I am sick

Lawrence

Senior Member
That is not to say I am unwell ...

I am sick of photography for the day and sick of macro for a an even longer time. No matter what I try I get the same results which are not quite what I wanted.

We shall see what tomorrow brings but for now I think it is time to go buy a bottle of wine for a Friday evening - maybe it will unsick me.
 
I have seen your macro and it is nothing to get sick over. You are doing very good in your photography. My advice is to quit trying so hard and quit being so hard on yourself. Go out for the next three days and only shoot what makes you happy.
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
That is not to say I am unwell ...

I am sick of photography for the day and sick of macro for a an even longer time. No matter what I try I get the same results which are not quite what I wanted.

We shall see what tomorrow brings but for now I think it is time to go buy a bottle of wine for a Friday evening - maybe it will unsick me.


Have you stopped taking pictures for your own satisfaction and moved on to trying to match others ability,i know there is a learning curve and we learn from example but we have to be our own person,i know where i stand,i strive to get good images but only in comparison to what i have shot before,there are members on here that i will never match,guess what i dont care,ime 67 now and ime going not a lot further with my ability,any improvements will be slow and occasional but i enjoy taking pictures,this forum is great it covers all desires from those striving to improve to those like me.
This isnt a criticism of your work as its great just be more content with your results.
 
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Lawrence

Senior Member
Thanks Don for giving me three days off ... :)

Mike I do shoot what I enjoy but I see so many faults with them. And of course I compare my composition to the likes of Brad and Scott (secretly I think those Aussie bugs are drugged and can be posed at will - how else can they possibly get such crisp shots?)

I think I have a lot of room for improvement and certainly the time to do so. It's frustrating but maybe the wine will help. :)
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
I have seen your macro and it is nothing to get sick over. You are doing very good in your photography. My advice is to quit trying so hard and quit being so hard on yourself. Go out for the next three days and only shoot what makes you happy.

I thought that's what we were doing already! Except for the guys/gals that do this for a living. They have to shoot overweight brides whether they want to or not.:greedy_dollars:
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
Thanks Don for giving me three days off ... :)

Mike I do shoot what I enjoy but I see so many faults with them. And of course I compare my composition to the likes of Brad and Scott (secretly I think those Aussie bugs are drugged and can be posed at will - how else can they possibly get such crisp shots?)

I think I have a lot of room for improvement and certainly the time to do so. It's frustrating but maybe the wine will help. :)
First of all, I have no idea who Brad is ( sorry Brad), and second of all, STOP doing that.
If you want to compare , then compare this weeks shots to your last weeks shots. If I was to shoot macro stuff, I would certainly would not want it to look like like someone else's stuff. I would want it to look like my stuff. When I see a macro shot, I can pretty much tell if it's Scotts or not.

I always strive to be somewhat different than others. I shoot and PP my own way. I remember you telling me a few times, that you liked my landscapes because I didn't follow any rules, and yet they appealed to you.
I always try and remember that when sometimes I get down on myself, because I can't seem to get the kind of shots someone else can get.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
This gives me an idea. Since it's going to be a long wait for the Nikon mount Siggy 150-600, I think I'll pick up a Macro lens in the meantime and see what all the fuss is about.:indecisiveness:
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
First of all, I have no idea who Brad is ( sorry Brad), and second of all, STOP doing that.
If you want to compare , then compare this weeks shots to your last weeks shots. If I was to shoot macro stuff, I would certainly would not want it to look like like someone else's stuff. I would want it to look like my stuff. When I see a macro shot, I can pretty much tell if it's Scotts or not.

I always strive to be somewhat different than others. I shoot and PP my own way. I remember you telling me a few times, that you liked my landscapes because I didn't follow any rules, and yet they appealed to you.
I always try and remember that when sometimes I get down on myself, because I can't seem to get the kind of shots someone else can get.

Sure you do Pete.

http://nikonites.com/macro/31779-macro-using-cpl-filter.html?highlight=macro+with+CPL#axzz3jQSDOtFf
 

RON_RIP

Senior Member
Be sure you get a nice shot of the wine bottle before you threw it out, a still life if you will and then-------- just suck it up. Better days a coming as long as you keep shooting:cool:
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
Lawrence, you are your own harshest critic. You don't post many of your macro shots, but the ones I have seen are pretty good.

I think you may be putting too much pressure on yourself . I remember when I was still trying to do my 52 thread, I felt like I was stressing out trying to get shots of something that wasn't in front of me. In the end I just stopped doing the 52 thread as I felt it was taking the enjoyment out of it for me.
I get enjoyment from my macro shots, because I get home from a long stressful day at work, I can just pick up my camera and go out in the backyard and take some shots with no pressure on me, some days I get a handful of good shots, some days I delete them all, doesn't matter it de-stresses me from work.

Getting back to the sharp shot thing, I find I get my sharpest shots when I can brace my camera and hand/arm against a tree or something to stop the movement, or if you can grip the tip of the leaf with your left hand and also cup the lens in the palm of your hand at the same time, takes some practice and the insect doesn't always like it, but sometimes it will give you the shot.
I think the D7100's high pixel density sensor is very susceptible to the slightest movement. 1/200 or 1/320 is not fast enough to stop the movement at this close range, and a tripod is not practical.
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
Lawrence, you are your own harshest critic. You don't post many of your macro shots, but the ones I have seen are pretty good.

I think you may be putting too much pressure on yourself . I remember when I was still trying to do my 52 thread, I felt like I was stressing out trying to get shots of something that wasn't in front of me. In the end I just stopped doing the 52 thread as I felt it was taking the enjoyment out of it for me.
I get enjoyment from my macro shots, because I get home from a long stressful day at work, I can just pick up my camera and go out in the backyard and take some shots with no pressure on me, some days I get a handful of good shots, some days I delete them all, doesn't matter it de-stresses me from work.

Getting back to the sharp shot thing, I find I get my sharpest shots when I can brace my camera and hand/arm against a tree or something to stop the movement, or if you can grip the tip of the leaf with your left hand and also cup the lens in the palm of your hand at the same time, takes some practice and the insect doesn't always like it, but sometimes it will give you the shot.
I think the D7100's high pixel density sensor is very susceptible to the slightest movement. 1/200 or 1/320 is not fast enough to stop the movement at this close range, and a tripod is not practical.

ROFLAO 'cause i go to work to destress from my macro photography ...

Seriously though I know I am my own harshest critic - aren't we all?

What annoys me most is the shot was there for the taking and I still can't get it quite right.
For the month of August I must have over 300 macro shots to choose from to get 3 into this month's club competition (and NO it is NOT for National Geographic!)
I have a lot of half good ones but have yet to find 3 that say "Wow - winner!"

Did I tell you I hate to lose and as I am competing only against myself I inevitably do? :)

Anyway I have had fun out there and some of the spiders I have come across I wouldn't hold the branch, let alone the leaf!
 

Bourbon Neat

Senior Member
That is pretty much how I feel about all aspects of this hobby. I want to be better than what I am (after seeing other post their images that scream wow) I shoot way to many shots and come back to dump so many of them. I gotta say that fella Mark Berkery is right on about being relaxed and @Ironwood about bracing to something (anything) and grabbing the leaf, stem or whatever makes it much easier too. The truth is, you and I already know how to set the camera and compose in the viewfinder, but for me anyway it was all about relaxing. I used to just about faint from holding my breath some times.

Your macro posts look good to me. Keep doing what your doing.
 

Bill16

Senior Member
I think if I compared my shots to others here, I might lose my interest. But I just shoot for fun, and as long as I keep enjoying what I make I'll keep making them!

A ton of my friends are better at this than I am, and I'm a slow learner! But I haven't been picked on about it, and mostly I receive encouragements! :D So I say just have fun! :D
 

Just-Clayton

Senior Member
When I started out, I shot everything in multiple. Now that I have a technique down, I go out and look around before I shoot. trying to find the best angle. Then there are days I just don't feel like shooting. I have had my slumps like writers block. Just not sure what to shoot until it grabs me. So, just sit back and relax. Put the camera away and prop your feet up with a cold drink. There's always tomorrow.
 

Lawrence

Senior Member
When I started out, I shot everything in multiple. Now that I have a technique down, I go out and look around before I shoot. trying to find the best angle. Then there are days I just don't feel like shooting. I have had my slumps like writers block. Just not sure what to shoot until it grabs me. So, just sit back and relax. Put the camera away and prop your feet up with a cold drink. There's always tomorrow.

I also take much more time before squeezing the shutter these days. But still take an awful lot of photos
 
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