Wow, I didn't see all these replies! Thank you!
If you got 20 good photographs out of one trip consider yourself lucky. Having everything come together for a great photograph is somewhat rare. I watched a video from Mark Denney on youtube a few weeks ago, and (my numbers may be off by one or two) he spent 5 days on the Oregon coast and got 3 photos he was happy with and 1 of those he thought might be portfolio worthy. We are to some degree at the mercy of mother nature for getting the right conditions (mother nature is always disappointing me), so there are times when you just aren't going to get anything. I put a quote from Ansel below, keep that in mind.
I disagree with the Agged above, nothing wrong with going out with the purpose of taking photographs. You certainly help the odds if you work with the weather and pick your spots.
"Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop."
Ansel Adams
Looking back and going through all the chaff pictures, I see we missed a lot. I PP everything just because, and I'm seeing the slightest outline of mountains over lakes obscured by clouds on many photos. We tried to see as much as we could. I guess I don't feel it as such a bust any longer.
OP, I often come back from photography trips disappointed, with very very few pictures to show for them. After the initial couple days of feeling sorry for myself, after each trip, I take notes of all that went wrong. From the gear that I took, to camera settings, and everything else that happened on the trip. After a few trips and subsequent notes, patterns started emerging. I rush too much, I pack too many locations in one day, I take way too much gear, and time the trip wrong as far as sky, clouds, sun goes. Of all the above, rushing is the biggest mistake I make.
You may consider doing something similar.
P.S., you trip pictures look very good.
One mistake I noticed is that Alberta is much wider than 16mm. I did some panos, but I started making lazy choices on what was worth the extra effort and what wasn't.
We did not walk all that slow.
I think the composition of your images look good. You might have wished for different light in some of them but timing has a lot to do with that and unless you are willing to wait, get up really early, etc. you don't have a lot of control over that, particularly when someone is "waiting" on you.
Personally I find it pretty difficult to concentrate on getting the shot I want, when I feel rushed either due to time itself or to feeling like someone is waiting around for me to get finished. That just goes with the territory I think.
I wouldn't sink into "I'm a bad photographer" by any means if I were you.
Sometimes it helps to narrow the scope to those images you really want to capture at the places you want to capture them. Concentrate on the time of day to be there, etc. in order to get those images and let the rest fall where they may. Some of the others work out and some of them don't, but you have put yourself in the position to get the images you really want at a time when the light has the most chance of being favorable.
While there is some great photography on IG, there are also a lot of manipulated images on IG (composites that change skies, selective coloring, etc. etc.) so I don't think it is always the case people go out and capture extravagant images every time they press the shutter.
Thank you jcothron. I started with the intent of time-of-day, but the weather changed my mind in regard to hikes and I wanted to avoid hiking in the dark. We ran into some challenging driving as well, so another strike for adventuring in the dark. Looking back I was probably over cautious, but this was my first time in the Rockies. Some of the anticipated shots where near high noon. I do notice, FB, Instagram, people get all crazy on pictures with color saturation that was never there. The same shots represented more life like get no love.
That's pretty good all things considered. Alberta is not an easy province to photograph. In the absence of luck, it takes serious time and effort to produce uniquely beautiful photos.
The photographers who consistently capture the breathtaking shots of Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper spend countless hours getting up at the crack of dawn, going to the same spot day after day trying to get something great. I can't image how many frames they delete for every one they keep.
Even if you only got a couple of shots worth keeping you got a good work out, didn't get mauled by a bear or cougar and hopefully made some good memories with your traveling companion.
The only way to get better is to keep at it. The best photo opportunities tend to come when you least expect it.
The consistent photographers live there,or live close. We had mostly one pop at each stop. Memories where fabulous. I'm still reeling in the awesomeness that is was. Everywhere you look there is magnificence. I did not see a bear. I'm not sure if I should be disappointed or not.
This is why, when I go on holiday, I choose to be on holiday rather than on a photoshoot.
If you want to produce more/better photos on a trip, you have to more or less forget the 'holiday' and look at everything through an imaginary lens.
That's not to say you can't get some good shots. I have shots I'm proud of from most of our holidays. But I don't set myself an arbitrary target for 'keepers', nor do I expect to come back with something good enough to grace a gallery wall. In fact, I bought myself a decent compact camera specifically to avoid missing my holidays because my eye was glued to a viewfinder the whole time, but I nevertheless wanted half-decent photos as memories.
If you really want some top-shelf images from Alberta, don't go on another holiday; organise a dedicated photography trip.
Alberta is affordable enough in the off-season that I may make more visits. Although, I see it's much more photographically popular than I originally thought. Effort wise, I think people get a bit daring. Besides the light, my shots of Sunwapta Falls where not good. I could see I needed a better vantage point and the vantage points where there, but covered in ice.
You are probably better than you think. But it is good you are on the side you are instead of thinking you are a great photographer. Don't get down on yourself, but at the same time always strive to get better. The more you shoot, the more you learn and the better you will get. And never stop reading. The day you think that there is nothing left for you to learn about photography is the day you should sell your gear and go do something else. I have been doing photography since 1972 and I am still never really satisfied with my work, but that makes me strive to get better.
There is also learning a little mental control for me. I was so spun up on the heights, the bears, thinking about hike times and hydration, that I didn't see 80% of what was there. And mostof my concern was unfounded. I could've done some street photography in Banff, I had a beautiful young lady as my travel partner that wouldn't have objected to being a subject outside of travel photos. I was overwhelmed to a degree.
Good Lord willing, I'll get back there.
- I think one good way to remain 'inspired' is to see photography as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.
