I'm tired of the perfect shots...

I grow fatigued of the perfect bokeh shots. I tire of the complaints about soft pictures. I'm bored of the usual "my shot isn't sharp".

Where is the soul? Are we all linear borg-like snappers who are slaves to the pixel? Is anyone looking to rebel against the norm and just take a cool picture regardless if it's technically %95+?

Where are your fave pictures that don't follow the digital perfection rhetoric?

I messed around tonight:

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... and got a cool shot...
I have some crazy stuff too.. somewhere..

Resistance is futile! .. 1 of 3

Nice shot. I think that everyone on here has "soul" in their photography, and if they didn't, they probably wouldn't be here. For me, I desire to master my equipment and reach a complete understanding of photography technique, so when I see a picture like yours, I can say without looking with the exposue info is. I find that the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know and the more fun that I have. Keep up the soul searching and we look forward to more pictures.

Well yeah, maybe not "soul" per se but some flavour. Coming from film I just remember there were some keepers that weren't perfect, but had something extra to them that maybe only you would appreciate as the person who took the shot.

I knew an old photographer long time a go who told me the "secret" of takeing pictures.
"Every shot must have someting to say. We can all see a replica picture of the forest, it's up to the photographer to bring out the ghosts in it"

I think this is one thing the photographer of the digital times has lost, or are loosing. Peopple think a photo witch is 99% technically right is a goob photo.

You all may be very, very right. When digital music first came into common use - the old complaint was that it lacked "presence". That obscure quality that gave music a "live" sound.
When I transferred from 16mm film to Video in the late 70's (again digital), the complaint was that things looked "flat".

One of the qualities that shooters try to accomplish, is making a photo "Pop". Depth of field, lighting, Bokeh, all become methods to create that 3rd dimensional look. Creating illusion in a shot is a relatively untried (and often unappreciated) technique.

Experimentation is an essential quality in photography, every once in a while we stumble accross something WE like - and that is what is important.

words from an "old guy"

I really feel like this also. I have thrown out many of the rules when shooting event photography and such. I almost never look at the histogram, don't care much about skin tones- unless it is for an advertising package, I like motion blur and light trails, and I use BULB mode about 50% of the time, and my most widely used lens is my cheapest - the 28-105, f3.5-4.5.

I know what style I like and don't like, and it is simple as that.

I just try to take pictures that make me happy, wether anyone understands or likes them is irrelevant.

Yup! Sometimes a slightly OOF shot is better than no shot at all. But that depends on if you're the client, or if someone is paying good $s for excellent results, too. IMO, there's way too much measurebating going on here & not enough pics posted by those doing it!

Here the client (my cousin) was happy to get anything at all!

And here's one of my fav "dead nuts unsharp" shots.

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