Lost Giant in a September Light, Fresh Pond Reserve. Cambridge, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2014.

January 2, 2015 and it’s time to take stock in how I did on my photographic resolutions for 2014 and to make new or continued one’s for 2015.

Beginning with last year’s resolutions, we have:

1. Focus on seeing.  As I said last year, this is an intensely personal and a continuing lifetime lesson.  You see all the time and you compose untaken images all the time, and a very important aspect is not to become merely an observer, not to use photograph to abstract yourself out of your own life.  I’ll give myself a B on this, I have taken some images that I am very proud of, or at least that I like very much.  But there is always so much more to see, so many more possibilities.
2. Spend more time taking photographs and have my camera with me more often. Yep to this and maybe a B+. I have a camera with me a lot, but not always. IPhone doesn’t count.  And invariably, when I don’t, I wish that I did.
3. Slow down, concentrate on composing the image, on setting and checking the light. This speaks to the fundamental technical task, and I have worked very hard at it. An A for effort, but a minus for when I have failed; so A-. Psst, I’m an easy grader!
4. Continue to learn to photograph trees.  I continue to believe this and I decided to give myself and A if there was one image of a tree that I took this past year and that truly met my goal and expectation.  I actually found several, but my favorite is shown in Figure 1, and image that I took the past September at Fresh Pond.
5. Spend more time photographing people, learn to take better portraits and to develop a personal portrait style. Hmm! I have worked on this.  I did set up the En Persona Gallery on Hati and Skoll and there are some portraits taken in 2014.  But, I still have the temerity associated with photographing strangers, of asking whether I can take their picture, and as a result I did not take as many people-pictures nor did I focus much on learning portraiture, nor have I yet developed a personal style.  So C+ to you Wolf!  Gonna be hard on myself with this. I include as Figure 2 one pleasing image that I took on the Old North Bridge in Concord Massachusetts this past summer.

So, what about going forward into 2015.  My New Year photographic resolutions for 2015 carry over a few from last year:

1. Focus on seeing.  I think that this always must be there.
2. Spend more time taking photographs and have my camera with me more often.
3. Slow down, concentrate on composing the image, on setting and checking the light. And yes, learn more about the camera controls, the one’s you don’t use, but should. This remains the key and is a lifelong lesson.
4. Continue to learn to photograph trees.  They remain the most worthy of subjects.
5. Work more on portraiture.
6. Learn and utilize strobe-light techniques in portraiture.
7. Continue to photograph birds and to develop better technique.

Figure 2 – Wonder of Childhood, Concord, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2014.