Camera Practice
One of those truths in life is that you don’t get better at something by thinking about it, you get better at it by going and doing it.
You can watch all the YouTube videos in the system and it won’t make you a better photographer. What it can do is open your mind to things to go and explore — but if you don’t actually go take pictures, you’re not getting better.
One of the things I tasked myself with when I retired was to spend more time actually taking pictures. Evaluating my current state as a photographer, I think I’m doing pretty well with the Sony in the birding rig configuration with the a7IV and the 100-400, but to be honest, every time I’ve picked up one of the wide angle lenses, I’ve ended up feeling rather lost and frustrated.
The answer to that, of course, is to put the lens on the camera and go out and practive, and this week, I actually did that, heading out to Poulso and walking around a bit practicing with the 24-70 on things that looked interesting. None of the images are amazing, but some of them aren’t horrible. I also spent a bit of time puttering the yard and starting to get a feel for macro-type things. Most of that was a disaster, but a couple of them weren’t horrible.
The big lens setup, of course, continues to work well for me, and I’ve been watching the various species here at the house bring their kids to the feeders and water and generally having a good time around here.
