is as you say nothing…. it might be something.

When it comes to what I like in photograhy:  

it is the light, to be aware of the light,

to find the colours and how they change in different kind of light.  

Reflections, to search for good reflections. 
In the lake or puddle after a rainy day. 

Backlight to use it for the fragile grass or shadowplay.   

I have been advised to never go on to high aperture values.

These affect the depth of the picture.  Very often I use f4.5 - 7.0 .But this is also a matter of taste.

These days I have a small tripod in my pocket . 

I love it . I use it when the light is low.

I have through the years also found out the effect a small story makes, some words, descriptions of what is important for the picture . To give a feeling, thoughts, how it can give the picture some kind of platform. Therefore I like to show the pictures this way here at S&T. Sometimes only one word .

Or like other times something more   

The cameras today have so many settings we shall not be scared to use them.

You can find me also here  

Ipernity    http://www.ipernity.com/home/eva-wiren

Wordpress https://evawiren.wordpress.com/

Youpic https://youpic.com/photographer/EvaWiren

                                            

Social media nomadism

My name is Sami, and I'm photoholic…

Photography has been my passion since I bought my first camera somewhere around age of 16. I even tried to become a professional photographer. But tossed by Fortuna, I end up studying and teaching information and library science at the university level.

During the past years there were times when I almost completely gave up on shooting with a camera, and planned to do what I playfully call as "air photography" (similar as playing air guitar). That is because I no longer could find any use for photographs as prints in family albums or hanging on walls of my home.

Then I found digital photography and social media! During last few years on different social media photography services I have learned more than ever before the era of digital photography. So, photography is my obsession. I become inspired by pictures taken by others, and I enjoy taking and editing pictures of my own.

What I now call as a nomadic social media amateur photography is a phenomena totally different than was an amateur photography few decades earlier. In the late 1970s for example Susan Sontag saw photography merely as a way to live in the past, an intention to record and preserve everyday life into collections of “jarred” memories.

Today digital photography, and amateur photography on social media is more like a way of living, to experience and share the presence. Barely no one is interested on what someone else did last summer, unless it is presented today, as new to them, right now, and right on front of their faces. Only pictures posted today are interesting.

And as long as you are not a professional, you are on the mercy of ever changing social media. The place you may have used to see as your “home” may suddenly become closed down, and you are forced to seek a new place, new online albums, new people, and new ways to get inspired and share your own pictures. You have to let old friends to go, as much as you need to welcome potential new friends with whom to share yours and their stories.

So, see you online folks!

References:

• Susan Sontag (1977). On Photography. Penguin Books, London.
• Definition of a photoholic at Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Photoholic 

More me at:

• Ipernity http://www.ipernity.com/home/serola
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/samiserola
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sami.serola

A new beginning

Hi and welcome to Shoot and Tell - The Blog. Why a blog? Well, it's just another way to give a purpose for our photos. We can share our images and our opinion, our point of view. Write a bit more.

Shoot and Tell once was an amateur photography group at now closed My Opera virtual community. There we had approximately ten active photographers posting their pictures and telling nice stories about them. We even had a blog articles there as well.

After closing of My Opera, the group moved to Ipernity photography service. There the sharing of photographs and stories continued, but a well started project to write all kinds of articles on photography was put on halt.

Now we will recreate the blog. We will write about photography. We publish short articles on how to become better at shooting and editing pictures. But what is most important, we tell stories behind the pictures, just because it is fun to share them. We should never lose the fun in our lives!

We sincerely hope you enjoy reading our blog as much as we do writing it. Please consider sharing also your story on comments.

It is not important what kind of camera you carry, DSLR or not, mobile- or compact camera. What is important is the pictures comes from you and your camera. If you have just started to take pictures, or if you have been taking photos for a long time, you may want to tell and share your experiences. And there is room also for you! If you don't know how to explain fancy techniques behind your shots, then maybe you just like to share why you took the picture. 

This is Shoot and Tell!

The Team.