If you have read “About the Name”, you will see that this journey was inspired by my mother. The year 2004 was the “re-start” of my outdoor photography. Though a lot of things in the photography world have changed since 1988, many remain the same. In the “changed” category, the digital transition was quite overwhelming. The latest advances in digital photography have made the technology more user friendly, yet more complex.
The quality of the imagery is finally close to what film has to offer and in many cases superior to film. Admittedly, I thought it would be easy to convert from film to digital. If you shoot in Auto mode, the changes are fairly painless. But to shoot in advanced modes and RAW format, the learning curve was pretty steep. That coupled with image management after you shoot and “digitally process” your images, is yet one more issue you have to deal with and learn.
In the “some things remained the same” category, basic photographic fundamentals have remained the same and probably will until the ends of time. Composition, lighting, depth of field, aperture or shutter priority all fall into this category. I still shoot film and always will, but 98% for the images you see will be digital.
I do not study other peoples work and really don’t know a whole lot about some of the legends in the photographic world. Not to be disrespectful, I just like to shoot subjects the way I see and interpret them. Hopefully you will enjoy the images and that they will help take your mind “someplace else” if only for a little while.
Life IS short. None of us know how long we will live. After going through my mother's illness with her and spending many hours in the hospital, nursing homes and eventually a hospice, I really got a chance to reflect on my own life. Why do we work so hard? Why does time go faster, the older you get?.....What really is important?
Fortunately, through a near death experience of my own in 1985 (please see article in Area Journeys Magazine), I was forced to slow down and think about what is important. It is the “little things” as well as great family, friends and good health. It is not so much the material items. We live in such a NOW society, that patience and relaxation are seldom utilized.
My friends give me a hard time and call me a “hermit”. The reason being is that I don’t listen to the radio or watch a lot of television. I don’t read as much as I should, only if needed for educational purposes, like instruction manuals... right! :)
Life is so fast paced today. The media and society tell us that we need this and need that. What we bought last year is not good enough this year. I’m tired of it. So maybe photography is an outlet, a place to escape. The only two things that totally take my mind off work is being in the outdoors and photography.
People often ask: “What is Shingobee Studios” I jokingly reply: “It is a combination of Image Therapy, Fine Art and Decor Improvement all rolled into one.” Hopefully a few of our images will help you slow down and reflect. Thank you for your time and we look forward to having you as one of the Shingobee Studios family.
Take care,
