Hey, I Took That Photo Too!
When I want to learn something new I try to be very thorough about it. I buy books, I chat with people and I get as much good info as I can and then I wing it from there.
When I first started taking photos I did the reverse. I decided to wing it first. PoInt and shoot, how hard could it be. Well, it turned out to be harder than I thought, much harder. But then again, I didn’t really want to become a professional photographer, I just wanted to take really good photos. Just like a professional! I also only wanted to take photos of barns and the Amish countryside. It’s a Faux Farm thing! OK OK I am getting to the point here.
So one day last year, I was in Joann’s fabric store and right near the cash register were some photography books. I thumbed through them and choose one ” The Joy of Digital Photography” by Jeff Wignall. He uses alot of photos to illustrate his teachings which is good for me because sometimes all the terms just make my head spin. Anyway, I got to page 116 and there is one of my photos. Not sort of , kind of, like my photos but exactly like it. Since I have have somewhat of a photographic memory (so I tell everyone – just to scare them) I know I took a photo just like the one in the book.The same exact subject matter from the same angle. Not a big deal if it is the Statue of Liberty, but this some obscure little Amish school house out in Lancaster.
This is Jeff’s photo from his book on Page 116 and on his website
My Photo! You can see why I was so impressed with myself. I mean really, subject matter is one the keys to being a good photographer and look we had the same subject matter.
I then go to his web site to get his email address cause like “wow this is so cool” and there on the site is yet another photo of mine ( really his but my look alike).
This is mine.
This is his.
So now I am so freaked out that I am famous because I picked out the same subject matter and angle as the great book writing photographer on not one, but two photos, that I can hardly contain myself. So I write to him and send him my photos and YES he wrote back to me. He actually wrote a lovely long letter. He was so complimentary of my faux talents. Not that you doubted my talent, but just in case you did you can knock it off cause now I got proof. I am trying to get him out to visit Lancaster again and I will follow him around and learn some things from a master. In the meantime you are stuck with my faux photography!!
Thanks Jeff for giving my the confidence to show off my photos!
…about jeffwignall.com
Welcome! My name is Jeff Wignall and I am a writer and photographer and the author of a number of how-to books on photography, including my most recent bestselling book Exposure Photo Workshop that was published in March 2008 by Wiley Publishing.
I am also the author of The Joy of Digital Photography — one of the bestselling digital books ever (it reached #40 on the Amazon Bestsellers list — among all books). I’ve also written many books for Eastman Kodak including, most recently, The Kodak Most Basic Book of Digital Photography. I am also the author The Joy of Photography (3rd ed) that sold over a million copies.