In 2010, when I first started this blog there were 2 things that I struggled with. The enormous popularity of the movie Avatar … and photography.
Incidentally, I hated the movie Titanic too, so you might as well double up on the whole fist shaking thing you’re directing at me right now.
If you're wondering what that blob above is, it's a photograph of a knob of ginger that I took for this blog in 2010. I was proud of that blob. It felt artsy.
While Avatar only robbed me of 17 hours of my life (that’s exactly how long it was), taking a single photo for my blog sometimes took me days. I could NOT figure anything out.
The following shot almost did me in. It took me 2 full days to get a photograph I thought was worthy of the site Design*Sponge. The picture was also going into my How to Recover a Chair in 5 Minutes post, one of the first posts I wrote.
All I wanted was a little bit of a blurred background (I had no idea at the time that this was called depth of field). After spinning dials, stepping forward, stepping back, crying, changing settings, applying calamine lotion to hives, going to bed, waking up, cocking my head, trying again, ugly crying with snot bubbles, and trying again, I ended up with an out of focus but half decently balanced (now that I look at it again) photo.
I had no editing software. How I took the photo was how the photo was published. And the photo was almost always bad.
7 years later I had learned Photoshop & edited the same photo to make the colour better and lighten it up.
If I still had the chair, the throw, the floors or the bookcases, I might consider trying to replicate that shot right now with my Fuji camera.
But I don't. Because sometimes I flip into a fit and get rid of all the things I see. The Mongolian lamb throw became so mangled and dirty that it was garbage. The vintage chair underneath went out to the front of my house for free, where it was picked up by a neighbour up the street, who put it out in front of their house for free about 7 years later.
The floors I ripped up, and I moved the bookcases into the dining room as part of my library/dining room built ins.
Not coming by photography naturally was a bit disconcerting. I always revered architects and photographers growing up.
Architects wore cool eyeglasses.
But Photographers breezed into warehouse lofts filled with models, advertising executives and snacks. They wore faded black jeans with $700 tee shirts. As a photographer, an assistant hands you a big, bulky camera which you take 30 rapid fire shots with, before handing it back to them & disappearing down a warehouse elevator with Andy Warhol. Because you were meeting Madonna for dinner. Who totally stole your look for her Borderline video. Skank.
I even went so far as to take a 12 week long college level course in photography when I was in grade 11 to get a good head start on hanging out with Andy Warhol. Nobody at my course was super-cool and most disappointingly I had no access to free snacks.
Ironically, I did end up meeting Andy Warhol, one year later in New York City. He did not take me to dinner with Madonna.
After the photography course I still had no idea what any of the numbers on my camera dials meant. Specifically my father's vintage camera in a brown leather case.
When I started blogging I was forced into taking another course. It was that or beg a crow to peck my eyeballs out so photography just wasn't an option anymore.
So I took a course. Then I took another one. Then another. And then I had a successful commercial photographer friend give me a lesson. And then they came out with the iPhone and I didn't need to know anything at all about photography again.
I'm only kind of kidding. An iPhone is the camera I use 90% of the time now. My really good, really fun, Fuji mirrorless sits in a cupboard for special occasions.
What's the moral of this story?
Nothing. At least I didn't think so.
THEN I DID SOMETHING
I plugged my entire post into ChatGPT and asked it what the moral of this story was.
And apparently, it's this.
- Persistence pays off: Despite initial struggles and frustrations with photography, the author persevered and eventually improved their skills over time. This emphasizes the importance of dedication and determination in achieving one's goals.
- Adaptability is key: The author's willingness to learn and adapt, even when faced with challenges or technological advancements like the iPhone, allowed them to continue pursuing their passion for photography. This highlights the importance of being flexible and open to change in the pursuit of personal growth and success.
- Embrace imperfection: The story showcases the author's journey from struggling with photography to eventually accepting and even enhancing imperfections in their work through editing. It teaches the valuable lesson that perfection is not always attainable or necessary, and that flaws can add character and uniqueness to creative endeavors.
- Humility and self-awareness: The author reflects on their initial struggles and misconceptions about photography, demonstrating humility and a willingness to learn from mistakes. This underscores the importance of self-awareness and the ability to acknowledge areas for improvement, which are essential traits for personal and professional development.
- Letting go of expectations: The author's decision to let go of possessions like the chair and throw, as well as their initial fantasies about the glamorous life of photographers, illustrates the importance of letting go of unrealistic expectations and embracing the reality of one's circumstances. This can lead to greater contentment and fulfillment in life.
I actually thought the moral was to become an architect.
Perfect post. Oh, and I hated Titanic too.
I had no idea AI was so kind and wise. I feel reassured. The future is safe. Thanks, Karen. So glad you persevered. You light up my life. :)
OMG.... LOVE this post. And architects ARE cool. (No, I am not an architect.)
PS - did NOT see Avatar (and won't). Hated Titantic too.
I slept through about 15 of those 17 hours of Avatar. And, a much better movie about The Titanic than that silly Titanic is the Documentary of the event, A Night To Remember.
I’m am with you 100% about Avatar and Titanic. And maybe I’m a little weirded out getting insights from AI.
You are anlways interesting and always funny! Thanks so much!
I feel so shallow. I didn't get the moral of the story I was entertained by the post and I'm not the only one who hated Avatar.
I honestly had NO idea I was so good. So determined. So willing to learn and grow from mistakes. I was forced to sit in the front row for Avatar and mainly felt nauseated the whole time that I wasn't sitting quietly with my eyes closed wondering how long it was going to take for 4 hours to be up. ~ karen!
WOW - hope CHAT doesn't get hold of my comments! WOW is all I have to say about the growth of your ability to photograph fuzzy chairs. I didn't know the first one could look better but WOW. Yes it would have been fun to see it now with technology growth the the main thing is all that CHAT said and of course providing us with interest. You did it!
And this is why I prefer the voice of Karen over the voice of ChatGPT. A real voice instead of preachy filler.
I love this post! Thank you! So timely for me. I am retired after a career that expanded over 50 years (although still working and volunteering part time). I am back in school (thank you Zoom!), becoming a landscape designer/architect. Perhaps the architect if I live that long....l just turned 70.
I am drawing things for the first time in my life and persistence does pay off! I see improvement from when I first started.
Adaptability--learning CAD on a computer while taking a hand-drawing class at the same time!
Embrace imperfection? The older I get the worse my spelling gets for my college papers (not a good speller in my past either), and have you seen my drawings? (never have taken a drawing course in my life until now!). BTW, the imperfections make my hand drawings better!
Humility and self-awareness. Have you seen my hand drawings? Have you seen my garden? Mother Nature is constantly teaching me.
Letting go of expectations? How many times have I been told that I can't do something? Too young, too old, female, don't change, etc. Have to throw out all those negative expectations (along with some old furniture as I am redoing the interior of my house, the exterior front and back gardens of my house) and throw out those statements inside my brain that tell me (along with some family and "friends") that I am too old and why would I want to do any of this? What is the purpose? Enjoy your retirement instead. Retirement does not mean stagnancy and death! I am loving every second of this including the (almost) all-nighters for my classes. I am old and have to get a couple of hours of sleep.
Why do I have to have a purpose that fits your expectations? I am enjoying every odd and awkward moments of my life right now for the first time in my life and embracing and learning from them all.
BTW, both Avatar (don't even get me started on that one!) and Titanic were awful. Obviously, you have great taste in movies, photography, gardens and food, (although I am still trying to understand the Canadian thing about poutine--I am not a gravy person, more an au jus person and I hate soggy french fries--which I imagine the gravy would make them--please tell me if it doesn't).
That also made a thoroughly enjoyable reading
Thanks
The gravy and cheese curds don't cover every surface of every fry, so there's usually crispiness of some sort. And any crispiness you lose is made up for with the deliciousness of gravy and cheese. ~ karen!
I understand your photographic Woes completely. I would take a photo with camera an be totally discussed when it was printed. All those buttons and numbers were totally lost on me . My aah moment was not a iPhone but a a iPod moment 😁
I just laughed my ass off over ChatGPT's "moral of this story". Talk about missing the point, sheesh. This gives me good feelings about the future of such automated drivel, because it's just so very bad at figuring out things sentient beings can see. It would not be fun to read something that's supposed to have humor or sarcasm if it's put together by such bots. So, that's a good thing.
As for your photographic journey, I've admired your photography for years and have watched it improve as you practiced. I'm married to a photographer who specializes in wildlife and landscapes and I won't drag you into the abyss of living with someone who never has enough cameras and lenses of all sizes and equipment large and small and leaves test prints lying around on every flat surface in the house because once he's shown something to me he's off to another creative endeavor and can't be bothered with picking up stuff. Well, there, I see I dragged you partly into the abyss anyway. Sorry. All of the physical mess is small next to the past 47 years of conversations centering on tonal values and focal points and I promise I'll kill anyone who asks me about fStops after I've had them explained to me in detail for all these years and still forget what I've been told about them. I worked as a graphic designer for awhile before I retired from civil service more than 20 years ago, and was truly an expert at Photoshop (I learned it before they invented layers, so I guess that's an early adopter). But I never used it after I left the workforce.
I do, however, make excellent photographs with my iPhone. Because any creature with opposable thumbs can make excellent photographs with their phone nowadays. No need to cart around a camera bag and extra lenses and light meters and all that. Except for my husband, and probably other people like him, who feel about their photography like I do about my gardening and needlework -- it brings me joy to start with nothing and know precisely how to make something wonderful come out of my work and attention. You are very, very good at many things, and knowing when to make things easy on yourself so you can do the hard things you love to do is one of them.
And, that, Miss Grammy, is the moral of Karen's story! (Mic drop!🎤)
What @Miss SmartyPants said @Miss Grammy!
Thanks Grammy. Good camera lenses are SO expensive. But it's amazing how different they all are and truly how much better than the iPhone. And I've grown to love photography. But ya. I'd rather grow a carrot. ~ karen!
I went to Titanic with my ex (that happened later) and a friend.
The friend fell asleep partway through. I think he had the better part of the deal...
Yes!! well said.
James Cameron makes some good bedtime movies. ~ karen!
That ChatGPT writes better than a lot of people!
Was Mr. Willms one of your photography teachers?
He was not. At the moment I can't think of any of their names, but that was definitely not one of them. ~ karen!
Omg. I am so torn about the fact that you a) used ChatGPT to generate a blog post and b) it was useful. Way to drag us all into the future! 😉☺️❤️
It was amazing how QUICKLY Chat produced the answer compared to how long it took me (hours) to write my post about my photography journey. But. Reading ChatGPT is like reading a phone book or a manual. It didn't even swear once. ~ karen!
I plugged my seven-and-one-eighth page response into ChatGPT and asked for intense editing. The result? “Wow!”
LOL! ~ karen
I sit here somewhat terrified that the AI crafted paragraphs kinda make sense. Unless of course they were written by you pretending to be an AI bot? See?The confusion over reality?...... it begins.
When Skynet becomes self aware, I'm loading up and heading for the bunker.
It was absurdly accurate but a bit overzealous. I don't really like all that positive reinforcement, lol. ~ karen!
Not overzealous - ChatGPT is just sweet onya.... like all of us. Says the guy who enjoys watching Titanic whenever it crosses my channel surfing. Avatar was interesting -saw it in Omnimax 3D- but a bit too 'preachy' for my tastes.
That Artificial Intelligence app literally puts words in your mouth!
Yep. Terrifying and fascinating at the same time. It's terrinating. ~ karen!
What am I taking from all of this?
I'm moving my bookcases into the dining room & putting a chair on the curb. Love your spin on life!!!
That was secretly the moral of this story all along! ~ karen