If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
Author Unknown.
Author Unknown.
(And so I change. Just as much as you do. Mayhaps it's through my own imagination and necessities, my own explorations.)
These photos chronicle some of my growth as an image-maker. It seemed quite apt that they're of butterflies - natural or man-made.
butterfly in hand and kept were both taken with my mother's camera - exactly the same model as mine. They are my first forays into the world of photography and image-making.
That was when I knew nothing and shooted with auto-settings. And then I went home, loaded them into my laptop (an IBM - my first), and played with them using Microsoft Office Picture Manager. It was my only photo editing software then. And all I could do was toggle with color and brightness and contrasts. Oh, and crop, ofcourse.
Mom gifted me with my own camera before she left on that visit. And I took more shots, but mostly of the children I work with. Mostly because I needed them for the class' website. Very straightforward work. I left my imagination for a lil while. Left it hanging in my laptop together with the images I took.
(Sometimes through serendipity. And through other people's looking glasses.)
And then I got introduced to Flickr. And learned. Learned so many things. Learned new words like DoF, aperture, exposure and others which tasted so very tangy on my tongue.
Researched on it and found a site which explained the words to me in such a simple way that a totally lost beginner like me could understand. Took my cam, valiantly played with settings and came out with images which I felt more telling of what I really wanted. coming soon is an image I took after I first read the site.
needless to say, that was the last time I took a photo on auto settings.
(Sometimes through my own stumbles and mistakes.)
And ofcourse I had to try the macro shot. My cam had that function, never knew what it was for and now that I knew... I just had to try it. seashells on the seashore was my very first shot in the dark - I'm typing that with all pun intended.
(Though in my stumbles, I do sometimes fall into the right hole.)
And then I learned how to keep the flash into the space I wanted it in. Found out when I took a breather from reading and reading about photography, sat back, grabbed my cam, and decided to play with the keychain hooked into its bag. I set it down on a free spot on the table... one surrounded by books, books, and books. The books created 'walls' within which the light stayed confined. And I went AHA!. And the camera gave me tied to my finger.
My macro flash arrived soon after. And my play with light felt like it leveled up. Good thing I was also learning how to use Photoshop at around this time. So I had more toys to play with and made bound freedom.
(But learn I do, and change I go through. And hopefully, one day, this caterpillar will see its end and live under the shadow of the butterfly it becomes.)
