MMS 173 End Blog: One Shot Summary

I was never able to learn how to swim, I grew up scared of deep waters. Yet, every year I go and get excited over outings involving pools. The water is something that I am both afraid of and love. I go towards it but stay away far enough so that my feet still touches the ground. This is very similarly how I feel towards photography. Before this course, I have only ever just dipped my toe in — testing the waters but never really taking the step to plunge in. This class was my first step towards the vast ocean of photography.  I'd be lying if I said that I did not get intimidated, because while I just were able to go ankle deep, others were already swimming. My lack of experience coupled with being surrounded by those who already seemed like professionals, made me feel more scared to dive in. While I did feel strongly this way, it was undeniable that I also enjoyed the activities we did.

Assignment 2 was one that I particularly enjoyed. Not because I got to judge and assess my classmates' works, but because I got to witness many beautiful pictures, and even found some favorites that I really admire. The activity truly allowed me to gauge my peers' skills and allow a space of objective comparison between them and my self.  While this does contributed to my anxiety to perform just as well, I let that nervousness, along with the excitement, become my motivation to strive to learn and improve. Now this does not mean that I suddenly became an expert overnight, it just meant that I have now gained the push I needed to go knee deep in. As I submerged more of myself in the craft, I started to slowly gain more confidence.

By assignment 4 and 5, I became more comfortable with my decisions in taking pictures. I no longer felt like I was just pretending to be a photographer — merely a shrimp in a sea of whales. I am at the stage where I felt that I have gained sufficient knowledge and experience to confidently walk this path. That is to say, I have grown both mentally and skillfully during the course of this class after overcoming the feelings of fear and intimidation. Speaking of which, my lack of proper equipment continued to be my biggest insecurity. While this does not pose as a significant hurdle in my journey, I could not help but feel like I could do and learn so much more if I have a camera. My smartphone does a good enough job, but I am craving for the full experience that only a professional digital camera could bring. Purchasing a camera is one of my future goals as a beginner in photography.

While I am now equipped with basic photography knowledge, I know myself that there is still a lot of things I need to improve on. First of all, my composition is superficial at best — it is cliché, generic. For now I am satisfied with how my shots turn out, but I am going to develop this side of my self more. Secondly, I almost never bother in manually changing the settings of the camera when taking pictures, I mostly just spent more effort during post processing. The greatest factor for this is the limited options for adjustment in my smartphone, plus I have not explored the rest of the functions that is available to me yet. I kept thinking that it would not matter much because my device is not very high quality anyway.

Looking back on the entirety of the course, if I were to choose my most memorable and notable moment, it would be when I was working on assignment 4, specifically the process of looking for the theme and subjects to fulfill the bucket list. The activity taught me something deeper than any technical lesson. It made me realize that being a good photographer does not necessarily mean that you only take good pictures, one had to have a good eye in order to produce strong images. Photos are, after all, captured and not created. The power of an image lies in how we see the world, and how we chose to frame it.

To conclude this blog, I would like to circle back to the quote that opened it: "Simplicity is the easiest path to beauty". And no, this is not to suggest that I'm glorifying to take the easy way out, rather it means that even in the simplest most insignificant thing, if you look close enough, you will see a beauty that you have never noticed before. The world is filled with beautiful things, both grand and subtle. As photographers it is not only passion that should drive us but the duty to immortalize these moments and have as many eyes to witness it as possible. Photography isn't a job or a hobby, it is a calling. Its a way of seeing, of feeling, and of giving others the opportunity to witness the world through a new perspective.

16 May 2025