Standards Change: Your Best Today Doesn't Make The Grade Tomorrow

I had a revelation today.  What I thought was great yesterday, I wouldn't even show today.  Now, to put in perspective, I am never happy with my work.  I have two grades, passable, and complete failure.  I always have something I don't like about each shot, but I get better everyday.  You can judge for yourself, we all have different tastes and different standards, so you may think these are great, you might think they are garbage but I am giving what I thought was great yesterday and today.

This shot was a time exposure at Tempe Town Lake.  I was really bad at taking notes, so I couldn't tell you how long the exposure was, but I know that I was running around 16 minutes shooting water at night back then.  The light stream in the bottom is a boat that entered my shot, but I liked it.

Camera: Petri FT1000      

Lens: Petri 135mm f/3.5

Focal Length: 135mm

Shutter: N/A

Aperture: N/A

ISO: 50 (Fuji Velvia)

Flash: None

When I first took this shot I loved it, it was the pinnacle of my abilities at that time, and shot with my first eBay bought SLR.  Today I wouldn't show it (except here for instructional purposes).

Now, a Christmas card photo?

Camera: Petri FT1000      

Lens: Vivitar 28mm f/2.8

Focal Length: 28mm

Shutter: N/A

Aperture: N/A

ISO: 50 (Fuji Velvia)

Flash: None

This was one of my early attempts at close-up work (it isn't close enough to be considered macro).  I was thrilled when I got this shot.  Composition wise, this shot I still like.  But the image is soft.  It is just slightly out of focus.  No one to blame but me, the FT1000 is a manual focus SLR.  The other problem is that it really should have been shot on a tungsten film rather than daylight, so it is very warm even though I did correct it during the transparency scan.

It's all about color!

Camera: Petri FT1000      

Lens: Industar 50mm f/2.8

Focal Length: 50mm

Shutter: N/A

Aperture: f/22

ISO: 50 (Fuji Velvia)

Flash: None

Unfortunately that is all this shot is about.  I wish there was a little more to the composition.  When I first shot it I loved the color.  But composition ruins it.  What is it a picture of?  The power poles on the right?  Did I really leave those in the shot, what was I looking at.  The buildings on the left are too small to be a prominent feature, so when the viewer sees this, what do they see, pretty color.  Great, I just provided the same experience a box of crayons creates.  Oh well, I continue learning.

The point of all of this is to just show that as you continue to learn and grow, what you shot that you love today will lose it's luster tomorrow.  And you wont realize it until you have some reason to go back and look at all those "Great Shots".  That is what I just did the other night, I pulled out the file of transparencies that I had separated out as my best works.  I was disappointed when I found those "Great Works".  I take better photos today with my phone.  But then I realized, I shouldn't be brooding over the works from the past that I no longer like, I've grown beyond the talents I had then, and that is always a good thing.

So remember this, don't compare your works with that of other artists and get discouraged, they were once where you are now.  Keep refining your artistic vision with every shot and one day you'll be looking at that "Great Shot" you made 5 years ago asking yourself, "What was I thinking?".  My work from 5 years ago, yeah, it just doesn't make the grade.

Welcome To Opening Day

No, it isn't baseball (although I love my Arizona Diamondbacks).  No, this new blog is dedicated to all things photography.  I hope to provide a fun interesting read along with lessons in photography, real life reviews reviews of products I use, and just the day to day life of this photographer.  I will try to hit on things that I haven't seen before on the internet, as well as new things I pick up along the way.

So who is the guy behind the keyboard?  My name is Eric Evans, the double E initials becoming E squared, or E2, hence the name of this blog.  :-)  I am a photographer in Phoenix, Arizona.  I have been a landscape photographer since 2005 and have recently moved into portrait and wedding photography.  I have worked with 35mm, and medium format (6x6) film, and more recently digital photography.

Currently all of my Eric Evans Fine Art sites (including this blog) feature a picture of this camera.

Camera: Nikon D80      

Lens: VR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G

Focal Length: 55mm

Shutter: 1/60

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: SB-600

There is a reason.  Without this camera, we wouldn't be speaking right now.  The camera before you is a Petri f/1.9.  This camera which was manufactured in 1959 was purchased by a doctor who would bring it with him through the Vietnam War as a medic.  Some time later, he befriended my father who was an airframe and powerplant mechanic maintaining (and flying) this doctors airplanes.  He at some point passed this wonderful small rangefinder camera to my father, and I do remember seeing my father take photos with it.  Over the years I have grown a fondness for antique items, and remembered that old Petri well.  One day, just because of that love of antiques, my father passed the old Petri on to me.  I was ecstatic.  I had dabbled in photography for many years, and did well with what I had, but I couldn't quite achieve what was in my head, so being that I have high standards for myself i was always disappointed.  When I got that old Petri it allowed me to get more expressive and have more control.  With the first roll of film eagerly put in, and armed with an old Sekonic light meter from eBay I was off.  That first roll sold me, don't get me wrong, shots 1-22 fell short of my eye once again, but shot 23...  when I was inside with dim lighting coming through a window, to low of light to register on the old selenium cell light meter...  I winged it, f/1.9 (all the aperture she had) and 1/50 sec shutter speed...  When I got the results they were magic.  When I took the picture I hadn't realized the implications of that wide open aperture yet, but the low key lighting and the short depth of field as my daughter played her game brought her into sharp focus while everything else melted away into a soft blur.  I wish I had the photo to share, if I find the old negatives I most certainly will.

That Petri doesn't get much use now days, but I still love it, and it gave me that spark.  It still sits on display in my living room, it is a piece of art in and of itself.

Thank you for reading.