"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." - 365 Project, Day 21

It is pretty fascinating to view various websites and see how many people fancy themselves photographers and think they are ready for the big leagues.  If they were anything else - cooks, doctors, plumbers, or even taxidermists - they would certainly not be able to call themselves as such.  It is extremely easy to call oneself a photographer - literally as that is needed is a camera (and perhaps a memory card) - and it is even easier to have to talent as one.  I make no qualms about my own talent, or lack thereof.  I started this blog to take pictures, try new things, see the world in a different way, and hopefully become a better photographer.  Indeed, everybody on this blog hopes the same.  Nobody is tougher on my photography than my own self.  However, I like to imagine that the basics of photography have crammed themselves into my skull.

There are certain rules to follow in photography.  One may retort, well, rules are made to be broken, or even, some pictures break the rules and are terrific.  Though I cannot contradict this, I will point you to this thought. Take two photographers, one who knows the rules and breaks them, and one who simply doesn't know the rules and breaks them.  The former will break the rules for effect, and knows how to get the desired feeling by breaking certain rules.  The latter will break the rules not even knowing what they are, and though one or two of their pictures may be good, it is by luck and not by talent.  I ask, which one of these will come out with consistently better photos?  The rules are there for a reason - as in any field.  Rules help and they're great guidelines; breaking them must require very valid reasons.  One would never shoot a landscape completely out of focus, or take a portrait where the ears, instead of the eyes, are tack sharp.

There may not be rules for good photographs, but there are rules for good photography.  Art is subjective, true enough, but a bad picture is a bad picture.

After having said that, here are today's pictures.  One thing I noticed is that Mandy's picture was taken with a Nikon D200, which isn't her own camera.  You like it, Mandy?  Also, Shannon has two pictures, which are a set.  Also, if you cannot see that it has snowed again today, I will tell you that, today, it actually snowed quite heavily.

Frank

His note: As the song says, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... Can I add, dammit!!!

Mandy

Her note: Sitting in the snow, freezing my butt off, I was waiting for a Blue Jay that frequents out peanut feeder. To my surprise this little fella showed up and modeled for me.

Shannon


Her note: When I came in to work this morning this is what I see out my window.  Then as it turns this (the first picture) is how close it gets.

Pat

This is a picture of one of my keys on my keychain.  One, I don't have a macro lens, and two, I had nothing more interesting to shoot.  Tip for cheap macro photography: take a prime and a zoom lens, zoom the latter as far as it can go, and on both, switch focus to manual and focus them to infinity.  Put them glass to glass (so that the camera mounts are as far apart as possible), and snap away.  The problem is that the depth of field is ridiculously miniscule, but if you have something nice to shoot, it will look extremely interesting.  Be ready for a lot of trial and error, though.

As you can see, it snowed today, near the end of March.  Cross your collective fingers so that no more frozen precipitation shows itself (or, if your sadistic, so that there's more).