A photography blog

Thoughts #2, To Start the Year

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by

JoJo
in

This is going to be a bit of a ramble, but for myself it’s just helpful to get all these thoughts written down because the last few days have been relatively locked in but unfocused. And that’s fine because I’m new at this, and just starting.

I started the new year taking around 60 photos of Boston Harbor to test out a new lens, the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8S. I’m not seeing a material difference in quality or sharpness vs the 14-24S or 24-120S. I’m really pleased with those last two, and they were the first Nikon lenses I bought. This 50 is good, and portable, and produces a nice background separation up close. I might not keep it, two lenses will be enough and I can already get a 50mm focal length with one of the lenses.

I also took some shots I really was pleased with, but even today I know the composition could be better! So, more to review there. Otherwise, the year is off to a good start!

Some things I know I’m going to need to do:

  • Develop hard-coded workflows
    • Camera
    • Import
    • Lightroom Catalog
    • Mac
    • Editing
    • Translating Lessons into Practice
    • Organize lessons (Sources, Cadence, ‘saving,’ showcasing)
  • Read the Nikon Z7II Manual and familiarize myself with operations
  • Time Block based on initial organization

I’m self-teaching, which is disorganized by nature – I’m having to trust some things to start, and they might be wrong, and then I’ll have to revise. But I have a year! So here’s the initial plan.

  1. Use reference sources for lessons
    • Websites or Online Communities
      • A year with my camera (weekly lessons, starting from very basic)
      • Reddit Photoclass (weekly lessons, for six months)
      • 52Frames (weekly prompts)
      • BONUS: (Added 1/3/2025). I forgot that I have access to two Nikon courses. One is “Getting The Most Out Of Your Z 6II/Z 7II” that came with my purchase, and the other is “Storytelling through Photography” a Nikon Mentors Class that was a holiday freebie.
        • Because these are free, I’ll start there. Moreover, I’ll be looking to the library for books once I’m done with the four I have!
    • Books
      • “Digital Photography Complete Course” which is a 20 week program
      • “National Geographic Photo Basics, The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Great Photography” which I’ll read at my own pace
      • “Inner Game of Outdoor Photography” by Galen Rowell, on loan from my local library
      • Outdoor Photography, by Erwin Bauer, 1965, given to me by my dad and I’ve had since I was probably 14. I have read and forgot this entire book.
      • Other saved books from the library and elsewhere.
    • Local Classes or Clubs
      • I’ll make mention of these as I do them! It’s a little more work to get involved here, so the progress will come later
    • Not YouTube, not Social Media, Not Review Blogs, Not Vendor Blogs
  2. Practice
    • Since Photography is my sole goal this year, I have time to shoot. I think the concern will be saving, importing, reviewing, and showcasing photos, and also writing about my process here. I’ll need to find a balance to all that.
    • In order to practice, I’ll be looking at 4 sources for weekly prompts, and it’ll be a lot. AYMC, Reddit, 52Frames, and the Digital Photography Complete Course. So that means I need to read, distill, plan, shoot, import photos, review photos, and showcase photos. (that’s my first workflow right there!)
  3. Review
    • I’ll probably have to look back at progress fairly regularly, maybe every four weeks?
  4. Look ahead
    • At some point before the 3rd quarter of 2025, I’ll need to start making inroads with connecting with people. Not there yet, and a big theme of this project is not to waste anyone’s time, so I’m only going to reach out once I feel like I can take the right photos I want, intentionally, and quickly. That’s part of being a pro is the ‘do it quickly’ part.
  5. Rest
    • Maybe at the end of every quarter? I don’t know yet. I’ll see how I feel.
    • I also have other things in my life – I work, I coach, I workout a lot and have various fitness goals and obligations, and I have familial and social obligations.

So that’s a lot of thoughts. Here’s some more, mainly for me to reference at a later date.

  • Gear (I think I have enough!)
  • Filters
  • Lightroom, Linkedin Learning, etc.
  • Making Binders
  • Drones, Part 107
  • Time-Lapse, Motion Control
  • Astrophotography
  • Low-Light
  • Portraits
  • Drawing Tablet
  • Volunteering
  • Reference Website
  • Local Experts
  • Mac, Shortcuts, Optimal Workflow, Automation,
  • Indexing (master index? excel? linking files, folders?)

Ultimately, I think the ethos I’m going with is that a good professional respects everyone’s time, including their own. So let’s hope I have enough of it initially, so that I can build smart workflows soon enough.