Petteri's Pontifications

Petteri Sulonen has one of my favourite photography sites on the web. His writing style is a pleasure to read. He has similar view to myself, as a keen amateur interested in gear but also in trying to make good photos. Make sure you check out his site. I think I will add a links section to the sidebar and put this one in...

Here are a couple of his articles which I particularly like:

Telephoto is for Cowards - an article about focal length choice for candid street photography. I've always preferred short lenses for candid work. As mentioned in the article, they give a sense of participation in the scene and an intimacy that longs teles just don't provide. I'm really looking forward to the arrival of my new 35L which will be a perfect street lens for my 5D. A the moment it is lost somewhere between San Franscisco and here...

Boring Photographs - another great article which makes you question why you shoot and for whom. As you learn more about photography and what is possible, there is a tendency to use camera tricks and gimmicks to make interesting photos. In the end they will be boring if the content or subject itself is lacking - a good photo needs to say something, to connect in some way with the viewer, or else it becomes just another pretty object. I feel this way about a lot of my photos in my 'Digital Revolutions' gallery - a collection of boring eye candy, with a few gems thrown in by pure luck. They are mostly attempts to copy various genres and try out new techniques, with little consideration for subject. So while they may be "amazing" at first, especially to viewers who haven't seen the technique before, they eventually become quite boring to look at. I must say that copying photographic techniques is an important and necessary part of learning. Great fun too, but you need to go beyond that to make great memorable photos.

So how do you make non-boring photos? ... that sounds like a topic for a new post.