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Earthbound Light Top Ten for 2015
It's that time again. Time to clean up from all the holiday festivities, and time to count down the yearly top 10 posts here at Earthbound light. Here's to a great 2015. Thanks for all your support and interest.
As I've done at the end of most years, I wanted to take the occasion to look back and review the year that was. This time, enlisting all the extra computing power built into all the cameras and lenses I own (exaggeration) I've tallied up the most popular posts for the year as measured by various metrics. Starting with number 10 and working our way up to the most popular post for the year 2015, we have he following:
#10: Weekend Thoughts on the Important Subject of Lens Caps
You go to shoot a picture and begin by quickly removing the lens cap without giving it much thought. But that lens cap provides a valuable service and deserves it's due. In an article from this past spring, I take some time out to put things in context. Enough of you also felt it was time to pay attention to lens caps to make this the number 10 article for the year.
#9: f/8 and Be There?
The old adage of "f/8 and be there" is easy to say, but less easy to define. Many photographers have an idea as to its meaning, but when pressed will hesitate. When we actually do compare possible meanings, it turns out to mean pretty much whatever someone wants it to mean. Clocking in at number 9 for the year, this article from last May puts all this into context. Thinking about such things isn't purely an academic exercise either. Becoming more in touch with your own photography can help make you a better photographer.
#8: If at First You Don't Succeed
As they say, try, try again. This article was published only last week but has already generated enough interest to place it as number 8 for the year 2015. As much as we'd all like to have every shot we make come out perfectly, that's neither realistic, nor, in the final analysis, truly desirable. If every shot you take comes out just as you intended, you probably aren't pushing yourself hard enough. Digital photography makes experimentation and learning easy. Embracing this philosophy can help you get better shots. And no one needs to know how many images you decide to delete on your way to greatness.
#7: How Long Do Memory Cards Last?
Memory cards are small but critical components of modern photography. I don't want to scare anyone, but these things won't last forever. Nothing does. And as card sizes continue to increase, a failed card can take quite a few images with it when it goes. But it's not as hopeless as it might sound as I discuss in this well received article from March. When tallied up, this article came in at number 7 for the year.
#6: Two Opposite Ways to Get Out of a Creative Funk
Sometimes the creative juices are flowing, and sometimes they aren't. If you've been at this craft of photography any length of time at all, you know the frustration of occasionally feeling less inspired than you'd like to be. It's nothing to be ashamed of. This article from way back in January outlines two opposite ways of getting yourself out of a creative funk. Apparently enough of you could relate to boost his article to the number 6 slot for 2015. Is it better to go someplace new and exotic, or to go back to somewhere you already know quite well?
#5: What the Eye Does Not See
Another article from early in the year, this PhotoTip discusses the similarities and differences between camera photographic vision and human vision. Both come with forms framing and selectivity that serve to reveal some things and to hide others. It all depends on how you want to look at it. Adding everything up for the year revealed this one to be the number 5 post for the year.
#4: Which is More Important: Camera or Lens?
Of all the pieces of equipment employed by us photographers, the two most important would have to be the camera itself and a lens to go with it. There once was a time when a camera served mainly as a light-tight box with an accurately controlled shutter opening and the lens did all the hard work. Digital changes the equation somewhat and has been the source of numerous questions from readers over the years. This was another recently published article that drew a great deal of interest, so much so to make it the number 4 article for the year.
#3: The One That Got Away
Published last February, this brief article looks at how easy it is to blame that missed shot on whatever may be convenient to use as an excuse. But in the final analysis, the photography makes the image, and more often than not breaks the image when things to turn out as expected. Regardless, looking for something or someone else to blame avoids taking the opportunity to use the failure as a learning exercise to improve. Finding a receptive audience, this article came in at number 3 for the year.
#2: You Take Photos With the Camera You Have, Not the One You Wish You Had
This article from December echoes some of the same themes as the number 3 article above but from a different perspective. In this holiday season, everyone dreams of getting better camera gear. But you can only take pictures with the camera you have, not the one you dream of. It's all too easy to feel like you need that new camera to really take good pictures. But more often than not there are other factors that at least contribute to holding you back. Each time you go out shooting, it's best to set aside those dreams and focus on what's before you then and there. My thanks to everyone who helped contribute to making this the number 2 article for 2015.
#1: Welcome to the New Lightroom in the Clouds
Adobe threw everyone for a loop when they released the first Creative Cloud version rather than the next iteration of Creative Suite. More than a mere naming convention, the change represented a shift in how Adobe licensed their software. For a while, it seemed as if Lightroom users could avoid the change but time ran out earlier this year with the release of Lightroom CC. This article, among several others over the year, discussed what all this would mean to those Lightroom users hoping to avoid the subscription model. We knew it was coming, and when it finally did, the release generated a great deal of interest. Once the full impact of Adobe's plans became clear, this article had risen to the top of the pack to become the number 1 PhotoTip published on Earthbound Light for the year.
Well there you have it. Here's looking forward to a great 2016.
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