My photography experimentation sessions are getting better. A lot better. It's interesting for me to look back just a couple of weeks and see the difference in the way that I work. Each shot is a little more planned than it used to be, a little more intended. I even set out on a photo shoot with more of a purpose than I used to do. I credit two factors for this.

First is that I've been competing in contests over at GuruShots.com where each contest has a theme, and you need between 1 & 4 photos for each theme to effectively compete. I've risen to level 5 out of 9 on the site, and making progress is tougher now and requires more effort. I now need to submit shots that score the most points, and try to get into a position to eventually win a contest. You can guess how that type of effort affects your artwork.

The second factor is smaller, but feels more consequential. That's my recent switch to Sony from Nikon. The fact that the mirrorless camera is professional grade is a huge boon to me as I'm trying to get my skills into a professional level. Full frame sensors really are a different world than my previous DX (crop) sensor experience. More than that, though, is that my first experience with digital photography was with the Sony CyberShot (which was a very fun camera in its time for me). Mirrorless cameras operate, in a much closer way, to the way your cell phone works. All of the composition is on-screen, including the depth of field. That helps you nail the shot in fewer attempts. I'm struggling a bit with the auto-focus, but I have an idea that will correct that which entails changing my focus mode. I have a bit of research to do yet, but I'm almost at the point where the whole camera is responding to me like a trained labrador.

One more professional note. I'm going to start following a regular posting schedule on this site. It's a light schedule at first, because I want to be able to follow through. Look for new posts on the 15th and the last day of the month from here on out.