Finding One's Vision

I have been reading David duChemin's new book, Within the Frame, The Journey of Photographic Vision and it has got me thinking about what I want to do with this hobby of mine. I had thoughts at one time of making it a business, but I don't think that is what it is all about for me. One of the things that is suggested by pros like David is to pick out your favorite shots. The pictures you like the best, and then analyze them to see the similarities, differences, etc. and this might help define what you like shooting the best and help point you towards your personal vision of photography.

I know, it all sounds kind of hokey to those who just want snapshots, and I take a lot of them, too, especially of my grandkids. I've got a bit of lighting gear, although not as much experience with it as I should considering the money I've spent. I've got one great lens that I use a lot and I'm thinking of purchasing at least one more great lens, certainly before upgrading the camera, or buying any more lighting gear.

But, to get back to the point I'm trying to get at, as I look and think about my favorite shots, there are some landscapes that I like, but I think I enjoy the candid, unexpected people shots the best. Consider this shot that I took last Friday and posted a version of the other day.

I really like this shot. I was sitting in my truck in the ferry terminal, waiting to go to Powell River and finally pulled the camera out to take some shots that had caught my eye. I saw this scene in my passenger side rear-view mirror and tried to take a shot. The camera focused on the mirror, not the image in the mirror and the shot ended up blurred like this. But, I really like it. I wasn't really happy with the cropping in the picture I posted the other day, so I recropped and like this one better. The only other work on it was using the split-toning panel in Adobe Camera Raw to get this look.

Now, the real question is why do I like it so much. Tomorrow, I'll try and find the time to answer that question (if I can figure out what the answer actually is.)