“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” ― Henri Cartier-Bresson.  Every photographer I’ve seen yet eventually falls back to this famous quote at some point.  So, I guess it’s my turn now.

I didn’t understand this when I first read it.  I couldn’t for the life of me understand why I would have my worst photos so early.  It just couldn’t be.  Then I started taking photos.  I saw some really terrible stuff come out of the camera in my hands.  After that, I changed my definition.

My second understanding was that I would start taking good photos after I had clicked the shutter at least 10,000 times.  I’ve done that now and still I couldn’t understand why I was still taking bad photos.  I needed some more contemplation before I could really understand what was going on.

With further experience in the matter, I have come to understand that it’s not the first 10,000 times you click the shutter that you need to get out of the way.  There’s also no reason why you can’t luck out and take a decent photo when you’re first starting out.  It means something very different than that.

I have come to realize that Henri Cartier-Bresson wasn’t referring to those photos which you don’t want to show off.  Those were already in the garbage as far as he was concerned.  He was referring to those photographs which are the best out of your first several photo shoots.  You will be astounded by them as a beginner and you will hate to admit they are yours as you become much more expert in the craft of photography.

While I can’t show you my very first ever photos I took (I don’t know what they are or where to find them), I can show you some of my first photos when I started out studying photography.  I used to be very proud to display them.  The photos you see illustrating this article are some of those early photos for me.  I’ve revisited them and made them look much better than their earlier versions.  However, they still show off my earlier inexperience.  I hope you enjoy this peek into my past as a photographer.