Taking Better Pictures

Photography is a very interesting medium.  We’ve come a long way from using our “Instamatics” to capture those “Kodak Moments”, to taking pictures, or even videos with our cell phones.  One of the unfortunate side effects of this new technology, is that during the developmental stages of digital imaging, people have become accustomed to accepting what are actually pretty poor quality images – just because it’s easy to take them, and share them.  Today’s high tech cameras claim to be able to take perfect pictures every time.  But the truth is, it’s often a gamble; especially if you don’t take the time to learn how to use it.

I’m sometimes amazed with the poor quality images that we see printed in newspapers and on websites.  I’ll be the first to admit, there are some pictures that just tell too much of a story, that they should be printed, even if they are technically not perfect.  But when you see a picture of the championship little league team that was taken with somebody’s two megapixel cell phone – and you can’t tell Jimmy from Johnny, that bothers me.

Now I’ll admit, I am somewhat obsessed with taking great pictures.  I’ve been studying and practicing the craft for a long time.  I belong to several camera clubs and regularly compete in photo competitions.  It’s always very rewarding to have the judge, or judges, score your images well.  Listening to other photographers critique your work is one of the best ways to learn how to take better pictures. 

Last year, I decided to enter an international photo competition and see how my pictures compared to those of some of the best photographers out there.  I submitted a few pictures to the Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography.  I was thrilled to have one accepted into the exhibition.  This year I submitted several more.

The WIEP ( www.wiep-photo.org ) has been hosted by the Delaware Photographic Society since 1934; with this year being the 79^th such contest.  There were 3787 images submitted by 478 photographers from 39 countries this year.  This included 1600 color and monochrome prints, and 2187 digital images.  You can be sure that I was thrilled again, three of my images were accepted this time.  If you want to see some really awesome images, I encourage you to attend one of the public showings, they are on February 26 and March 4, in Wilmington.

If you think that you’re a good photographer, or you want to become one, I encourage you to join one of the local camera clubs and enter the competitions.  Don’t be discouraged if your entries don’t all score well.  Even though the judging criteria is generally the same, every judge has their own unique opinion.  Listen to the critiques and learn from them.  Attend the various photo shoots, workshops, and presentations by other photographers.  With something that’s changing as rapidly as photography, there’s always something new to learn.  

The three images attached to this blog are the ones that I had accepted at Wilmington this year… 

www.JoeEvansPictures.com