Do you ever look back at your old photos just to appreciate how far you’ve come as a photographer? Do any of those old images shock and horrify you?
In the Site Stats section of WordPress, I like to browse through the “Clicks” to see what pictures people well, clicked on… I’m always curious about what images inspire people to linger a bit longer. Today, I found that someone clicked on a very old image from when I was in Ireland in 2010, and seeing it again horrified me. Back in October 2010, I had just started using a DSLR, and I just had to shoot everything manually because shooting in auto would have been too easy. Considering I had no concept of ISO at the time, it’s no wonder so many of my photos look like crap to me by today’s standards. On top of that, I thought I had to post process everything and bump up the saturation. God knows why. Anyway, I decided to re-do a couple of the pictures I posted on my blog so long ago and do a side by side comparison.
Let’s start with this sad example. What the heck was I thinking here? I can’t believe I posted this to my blog with the sky all over exposed and over saturated. Why did I think this looked good?
Next, let’s examine poor old Mary, who appears to be praying for less saturation and a sky color actually found in nature. Again, I was a little heavy-handed with the wrong buttons while editing. Natural is better.
And finally, we have Hore Abbey. Yes, truly an unfortunate name and a victim of post processing errors. In the first photo, the focus is on the cows in the background and the abbey is very dark. In the do over, I lightened up the foreground using “Levels” in Photoshop. Levels is one of my favorite tools – you can make minor corrections to a photo that make a big difference.
I considered replacing the pictures in the posts from 2 years ago but ultimately decided against it. For better or for worse, that’s just where my skill level was at the time. My blog documents my journey through life and photography, and that journey isn’t always perfect.
Jolene's Life in Focus 
I have been going through the same thing – revisiting old photos as I figure out where to shoot in my new surroundings. I split the difference – I leave the old posts but have posted a new take on some of the old images. I do have some cringe moments looking at old shots, but also feel some accomplishment that I now realize how much better I can do. It has been fun watching your talents bloom over time and I look forward to seeing where it goes…. 🙂
There’s nothing wrong with redoing old photos. As you say, it gives you an idea of how far you’ve come, and how much you’ve learned. Even the good photos can stand to be re-done. As software improves, the things you can do to your photos is amazing. I’ve gone back to some of my favorite old photos, one’s I edited in Photoshop 6, and have been working on them in Lightroom 4, and, even some of the old photos I wasn’t too sure of look much better now.
Whether our art is from the Early Years, or from the Pinnacle Years, art should never be seen as stagnant. We grow and change, and there’s nothing wrong with letting our art grow and change as well…
I agree with Keneumey. You’re so honest and I’m so tempted to “rewrite” blog history.
I applaud your strength in not replacing your photos. (says the girl who fixes typos on old posts.)