How to Learn from This

So what will all of this picture posting teach me? Is it really going to help me improve my photography? Can you do that, relying on a few friends to check out a blog?

In a nutshell - no.

So what's the point?

This blog will keep me shooting, trying new things, taking exercises from photo books, other sites, friends, and who knows where else? Yes, I think that having people tell me where I messed up, how to improve on pictures, or where I succeeded is key to success, but just having "homework" to consistently do, think about, and post, will do a lot, too.

Bill Smith and Ken Rockwell are right - the way to get better is to take more pictures, see what you like, and figure out why you like it. It's funny. Bill Smith has great advice in his book - but I am just not a fan of his photography. It seems forced at times. But when he talks about just going out and shooting at festivals when he happens upon them, I love what he captures!

So why share this? I'm assuming that pushing yourself to take photographs that make you feel uncomfortable or sending out a blog address to friends and photographers on the Internet that you've never met is part and parcel of learning to become better at an art. Your comfort zone is easy. You don't get better in your comfort zone. There's no way that I can live in D.C. and take shots of gorgeous natural landscapes multiple times a week like I would love to. Instead, giving myself a weekly challenge to keep this blog going will force me to try all sorts of new things, hopefully getting better.

Since you may have made it this far, here are some of my favorite shots from the last year.