Desire to improve

I've been very, very slowly uploading pictures from my first few weeks in South Korea...

They kind of suck. ): It occurs to me that I was focused too much on simply getting a picture, and not getting the picture. Which sounds dumb when I think about it, but that's the way things are.

In an effort to improve, I've been looking at photos all over the world wide web and reading about photography in general, especially at Ken Rockwell's personal website. I'd never heard of him until I started researching what new camera I might want, but he's apparently a pro and seems to know his stuff! I have no real desire to be a professional photographer, but I figure reading tips from one will help me to improve.

Actually, that's not really true... I'd love to be a professional photographer, but I know that it's just not something I could do... maybe. At any rate, it's a little late to all of a sudden change my life goal. And besides, being a non-professional gives me more freedom... right?

Back to the main point: I want to get better.

I definitely feel like I've improved since arriving in Japan (which signaled the beginning of my photography adventures). However, looking at those pictures of random food stuffs makes me second guess that improvement.

Granted, packaging isn't all that exciting to look at in the first place. I know this. I also know that the pictures I take with more interesting subjects almost always turn out better. So maybe I should just stop taking pictures of food packaging!

Ah, but even so, when I look at pictures from more skilled photographers, I can tell they are way better than me when it comes to setting up a good shot... lighting, angles, etc. Way, way better.

Maybe I should just go out one day with the singular goal of finding and taking good photos. Usually I am distracted by something else during my trips: people, destinations, food... anything. If I remove those extra goals, maybe I can take the time to experiment and find the photos I want to take, find out how to get the right picture. Which would then enable me to get those pictures even when I'm distracted. Hmm.

Hopefully I will improve.

I plan to get a new camera, but I'm well aware that doing so won't automatically make my pictures better. New gizmos make everything fun!