Philharmonie Luxembourg

This is a marvelous night shot. Love the details, your angle and composition, along with the super lighting. Great long exposure with such pretty starry lights!

Thank you so much for your long comment on my waterfall picture and presentation. I was really interested in what you had to say, so thanks for taking the time to express yourself so thoroughly.

You are so right when you say it's more about the person behind the camera and not the camera itself. Can't tell you how many people have said "I wish I had your camera because then I'd take better pictures..." If you don't have basic skills your pictures will not be very good unless you're lucky.

As well...the flood of pictures, the ease of taking zillions of images...it's a bottomless glut. In my own photography I try to keep my number of pictures down as much as I can. Why? Because I will have to look at all of them--if I can even get to them all--and determine which are keepers and which to toss. It's a big job and I don't want to make it bigger. My husband is a fan of burst photography but what that means is a billion pictures that are very similar...and you're supposed to pick your favorites(s) from dozens that are nearly the same. I have a couple of folders filled with burst photography, and that's it. Like you said, there is something much better about being deliberate, choosing your composition, considering the elements, etc. It is a terrible shame to see people mindlessly taking pictures without even seeing or remember what it was they were taking pictures of.

I would never want to go back to a situation where I can only take a few pictures, get them developed and then see what I got. I love being able to take sets of pictures of a subject, where I'm working on finding the proper aperture or whatever aspect I'm considering. The study of my results on the computer can be totally fascinating and educational too. But the difference is that I am not doing this mindlessly with the hope of getting any picture to come out. Compare this to the sad photo-clickers who aren't even registering what it is they're taking a picture of, they're just doing it and expect that when they look at their pictures some day down the road, they'll actually remember where it was and what it was they were taking a picture of.

Finally, I agree with you: we should always pay close attention to the subjects we photograph. It's important to consider what it is, why we care, how best to photograph it. I feel that's one of the reasons my macro photography is so important to me: it takes being very present to get quality pictures. If I'm not being careful, I'll certainly come home to a card full of garbage. But I also love that each little subject is a treasured discovery and that adds to the awareness of why you're taking the pictures(s).

Thanks again for the food for thought. I appreciated what you had to say and it really made my day that you took so much time to speak to me about your views! *hugs*