I took a great seminar this weekend on becoming a Great Photographer. It was given by one of my favorite Photographers, Mr. Steve Simon ("The Passionate Photographer"). If you are not familiar with him, check out his site, www.stevesimonphoto.com . He is a certainly amazing photographer, a good teacher and a pretty nice guy.

So, one of the big steps in becoming a great photographer is starting a Project. This was initially daunting to me. What kind of project? I just like taking pictures, why do I need a project?

We talked about what makes a good photograph. The technical details, the right moment, catching the light and you can add some of your own. But, what I got out of the seminar was that a great photo has depth.. It has details. It belongs to something. It is relevant. Sure, a lot of photos are visually beautiful but that doesn't make them a great photo. I brought in some pictures that I thought would be instant favorites, the response was basically that sure its nice and pretty - but what does it tell me? Its a postcard shot, nothing else.

Some shots that I didn't expect much from were explored in more depth and a piece of a story was revealed. That's when it finally starting to sink in. A project give a good photo a place to belong. Its still got to have the other aspects. I have to take a technically perfect (or near perfect) picture, it has to have some visual value and it has to be a part of a story, or theme. Some pics I think can stand on their own, as their own story. But, these are rare gems indeed.

So, I will start some projects. Heck, I already have some projects started that I didn't even know were projects! But, my main project will be on one of my other "Passions", music . Louisiana Live Music.

So, I have some learning to do, some pictures to take and some music to enjoy.

I will be a fun and interesting ride. I don't know where this journey will end up. But, that's not really the point, is it?

Thanks Steve.