GWY stands for a Guy with a camera. A GWY is somebody who has an decent camera and thinks they’re a pro but in fact they cannot shoot good photos.
Do I fit the definition? Maybe. But I know this: I love photography. I’m not an expert and I don’t know all the photography tips and tricks and photoshop effects the experts recommend. Nor I have the newest camera and a set of top-quality lenses. However I know I have a mindset and the will to learn everything necessary if I wanted to and if I wanted to spend the time. I also know I could get all the equipment I’d need.
two volcanoes and the boat
I’m actually learning those tricks slowly as I need them time to time and I’m also improving my equipment. I’m priviledged to be influenced by some great photographers I had a chance to meet recently and I’m also grateful to Jeff from 360cities that showed me some nice tricks and also introduced me to the world of HDR.
That said, I usually apply the Pareto principle to my pictures. I don’t spend too much time on them. When I first started using this approach I had a hard time with it. I wanted everything to be perfect, no matter the time spent. That’s a highway to hell, well, at least a highway to not doing other things I want to do. So nowdays I only spend time with really important pictures.
red and lights on water
This approach brings me a mixture of great elements of life. Fun with much more experimenting than I could do if I was a perfectionist, more lessons to be learned and a warm fuzzy feeling of self-achievement because “I know I can but I don’t”.
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I agree with this philosophy more and more myself. Not easy when you know there are some problems in an image that you want perfect. But the real question you raise, do you really need that image to be perfect? What could you do with the time you would spend fixing a photo so that it becomes perfect.
You’re right my friend!
Hi, Jean-Pierre! Thanks for the reply. Yes, a nice summary. Another trick I could think of is making sure the work needed to edit or fix the image is minimized. In other words: to invest in experience and tools
I really like your post. Does it copyright protected?
Hi Kelly. Thanks for your comment. How do you want to use it? Let me know here or at jan dot vrsinsky at gmail dot com.