Printing my first picture
I have watched dozens of Landscape Photography YouTube videos specifically telling their viewers to print their own photographs…that it would give an appreciation and rush of excitement seeing their “vision” become tangible.
I never really got the hype with this train of thought, until…I finally printed a photo, who would have thought?
I think this mostly stems from the old saying “You are your worst critic”. I have been practicing photography for quite some time now, and always felt like my photos were lacking. Just never quite good enough. I would show them to people and get compliments on them, but i always took them in the form of “They are just being nice”.
In the last couple years I have started putting a real effort into carefully planning out each of my photographs. I am trying to lean into getting shots that actually have thought put into them and not just “quick snaps”
This takes us to our family’s 2021 Rügen vacation. My wife and her family had visited this area of northern Germany when she was little and they thought it would make for a good family vacation with our 2 year old son. As soon as I realized that we were going to an area that had a coast, I knew that i had to start thinking about the long exposure, dreamy water picture that I always find beautiful when I see it from other photographers.
Multiple mornings went by with my father-in-law and myself waking up early to go to the local bakery. The mission…getting pastries for breakfast! And for me to scope out a couple areas that I would want to return to, to get my shot.
The day finally came, we were at one of the many beaches…son playing in the sand, dog running around like crazy. My wife and I were walking up and down the beach (my wife loves to look for fossils/seaglass/shells) and I saw this giant piece of driftwood sitting on top of a tapestry of colored stones.
I knew this had the potential to be the shot that I wanted. I immediately got my tripod out and set up all the gear and started shooting away. It took some experimentation to finally dial in the right shutter speed, but I felt such excitement seeing even the first couple shots on the camera’s display after the long exposure was done. I couldn’t wait to get back to our rental apartment and see how they came out in Lightroom.
After a bunch of trial and error, seeing what I liked and disliked…I had my finished shot!
It sat, completed in my Lightroom catalogue for 2 years. Life just continued to take priority, and it was hard to find the time to sit down and get the picture ready to be printed. Eventually, enough was enough and my wife and I planned a time to sit and get the print ordered. I had received a WhiteWall gift card from my wonderful in-laws, so that made the process easy.
After a week of eagerly awaiting its arrival…it was delivered, mounted and has improved the look f our entryway hallway.
I didn’t realize how good it would feel seeing a photograph that I took, hanging on my wall that wasn’t just a family photo. I just keep thinking, “that cant possibly be mine….we just bought a photo from someone else”. This process has definitely reignited the passion for photography for me a great deal. I have already found myself thinking of what photo would look good next to the one in the hallway now.
I definitely suggest for any hobbyist photographer, find a photo of yours that you really like and get it printed. Just the act of having that tangible item is such a rush.
