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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 2027095, member: 27832&quot;]I&#039;m in the same boat. Like [USER=26302]@medoraman[/USER], I&#039;m the analytic type.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve got pretty good <i>technical</i> chops at this point for photography. I can set up my focus point and depth of field to isolate parts of a scene. I know what lenses work best for particular subjects and ranges. I know how to set exposures and speeds to capture images under all sorts of conditions, and all the tradeoffs between ISO, lens speed, exposure length, sensor size and type, the works.</p><p><br /></p><p>But telling an interesting story with a photo? Making one that grabs your eye? Making one that <i>flatters</i> its subject (or, conversely, insults it)? About all I can do is take lots of shots, and then let someone else select from them. Not only can&#039;t I plan and grab the right shot on purpose; I can&#039;t even reliably <i>identify</i> that shot when it&#039;s placed in front of me, one good shot in a set of bad ones.</p><p><br /></p><p>I took up photography around the time that digital cameras became widely available -- at that point, I didn&#039;t have to feel like I was wasting film by taking all those trashy shots. I thought that, given time and practice, I could develop a good photographic eye. But it didn&#039;t really work out that way. I went further with my technique than I&#039;d ever expected to go, but the artistic eye just hasn&#039;t come. At this point, I&#039;ve mostly lost interest as a result.</p><p><br /></p><p>But <i>coin</i> photography feels different. When my subject is just a coin on a plain background, I don&#039;t feel compelled to compose the image artistically, or convey emotions, or find a background that complements my subject. I just need to find the combination of lens, lighting, and exposure that captures the coin&#039;s appearance faithfully and sharply, or that highlights a feature I want to emphasize. There&#039;s a lot of technical work to make that happen, but technique I can manage. I haven&#039;t gotten very far, particularly with the lighting aspect -- but it <i>feels</i> like something that I <i>can</i> hope to master, even if I&#039;m artistically impaired.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sorry for the threadjack, but this is something I&#039;ve thought a lot about over the years, and it&#039;s interesting to hear from others who feel the same way.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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