Do you have what it takes to be a photographer?

Most people, especially when starting out in photography, aspire to make jaw-dropping images like they see in magazines, on the internet, or in a gallery. They take their fancy new digital camera out and start creating images only to find that they fall quite short of anything spectacular. They convince themselves that their talents and strengths must lye in other endeavors, but not photography. Soon after their camera sits in the closet and begins to collect dust. Life goes on, careers get in the way, families demand time and attention, and 25 years later they blow the dust off their camera and repeat the process again. Have you heard this story before? Is this possibly you? As I begin my series of articles on introductory photography, I would like you to start by reading Craig Tanner's inspiring article The Myth of Talent.

I'm back...

The last couple of weeks have been a bit rough and I haven't been able to post or take any new images. However, I've managed to get caught up with the minor distractions in life, charged my batteries, blew the dust off my sensor, and will begin working on the projects I have promised. I have a new computer on the way and expect to be up and running with video blogs and podcasts in the near future. For the few loyal readers, thanks for your patience.

Below is a capture of a partial eclipse of the Sun a few years back. I have applied a solar filter to enhance the contrast and minimize the effects of the clouds. It is very important when doing this sort of photography to avoid looking at the sun, especially through the lens. This image was shot at 300mm which is plenty enough magnification to damage the eye if not careful. A very inexpensive product that can be used to make filters of any size can be found at Astro-Physics, Inc.