Living is learning! I started learning to be something else other than a mom when pouring a glass of water for a friend during dinner. By rote, I poured him a half glass. He then asked if he promised not to spill, could he have a full glass! That’s when I decided I needed to do something just for me.

I enrolled in a non-fiction writing class at Pierce College, Woodland Hills. This led to writing for the L. A. Daily News as a community columnist and taking my own photos for the articles. When retirement hit, I decided I was done with writing and got my first SLR.

Then the learning began. I learn by doing. I went out on photo outings and asked a lot of questions of other photographers. Later, I joined a photo club where my photos would be critiqued. Then I found LAPC, and here we are!

That was a long way to introduce my response to Tina’s challenge. Through my photographic progression I’ve learned many things like:

Have the eyes in focus!

Use the sun correctly.

Have your picture tell a story.

Be ready. Sometimes you just have to take the shot.

More lessons learned are in the captions.

Fill the Frame
Get Down Low to Accent the Foreground
Find Leading Lines

Oh, there are many more lessons I’ve learned. The biggest lesson is just have fun! I’m still in the photo club and enjoy having my photos critiqued. My photo/friend group has aged, but we still go out once a week. Photography keeps your mind sharp and body exercised.

Thanks Tina for this mental exercise, showing us why we are photographing as we do, and why we should keep doing it.

Last week we went into the woods prompted by Egidio’s fantastic challenge. I enjoyed all your responses. When you respond to Tina’s post remember to link to her original challenge and use the Lens-Artists tag. Next week John will be leading the challenge, so look for his post. Until then stay safe and live in gratitude.

55 thoughts on “Lens Artists Challenge #358: Live and Learn”

  3. Beautiful selection, Anne.

    I do love your bird photography in particular and the 3 examples you chose are perfect results from one who has clearly learned how to take a good bird photo.

    I’m a big fan of getting down low (with the camera) as I can no longer squat low, kneel or even sit on a rock or low seat. Your ‘getting down low’ is a good example and one that really connects the viewer with the landscape and seeing it from a different perspective.

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    1. Thanks Vicki! I will never forget that I had to stand through my friend’s rooftop car window to get the eagle shot. I kept sliding on the leather seat. The bird was probably wondering what is she doing. I understand about squatting low. When I do, getting up is not pretty! Take care.

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      1. Careful how you get up from squatting or kneeling, Anne. That’s how I ended up having a total hip replacement 4 years ago. I’ve just had a bone density scan and I have higher bone density than a young person. My hip replacement was the result of twisting awkwardly (like 100,000 times) doing flower photography and my hip grating in the process. The severity of the action was the culprit in (literally) wearing out my hip joint. Unbelievable as it may seem.

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        1. Thanks for the warning Vicki! I try not to twist when I get up from kneeling. I use my arms to stabilize and push up with both my legs. As I said, it’s a sight my coming up butt first. We do what we have to do!

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  4. Anne l loved the reason why you started to do something for yourself ❤️ I think most of us learn by doing and making mistakes. You have learned well, the birds are always lovely, and lower angels are great for a good composition. You have learnt your stuff great example images

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    1. Thanks Margaret! I learn fast when it comes to taking the picture, but not the technical stuff. I only use a small part of what my camera can do (I shoot on manual) and Photoshop is beyond me.

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    1. Thanks I. J.! There are always missed opportunities in photography. Mine, now, are because I’m not fast enough. I just don’t have the mind, hand and execution I used to have. It’s all part of getting older.

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  10. Anne, you certainly have learned these lessons well! Your images are wonderful and illustrate the lessons perfectly. Be ready is one I often overlook. I was all set to photograph a hummingbird yesterday and when I tried to take the first photo I realized the battery was dead!

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    1. Thanks Beth! You gave me my morning chuckle. How often have I left my camera on the settings for the last outing and didn’t change them for the current one. By the time I change the settings, the moment is gone. And, how about not taking the lens cap off and wondering why the picture is dark!

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  13. It was lovely to read about how you realised you needed to do something for yourself – I can just imagine your friend’s expression when you stopped pouring halfway up the glass 😀 And your photos are all excellent illustrations of what you’ve learned on your photography journey! I have to mention that eagle portrait in particular, it’s fantastic!

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    1. Thanks Sarah! I captured the eagle photo by climbing through my friend’s car sunroof, sliding on the leather seat. I think the eagle was wondering what that human was doing! The tree limb was going across the road and he was perched in the middle. What we do to get the picture!

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  14. It’s so lovely to see how you’ve found something for you in photography Anne and we get to enjoy all your beautiful images too! ❤️ xxx

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  17. What a wonderful post, Anne! I love the positive feel about your words and your photos are brilliant. My favourites are the one about using the sun correctly. Sometimes it’s easy to mess up those 🙂

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  18. Loved your response Anne. One of the things I love about you is your enthusiasm for photography. It’s become such as passion for you. Like you I get the most pleasure from it when I’m out shooting with friends. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy life! Your images definitely support your story. They’re all terrific but my favorites are your first eagle (wow) and that amazing capture of zillions of birds!

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    1. Thanks Tina! You’re right, photography has become a passion for me. If you read my responses to some of the comments, you’ll know the story of how I got that eagle shot. Fly offs are amazing and fun to photograph. When you’re in a wildlife area and hear a slight murmur from the geese in the water, get your camera ready. That’s when they fly off–all at once. My birder friend says it’s usually an eagle or hawk that gets them stirred up.

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  19. GREAT photos and insights. ‘Living is learning’ indeed. I sometimes think my entire life is mistakes to learn not to make in the next life. What?! There isn’t another one!?!? Uh oh… 😱🙄😵‍💫

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  20. These are tried and true principles, some of which I am discovering and learning. We all need to take the same steps to arrive at our desired destination. Thank you for laying out these core ideas with great examples of yours! 😊

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  21. These are principles everyone follows. We suppose, to become really good, you have to forget about all this and find your own principles and style. But of course, you have to learn these basics first before you can be creative.

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      1. There seems to be a big difference between writing and photographing. In writing, a text not only needs editing, but it also gets better as more editing is done. Hemingway edited his texts more than twenty times.
        Thanks, dear Anne
        The Fab Four of Cley
        🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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        1. I’ve done my share of non-fiction editing. Yes, it does get better with each run through. However, if you’re editing someone else’s work, it’s important to keep their voice and message. In photography, you have more latitude. I’m not an artist, so the way I envision a particular shot will be different than an artist would. They can see more possibilities than I can. So I don’t edit much, because I don’t have the vision.

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  23. Beautifully written and demonstrated what you’ve learned – great pictures. You also mentioned the most important lesson: Keep your photography fun – thank you for showing.

    Thanks Richard!

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