Artists. by Mark Jones

There are 3 types of artist. You have a good artist, a bad artist and a bull

shit artist.
The good artist understands image quality, strives for their best and is always
prepared to learn and improve by keeping themselves informed, either by feedback given,
or through viewing work by others. They are also not afraid to share their experiences
with others so that they too can benefit.
The bull shit artist, will tell you your work is great, regardless of its actual
quality. They wont give you constructive advice and are rarely as good as they make
out.
The bad artist listens to the bullshit artist and does not take constructive criticism
as it is intended. They make no attempt to improve or understand what constitutes a
good image, and remain frustrated for the rest of time because the work they produce
never quite seems as they feel it should.
The difference between the more famous photographers such as Ken Duncan, Steve Parish,
Ansell Adams, and many others, and you and I, is down to a couple of simple factors.
The equipment they use is among some of the best, to let them capture a quality image.
The knowledge they have about photography has been obtained after many years of
experience and effort.
The planning of a photograph or series of photographs is well researched to ensure
that they will get the optimum from the adventure.
They are very self critical, and only produce to a standard that meets their strictest
criteria.
Having said that, there is no reason that you cant also produce excellent images.
Whilst the equipment you have may not be the caliber of the best, it will not be that
bad for most situations.
Know how to use your camera properly. The digital age allows you to take multiple
images, and change settings until you get exactly what you want, and learn in your
lounge room so to speak.
You can plan very simply to ensure that you will get the shot you want. (If its a
bright sunny day, dont go taking waterfall shots) (look to get your shots very early
morning or late afternoon/evening).
Ask for genuine critique on the quality of your image. Compositional errors can be
fixed by remounting the image, however the color and sharpness of an image is usually
only fixed by re-shooting.
My advice is that you dont submit images that are not up to standard to competitions as
it can be misrepresentative of you. Get advice on your image and correct it before you
enter. The critique you will get from those around you will be better and then when you
have the image to its best, enter it and your efforts will not go unrewarded.