it took me long enough but i finally finished the trip photo album from when i went to mexico almost 2 months ago. i took so many pictures but after i picked the best and printed them, i didn't feel like they were very good photos. i'm trying to figure out why that is. this is the third trip photo album i have made. each one was for a different country. this time i used a different camera. it was a much more expensive camera with a larger body and i was traveling in a poorer country. i don't know if that caused me to be more hesitant about whipping out my camera and taking photos. when you have a small, cheap camera, it's much easier to carry it around and take photos as you please. perhaps with a larger camera, i was less spontaneous. or maybe since i'm still learning how to use the camera, i was concentrating on the basic technical aspects instead of creating interesting shots. whatever the case may be, it's a sobering reminder to go for something more than 'the walk-up shots'.

yesterday i was reading the digital photography book, which is packed full of tips on how to get the shots you want. i had been hesitant about getting the book but it's not as bad as one review i read that trashed the author for his humor. there are some tips in there that i had already been doing to some degree, but it's nice to read someone give that advice so i know i'm heading in the right direction. also, the book helped clarify for me the importance of some accessories and which ones i should get as soon as possible. the number one thing to avoid though is taking 'walk-up shots'. meaning, don't just walk up to photograph what you see. that's what everyone else does. that's why everyone has boring tourist photos. try to see your subject in a new way by walking to a different spot to get a different angle. thinking about this sort of thing and browsing my mexico shots, i am reminded of how i need to zoom in more for tighter shots. i complain about this to other people, but i need to do it more myself. of course, that just leads to, i need more powerful lenses which i cannot afford. as for getting a different angle, i realize i was definitely hesitant in mexico. i didn't want to stand out and look like a crazy foreigner. i thought it would make me a target for someone trying to take my camera or my wallet. i've got to overcome my photographic shyness in this respect.