Deeper still

I was cruising around Luminous Landscape and clicked on the What’s New link. I read an article by George Barr, who is a full-time physician and part-time fine art photographer. The article was talking about taking your photography to the next level. But, in order to take it to the next level, you have to find out where you are at the moment.

I took a few moments, read through the various levels, and decided where I thought that I would fit. First, before saying where I think that I am, I would say that this level is not for all of my photography, but for a select subsection: B&W landscapes and color/B&W animals.

That said, I think that aesthetically, I am somewhere squarely inside of ‘E’. Perhaps I have an occasional photo at the outer fringes of ‘F’, but for the most part ‘E’. However, sometimes, my images do evoke emotions.

I didn’t rate my self on the Technical aspect with regards to printing because I don’t print many of my images.

Today, I received a comment on one of my images that was the highest compliment that I’ve received in a while.

“I stared at the beauty for sometime before commenting”

This is just fantastic and inspiring. If I can take someone away, for just a moment or two, and have them into my world and to see what I saw, then I’ve made a great photograph. I wish to get into the topmost level where I can make someone weep, cry, or swear, as Mr. Barr put it. These are indeed rare, but something to strive for.

Just this past week, I’ve returned to my roots. My black and white. I understand it better and I expect more from myself. This is not a resolution, or anything so trite, it is a genuine desire to be a better communicator in the area of photography.

So, for now, it’s back to black and white for a while. Back to my roots, both digital and film.