airfrogusmc wrote in post #18509098
If you read I said developed instinct that comes for years and years of doing it so thinking is not in the equation. One is just responding to what they are seeing. Like a great jazz musician that is just responding to what they hear from the other great players. You have to have the chops. Good photography is hard work but like anything creative once you have the chops it is not necessary to think. You just respond. When you work in less than 1/10 of a second you only have time to respond. Also if you have ever read anything I have written on this site with me it is always about the journey.
I think most of what I have posted here is what I think most should do to get there.
Follow your heart and worry less about the masses. The rules will only teach you to make photographs like everyone else. Go to galleries and museums and study painting and the work of the great photographers. Not to copy but for inspiration. Find equipment you are comfortable with and use it until you no longer have to think about it when you are working. Stay with that equipment. It really takes years to get to a point where you are not having to think about that aspect. And then try and see in your work a certain consistency that is unique and work on perfecting those things. When you go out photographing, when you process the images. pull all the images that look like those images I was just referring to. Work on techniques in post production that enhance and help you further your own style. Work, work, work and then work some more
Your example is perfect for me. I'm also a musician, but not a brilliant one. I can hear the changes for the majority of music.... but not jazz. I'm not that smart and/or accomplished. Could I develop my chops to a place where I can hear the jazz changes? Perhaps. I've played with a few jazz musicians and done ok... but not when they are pushing the boundaries...then, I'm lost.
With photography, I am comfortable with my gear. I know what it can do and its limitations and when I'm out and about, I'm having a blast. I don't have to worry about satisfying a paying customer, but I do have to satisfy myself. That's why I'm mentioned the things I have. As Tom pointed out, I am far more creative than when I started this journey, but not enough to fulfill that desire to improve, I guess. I love that feeling when I get home, upload my photos and a few of them make me smile. I would like more of that, please. 
Kim (the male variety) Canon 1DX2 | 1D IV | 16-35 f/4 IS | 24-105 f/4 IS | 100L IS macro | 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II | 100-400Lii | 50 f/1.8 STM | Canon 1.4X III
RRS tripod and monopod | 580EXII | Cinch 1 & Loop 3 Special Edition | Editing Encouraged