I took this photo with my phone on 1st January, 2013.
It’s not a great photo, but I’d just discovered that there was a panorama option and I wanted to play with it.
New Year is a time to reflect on times past, and my enthusiasm with this newly discovered tool reminded me of some of the first photos that I took with my very first ‘good’ camera – a Vivitar with a fixed 50mm lens. I wanted to capture some of the glory of the Scottish scenery and took lots of photos of the hills. It took 2 weeks before the enormity of my inexperience
became apparent. I sent away my film to be developed, but my excitement soon turned to disappointment when I looked through the prints. All I had managed to capture was a few disappointing images of a bare slice of hill.
I soon learned how to compose better photographs, and I really enjoy taking photos. I also know my limitations, and that even the amazing new technology in my pocket, I can still take terrible pictures. But I appreciate the time and effort that professional photographers have to put in to take really good photos. In the meantime, I the snap above has value to me as a reminder of a lovely walk with family and friends, like many other New Year’s Days in the past, with many more to come.
I took a few more snaps yesterday, and messed around with software on my phone to make them look a bit better. Technology and experience has vastly improved my photographs compared to the first pictures I took as a 12 yr old with a new camera. Most it my photos are still terrible, but every so often I manage to take a photo I’m really proud of. Fortunately digital photography means I can keep trying, without the limitations of an expensive roll of film!
Fiona Godsman 