good or bad....

I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes a good photograph and more importantly what makes a good photographer? Is is the equipment, the speed, it is the light in the photo, the shadow, what is it that makes someone shoot to the top of the profession while others build scrapbooks?

There is a big debate in the community about education within photography. There are people that believe that a photographer's eye cannot be taught and that schooling is unnecessary on the road to becoming a photographer. Others believe that the community atmosphere, digging through the trenches together covered in film and lighting equipment teaches a technique that cannot be learned on your own. The criticism garnered in these courses can shape your style and push you to new heights. So what is the real "way to do it"? Just go out there and shoot? Is photography, like singing or dancing or walking and chewing gum, just something you can or cannot do?

As I look through the galleries of my inspiration I take a closer work at my own shots and wonder, are they there? Is the lighting right, the angle good, can I become the next big name is this flooded arena? What do you think?

looking through a lens to capture a moment like this is what it's all about...