When I became obsessed with photography, sometime in the spring of 2009, I wanted my photographs to be better. I wanted to learn how to make magic with my camera, but I didn’t know how. I spent many hours researching, reading, learning about photography. And in my zeal to learn how to make better images, I unknowingly adopted some of the “rules” that other photographers so adamantly preached. Looking back, I see how those rules helped, but I also see how they hindered. We all want to know the formula for making spectacular images, but in my experience, there is no formula. Knowing how the camera works is essential, knowing how the light works is essential, but strictly following rules only stifles creativity.

Fierce Eagle

I remember the first time I wanted to attempt to shoot eagles at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge. I was selling microstock photography at the time, so I posted in a forum on one of the microstock sites asking for advice. Most of the responses were discouraging. I was told I needed tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear. I was told the only way to get good, close photos of eagles was to spend hours hunkered down in a blind. I was told most of the good eagle photos you see are either shot in captivity, or with the aid of bait. I’m glad I didn’t listen. I’ve found that with patience, persistence, and a bit of luck, photographs of eagles can be done without all of those things. The photo above was shot from my car in the pouring rain.

Heart Lake

Some of the rules I learned for landscape photography were, never center the subject, and always shoot during the “golden hour.” (An hour after sunrise, or and hour before sunset.) The image of Heart Lake was shot in mid-afternoon on a sunny day. There are also many landscape photographers who insist that graduated ND filters and circular polarizing filters are a necessity. While I keep a polarizing filter in my bag, I rarely use it. And the set of GND filters I bought is in a box of stuff I never use, having tried them two or three times and discovering that blending exposures in post processing works much better for me and gives me a lot more control over the result.

The Pacific Ablaze

But I have to say, the most important lesson I’ve learned over these past five years is–persistence. If I don’t get the shot I want, I try again. If the “rule” doesn’t work for me, I break it. It took me nearly three years to get an image of the full moon rising over Lake Siskiyou with Mount Shasta. I went back to the same spot dozens of times, and failed to get the shot. But, I kept trying, and eventually I got it! And for me, the satisfaction of that is better than any award, or prize, or sale. So my advice is to listen to the rules, take them into consideration, but don’t get so caught up in them that you can’t break them. Because you will never know what you can do if you always follow the rules.

Moonrise Over the Lake at Mount Shasta