coreyweekley
304.365 : learn
One of my favorite things about this time of year is the roasting of pumpkin seeds. As a kid, the idea of roasted seeds was magical, something that only the good people at David seed company knew how to do. Even into my twenties, the seeds still held an untouchable place in my heart. It wasn't until I sat down and tried to figure out how to do it myself (I mean, what else are you going to do with all those seeds after carving a pumpkin?), that I understood how dead simple the process is. I think this is my third year roasting them, and this batch was amazing. I broke through the mystery and found that anyone can make these little nuggets of nutty greatness.
I use this example of seeds to show how photography is the exact same thing. To non-photographers or those with point-and-shoots, the thought of the giant black SLR bodies (both film and digital) might scare them. Despite all the buttons and dials and blinking lights, the idea of photography is as simple as roasting pumpkin seeds. SLR cameras boil down to three simple things. Shutter speed, aperture, ISO. Sure there are a ton of methods and theories out there, but if you understand the principle of those three elements, you are most of the way there to taking full control of any camera in the world.
A photo is just someone knowing how to expose the scene and then pushing a button. Sure there are complexities in style and composition, but all of that comes with practice. Don't let mystery steer you away from knowledge that is ready for the roasting.
304.365 : learn
One of my favorite things about this time of year is the roasting of pumpkin seeds. As a kid, the idea of roasted seeds was magical, something that only the good people at David seed company knew how to do. Even into my twenties, the seeds still held an untouchable place in my heart. It wasn't until I sat down and tried to figure out how to do it myself (I mean, what else are you going to do with all those seeds after carving a pumpkin?), that I understood how dead simple the process is. I think this is my third year roasting them, and this batch was amazing. I broke through the mystery and found that anyone can make these little nuggets of nutty greatness.
I use this example of seeds to show how photography is the exact same thing. To non-photographers or those with point-and-shoots, the thought of the giant black SLR bodies (both film and digital) might scare them. Despite all the buttons and dials and blinking lights, the idea of photography is as simple as roasting pumpkin seeds. SLR cameras boil down to three simple things. Shutter speed, aperture, ISO. Sure there are a ton of methods and theories out there, but if you understand the principle of those three elements, you are most of the way there to taking full control of any camera in the world.
A photo is just someone knowing how to expose the scene and then pushing a button. Sure there are complexities in style and composition, but all of that comes with practice. Don't let mystery steer you away from knowledge that is ready for the roasting.