I’ve recently begun a project to go back and “finish” processing photos from prior years that I never got around to finishing. These are photos that I had marked as “Picks” but for many reasons just never took the time to finish. It’s been an interesting project so far, and there have been a few photos that, now that I have gone back and looked at them again, are ones that I wonder how I overlooked.
I’ll write about the details in a future post, but my Lightroom catalog contained more than 8,000 photos that had Pick flags but had not been processed. That number is miniscule by many people’s standards, but it has been a huge personal monkey on my back for a long time, so I decided to do something about it. I finished 2011, then decided to go back to the Beginning of Time. So far I’ve completed 2005 and the number is now down to 6,700. Woo-Hoo! 😉
2005 was a good year. I purchased my first digital SLR, a Canon 20D along with a few lenses in April that year. We traveled to the Smokies early that year, and I have a few decent photos from there and spots along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
In May we headed to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week. We also spent some time in the mountains later in the month.
In July we took the first of our two trips to Alaska, this one to celebrate our 25th anniversary. That was a Really Big Deal, and I brought back a few decent photographs.
After that it was back to North Carolina, mostly the mountains in the fall, a cruise and that was about it. It was a fairly “light” year as far as photos are concerned, and my Lightroom catalog for 2005 now contains only 755 photos. I was still shooting film then, and there are about 90 scanned slides in a different folder. Chances are if I ever decide to use any of those they will need to be rescanned, since I don’t think they are up to today’s standards. Plus, the more I work with digital files the less I want to work with the old film scans.
My conclusion after looking at all these files is that I was still a very “subject oriented” photographer back then. I made a lot of documentary shots, with a few of them showing signs of what I feel I am looking at today. Considering that I was just learning digital photography and really just getting started in photography in general, it shows that I still had a lot to learn but had a pretty decent start.
I enjoy revisiting my archives. It brings back memories and is a time for learning; how do I see now compared to 10 years ago, what approach do I take. I also find a few gems hidden among these images. it shows how I’ve grown in this passion.
Tom, this is a nice series of images. Thanks for sharing.
I’m enjoying this exercise very much, Monte…and thanks for commenting! 🙂
“…a few decent photos”, hmm… a bit of an understatement I would say. These photos are real nice even if they are “subject oriented”. Eight thousand is a lot of photos and in your case that’s 8000 photos that are worthy. I would need a decade just to shoot 8000. I shudder to think how long it would take me to shoot 8000 “decent” ones. Well done Tom and as Monte said, thanks for sharing these. I hope we get to see many more.
On a side note, isn’t that boat in the last photo such a beautiful thing? Sometimes I lament modern design. I’m probably just old fashion (or maybe just old) but things like boats, cars, motorbikes (and dare I say, cameras) were so much more aesthetically pleasing back in the day. I’m probably not alone in thinking like this though, considering the popularity of all things “retro”.
Well Cedric, I guess understatement is my way, but I don’t do well with self-promotion. It’s a little embarrasing to me to suggest that I have 8,000 photos that are even ‘possibly’ worthy, let alone feel like I have to process them. But it’s more about the sense of completion than it’s about how good they are.
I really enjoyed going through those photos and are finding some hidden gems in all of the years I’m going through. It will give me material for a few more posts, at least! 😉
Speaking of posts, your comment about the boat has given me an idea for more posts. I may post more series of photos without words, just to share them.
Retro has become a bit of a cliche these days, but those old boats – and cars, motorcycles & cameras – are beautiful. The simplicity of design and excellent craftsmanship is something we just don’t get these days. I’ve always felt that if I was going to have a boat it would be one of the old wood ones. But I don’t think I would be able or willing to spend the time or money to keep one up. They sure are great to look at – and photograph – though!
Thank you for the words, Cedric. Glad you stopped by.
‘Craftsmanship’ is something all too oft lacking nowadays – but not in your photographs, Tom. They give the feeling that you care about them and with it care about the viewer. And all too many knick-knack apps and so-called social outlets seduce to do just the contrary: snap and push it out, to be consumed within a blink of the eye and then to be forgotten. Not the kind of photography I crave…
In your images, especially those from Alaska, I enjoy the subtle light, with the ‘No self service’ in its absolute no-frills, down-to-earth attitude being my favourite.
Thank you, Markus. As you know I shy away from a lot of the “tricks,” but that helps keep me true to my vision. I love your comment about my caring about my photographs and about the viewer. That’s what it is all about for me – not showing what I can do with the computer but what I’ve done with the camera. While the computer is a tool, and it is most useful when it serves me, not vice-versa.
The light in Alaska, much like the light I found in Nova Scotia, is soft and very forgiving. It helps make a good photo even better, in my opinion. While the scenery is spectacular, the down-to-earth-iness of the people and their surroundings was quite striking, especially compared to our “Disney-fied” existence that many of us (at least here in the states) can’t be without.
Mark, as always, has just the right words. He is quite correct to say that you are a craftsman with your photography. And I will also second his other sentiment: you are indeed, a caring photographer.
These photos prove what a worthwhile project you’re on, Tom. Heck, even if you unearth another “Fog Rising from the Bay” it’s worth the effort. We have long, cold winters with short daylight hours here and that’s incentive for me to go back into the archives. I can’t think of a better way to spend time.
Thanks, Ken. I don’t have quite the problem with long, cold winters but I do enjoy getting some of those old projects finished up.
I have a number of variations on the “Fog” photo, and that’s one of the advantages of going back and processing old photos with new technology. I’ve never been able to get those files the way I envisioned them, but I’m finally starting to get there.