Originality

You've got to be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?
~Bernadette Peters


Date & time: January 19, 2008 at 13.07 GMT+8
Location: Bulacan, Philippines
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm

I've got a confession to make. Almost 2 years ago I envied this shot so much and I even tried to imitate it. One summer morning, I found a similar bug in my mom-in-law's garden, I put it on top of a red flower and started to take photos. Then I realized that it was silly, why on earth would I copy one's work? I felt awful, so I brought the bug back to where it was and just took pictures of it in many different angles. Here's a pic of little greenie.

The morning light definitely did wonders to the photo. Composition-wise, I am not very proud of that shot but at least the colors and details look nice. More importantly, I learned that
imitating others' work for the purpose of gaining the approval of many is super insane. Some may think that my photos are nice but of course I can not please everyone. Since then, I just concentrated on learning how to take better photos and bear in mind that photography should always be fun.

I've got many Flickr contacts who are exceptionally skilled, each visit to their gallery brings delight to my senses because their shots never cease to inspire and amaze me. Time and again, I come across cool concepts for photos but I couldn't be bothered to imitate how the shot was executed, etc. I sometimes participate in Imagoism Thursday, but I just don't have the knack of composing shot the way V does. One thing that I learned from that weekly photo contest is that once in a while, I can apply the 'drama' my insect shots.


Bid me farewell

I haven't been actively participating in Imagoism Thursday because I just don't have many photos that would look good enough alongside the work of other Filipino photographers. Moreover, I just can be half as good as V when it comes to composing shots. I think I'm better off admiring her work from the sidelines.

Like in any form of art, originality is valued in photography. What's the point of imitating a shot that has been done thousands of times before? It's a waste of time. Coming up with unique compositions is the way to go. As usual I would like to emphasize that clever concepts do not require high-end gears, it's a matter of making brain cells work.

Uniqueness is what I've always been aiming at to the point that somehow it makes my shots extra weird. Nonetheless, I believe they deserve extra points in the originality department. Who else would be brave to get extremely close to spider webs or crazy enough to self-portraits from butt-level? Call it kick-ass originality, baby ;-)

Seasons come, seasons go

"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.”
~Charles Dickens

Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400) Aperture: f/4.0 Focal Length: 5.8 mm Date & time: March 8, 2009 at 3.30pm EET Location: Kerimäki, Finland Well, what do you know? It seems only yesterday when the sight of the the first spring flowers delighted my senses and now it's already June. Hellooo summer! I don't have nice & bright summer pics yet because it actually feels like mid-autumn here. It's been raining for days and it's quite cold to do anything outdoors. So for now, join me as I reminisce about the sweetness of spring.. I think the cutest spring insect is the scarlet lily beetle. These critters munch on lilies like crazy, but I can't get rid of them because they are quite photogenic. Their color stands out from the sea of leaves, so spotting these insects should be a piece of cake. Moreover, they don't move much which makes them brilliant subjects. 1. A Beautiful Pest, 2. I'm back! From calm beetles let's move on to some action shots.. Experts always recommend taking photos of bugs either early in the morning or late afternoon because they are not hyperactive during those times. Since I am not a morning person, I've got to choice but to chase insects at mid-day. It's not a wise idea because the shots may be at risk for overexposure. Of course one can always adjust the exposure settings but I do have a tendency to forget that- dementia is catching, you know... A few days before spring bid farewell, I saw hoverflies fluttering over yellow daisies. But then I've got so many photos of insects on yellow flowers and I'm quite bored with them already. For that reason, I concentrated on capturing the hoverflies while in mid-air, luckily most of the shots turned out well. Picking which ones to upload, was as usual, a bit of an agony. Here are 2 of the successful captures: 1. Soaring over fields of gold, 2. They come in threes.. Blooming beauties It's a crime not to take photos of flowers on spring time. I experimented more on control of depth of field, the results were quite good. I tried to make the photos more dramatic by keeping them as simple as possible, it worked fine. At least they don't look too mediocre. 1. Thankful 2. Sunlight Beginners tend to include some not-so-important elements in their photos. As a result, the composition is all over the place, meaning that the photo fails to tell its 'story'. I was like that too, back when I thought that photography merely involves pressing the shutter. There are pieces of evidence like this pointless shot from years ago that one spring in my life, my photos sucked to the highest degree. I often here nice words from some people who are interested in photography, bless their hearts. They say that my work somehow inspires them, wow I am ever so flattered. If they would see my old shots, I bet they would come to their senses, haha!! The truth is, I am just someone who enjoys taking photos. I try to improve my skills through my own simple ways, hoping that I would always nicely capture the beauty that nature brings, season after season..