Originally Posted by AndyR
Thank you for that great observation, Tonto. However, I'm sure that Paul knows *EXACTLY* how he feels when he is shooting. As one person on these forums is fond of pointing out in his sig, we are all unique.
It was my intent to stay focused on the technical aspects here to try to help Paul figure out how to get the most out of his DSLR, which is considerably more difficult to use than your little point & shooter pocket cam. But you make a valid point. Emotions are part of shooting, and it's worth a quick mention.
You may remember a few posts back I talked about moving from being a newbie private to an elite spec ops sniper. This analogy holds true not just for technical operation of the equipment, but for your emotional state as well. Most experienced military people will tell you that emotions will get you killed (for this analogy killed = in jail, in court, beat up by a hero, or other unpleasant result).
Well, if you are feeling excited, and in this case, we'll define excited as "all the blood leaving your brain & rushing to your pee-pee", then you are not paying attention to your camera, and most importantly, you are not paying attention to your surroundings. This WILL get you KILLED. PERIOD.
Situational awareness. If you don't have it, you will end up in trouble, sooner rather than later. Emotions destroy situational awareness. Especially letting yourself eroticize over your subject like one of the visual voyeurs who sit there staring up a skirt, burning the image into their brain and fingering themselves through their pockets.
Pretend you are a professional photographer doing a job. You are taking pictures of towels and sheets for a "Bed Bath & Beyond" catalog. Study meditation. Meet with a Buddhist monk. Whatever it takes to rid yourself of emotion. Save the emotions for when you are SAFELY home with a GREAT collection of pictures.
I'll leave you with this one image. If you are smart, it will scare the crap right out of you...
One fine day in France in the 2000's, some kind of BIG "problem" came up at the Eiffel Tower. The whole place was evacuated in minutes, leaving a crowd of thousands of confused tourists being told to leave the area quickly by the Gendarmes.
For me, the light-bulb moment, the realization that "oh, crap, I need to be much more careful EVERYWHERE I go" came when I saw, quite literally, HUNDREDS of people whom I'd presumed to be tourists & locals slipping on orange POLICE arm bands. Rastafarians, hippies, businessmen, CUTE BABES, **homeless dudes lying on rags** and many, many more, all of them jumping into action like a suddenly awoken zombie army. If that cute blonde woman didn't have the orange police armband on, and I didn't have a big pink arrow pointing to her, you'd NEVER know she was a cop would you?
DO YOU KNOW WHO IS WATCHING YOU ???
If you are grooving to the sensation of your pee-pee throbbing in your pants, I' SURE you don't...
(and if you think this only happens in France, I've got bad news for you)
(NOTE to Mods: I've blurred out everyone who is possibly under 18, and also a portion of the undercover officer's face. Please allow this image stand as is for educational purposes)
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