Where the heart is
My Grandfather was an amateur many things but photography was on his list. I say amateur although that doesn't carry the same weight now. These days raises the thought that someone isn't very good but the word base actually comes from love so, amateur means a lover of whatever pursuit follows.
The investment is also quite different these days when it comes to photography. Yes, the money may have changed considerably with digital but for someone like my granddad, it required a lot more time, effort and skill growth. In one of his sheds (also an amateur woodcarver of a professional level), he had a darkroom where he exposed his own photos, including a colour enlarger, a very rare thing for an amateur. As a kid, it was always a mysterious place and I remember the smell of the processing chemicals whenever I recall it.
Back in those days, hobbies were much more skill based than they are now and for the most part, it was a solo effort. There were no Youtube help videos or dedicated forums, it was all a lot of trial and error and self-exploration. I am hoping that at least in some way, we can go back to those times. I don't mean that we can't collaborate and learn from others rather, we are as willing to invest ourselves into something we enjoy.
Given the opportunities many of us have now and our access to a massive amount of educational materials, pretty much anything we ever want to learn is available to us and we can push ourselves a little each day. Perhaps one day, being an amateur will be less of a dirty word and instead bring to mind the real meaning, and reveal us as the lovers we are designed to be. The beauty of being an amateur is, we can all start now and perhaps if lucky, find one or several great loves of life.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
These flowers are called Bleeding Hearts and are very rare to find in Finland but sometimes, we get lucky and get a chance to capture a heart.
Hello @tarazkp, how are you? Your grandfather was a photographer!
I see that you look like him, but now you do not need to do the procedures he did, people can appreciate a beautiful flower like this wherever they are.
very true what you say the apoca are really different things are not as before, a person who wanted to achieve something had to work hard to achieve it, in part that was good I think!
because you felt proud of what you had achieved yourself without help, of course I do not say that now you do not feel proud of what you do because you get it on the internet.
when I was born there is already the internet although at that time they were not as fast as now and there were not as many things as there are now that would help you to do everything, from how to learn to use a camera, how to capture the photos so that they have the effect that you want or even the most complex things.
Now there is a lot of help in everything you want to do, I think they were not like that before!
I've heard a lot of history with my grandmother who is content to just spend time with her children talking or seeing photos of her youth, moments that are so simple but fill the heart with happiness.
in these moments the technology changed many things ...
things for good, others for bad.
Have a nice day!!
Postscript: in Venezuela the internet is very, very bad. :(
Good pics and the memories are worth a fortune in a different currency. We have become lazy and unspent in many ways. Maybe why so many of us get trapped in slavery doing things we feel nothing really for, but we do not invest enough time in our passions to become pro's at them.
It is really amazing to find people who love what they do and have that vision of life for the things they do, few people keep that current and it is very important because if you love what you do without fear of failing to fail you will learn to do it the best way
Really beautiful pics,
After all the things that happen or we make them happen has only one goal : that is "Happiness".
If anyone is spending his or her life just doing boring and unhappyfull tasks, it is the only wastage of life, at least in my opinion.
Happy great good living. Long live.
Whao, its a rare flower indeed. But home is where my heart is, with my family and comfort of my home. Its a big reminder
Hi Taraz. I agree with you that it would be good to go back to the days of doing something because you love it. You learn from trial and error. It is like there are short cuts now. I can remember the day I joined the photographic club at school and was amazed at the dark room and what you had to do to get the photo.
Now most don't even get any developed, just stick them on instagram or facebook. I think I am going to have a few coffee table books made of my photos of nature and our family. People are forgetting how nice it is to look through an old album.
Yes!!!! I learned from that same Journalism teacher everything I know about photography. We rolled our own film by hand in the dark. We developed the light-sensitive paper. We had to crop and size the image and keep it in focus as we developed. The chemicals and the process was HardCore! We didn't even have a color enlarger.... B&W only!
Now, anyone with cell phone can be a pro! In one way it's sad as the trade skill seems to be a lost art for many. In another way... it has opened the door to more "amateurs" in their ability to participate in photography. Technology can be a help and hinderance. I have very low quality material... but working the magic with pretty poor cameras compared to the average cell phone tech and pro cameras.... makes it a bit more gratifying to get a great capture of a moment in all of it's beauty!
Sometimes, I feel like I should have been born in our Grandparents or Parents era. I really enjoy the work ethic back then... even for "Amateur Hobbies!" I am going to make an extended post with the material... but here is a sneak peak of some photos I was taking JUST BEFORE READING THIS POST! (I haven't even seen how they turned out yet... so I am sharing first pick here!
Taken with a Nikon CoolPix S4300.
I am almost Always impressed with your photo skills. I don't say that lightly either! I am pretty damn picky when it comes to photography and composition! Thanks for this sentiment and wonderful shots!
Keep On Steeming On My Friend!
My first ever camera was non digital and though I never developed photos, there is something to be said of taking pictures knowing there is going to be a cost involved to see the results and by that time, the cost wasn't small. I think it makes you more careful to set the shot and, more interested in developing the skills to get it 'right'.
With Great RISK... comes Great REWARD! Nothing Ventured... nothing Gained... I like to AD-Venture! I have way more bad photos than good ones! I miss my old metal Canon 35mm. The limitation of the number of shots you can get on a roll of film was critical. That hand rolling the film on a spool in the literal dark... (not a dark room) was the most nerve-racking process. One overlapped area of film would mess up the whole role of film. Gotta miss the good 'ol days!
One of the first personal purchases I made after college was a darkroom enlarger. I learned how to make exposures and how to use the chemicals totally through trial and many errors. Two years later I was trying the Ansel Adams Zone Method of printing and that gave me a real appreciation for the talent and obsessive dedication Adams had for his craft. If one sees only a B&W print of his, he understands nothing about the real work behind a "simple" photo of a mountain or waterfall. Automation produces more good snapshots but it minimizes the need for talent. So goes progress.
A point is likely to come that the automation is complete and we are no longer required to produce, nor think. It might not even be that far away.
Have you noticed that if you've become somewhat good at something, acquaintances and relatives and such start suggesting that maybe you should do it for a living and make money out of it. I've been told by people who are not go players that maybe I should go pro. (I'm absolutely nowhere near that good but a somewhat high-level amateur.) There is something depressing about this. I've never heard this from a Russian person.
Anyway, blockchain technology could change the monetization aspect. Technically, I've already made a little money from go by putting a game of mine on DLive and having people upvote the broadcast.
I have noticed that and some people take it as a compliment. For the most part it is like a mother saying to her child they are good looking, it doesn't mean ready for a catwalk or magazine cover. Places like Steemit are going to hopefully disrupt more than just the financial aspect as they will encourage creativity to produce.
I'm not talking about parents saying things like that to their kids. I'm talking about adults saying things like that to other adults, the idea being that you are not supposed to have hobbies you pour of a lot of time an energy into without monetizing them. Perhaps because they think such carefree pursuits are for children and young people.
Yes, I understand. I think people no longer see value in an adult doing something unless there is a monetary return on it.
I talked about this with a Russian-American guy many years ago. He told me he has never heard this in Russia or from Russians. If Russia is moving towards the same direction as the West, they seem to be lagging in this regard.
I'm glad that there are new ways to monetize things thanks to blockchain technology. It will bring people in the margins back to being active participants of society and the economy.
Bleeding Hearts? I'm not sure we have it around here cause I have never set my eyes on one. They look lovely, I don't know how they arrived at the name but it sure carries some memories.
I believe we live in the best of times in human history that anything you wish to do/know is just some clicks away. There's no excuse to achieving what your heart desires.
Yet, so few take the steps to try. Perhaps it is too easy so why bother?