by Dan Smith

With a new year approaching many will be making the usual new year's resulutions. This year, make some that will help your photography. Some that will improve your vision and provide tangible results you can hang on your wall, give to friends, sell or show in a gallery. Resolve to improve your craft, vision and work ethic to get better pictures.

To do so, you will want to do three things:

Visit a gallery show each month.

Take one good photo each month.

Mat, mount & frame one good image each month.

Sounds easy, and if you start planning you can do it.

Visiting galleries that show good images is one of the finest ways to improve your work there is. You can only guess at quality if you haven't seen it. Once you have seen it you will want to be able to produce it. Quality isn't a formula, it is the overall presentation of the images, whether color, B&W, polaroid manipulations o alternative processes. A fine print isn't finished until someone sees it at its best. Mounted, matted, framed and shown to best advantage in good lighting.

Usually in a museum or gallery setting. A display medium designed to focus your attention on the image, not the living room furniture. Not with a TV blaring in the background.

A gallery will allow you to focus your attention on the images without distraction. To look closely(probably closer than intended but it can sure help at times to know that even the heroes aren't perfect). A good gallery will allow you time to view images individually as well as in relation to each other. They will have photographers you have heard of and ones you haven't. Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they aren't good. And because you have heard of them doesn't mean they are good either. Maybe they are just having their 15 minutes of fame and are riding a fad, or their uncle owns the gallery.

No matter what, go and look at images.

Original images!

I believe firmly that you can learn more by viewing and spending time looking at original art than you will ever learn by reading every review of it. You will learn what quality really is without the interfering blare of the apologist, the explainer and the analyst. You will see, firsthand, what all the fuss is about, both positive and negative.

After all, how many have ever gone and seen a show of "the infamous" Robert Mapplethorpe? Everyone has heard of him-the poster boy of the censorship brigade. But, have you seen the original prints? (and he photographed a lot more than bullwhips & butts) Some of his flowers are exquisite and whether you like Mapplethorpe and his lifestyle or not, he has some excellent images. So, go and see them if you get the chance.

A gallery show a month will do a lot to open up your thinking. To help you with ideas as to what to try, to photograph and where to go. Most of all, it will help you in learning what quality is. Quality in printing as well as quality in vision. At times you won't like the images. When this happens, look carefully and see if you can figure out why the show is up, why the photographer took the photos and why the gallery is showing it. If nothing else, it is a learning experience in what you won't wan't to photograph.

Next, take at least one good photograph each month.

You will have to dust off the camera and actually use it rather than sit by a frosty window with a cup of hot chocolate thinking about how warm it will be in the summer when you plan on going out to photograph. Whether it is an indoor photo, wildlife on the frozen marsh or a trip to Hawaii, plan on taking one good photo each month(at a minimum). Shoot as much or as little as you like, but do it.

Pushing yourself to shoot will be instructive. Knowing you have challenged yourself will help push you to get out and shoot. From going to a High School wrestling match to photographing ice floes on the Great Lakes, make the time to photograph. Edit your work carefully and come up with one solid photo each month. Plan on it now and you will be ahead of the game as early preparation makes it easier.

So what do you photograph? Anything you want. Figure studies(people or math equaations on the blackboard in an empty classroom), something you don't like or visit a local attraction you have never been to before. Just get out and shoot some film. Just the effort will help your results to improve. But whatever you do, get out and do it. An hour, a day or whatever time you can set aside or plan on will do it. With effort, your works by the end of the year will be better than the earlier ones.

Once you have the photographs, and without waiting until the end of the year, mat, mount and frame the images.

Your photographs aren't finished sitting in a drawer in slide boxes or stacked in the corner as piles of negatives. Get prints made, whether you do it or have a good lab do it. A good lab will help you get the best out if the images. By a good lab, I mean a good specialty lab, not KMart or the corner 30 minute processor. Go to a custom lab and have a good print made.

Go to a good frame shop and have he matting and framing done to match the image. Whether this is standard white/gray museum mount in metal frames or an ornate custom matting job with wood frames, have it done right. If you print Ilfochromes, make sure the matting & mounting is 100% rag, NON buffered board. B&W and C prints get 100% rag buffered boards, unless you have a specific reason to go with paper rather than rag. If you do go with paper boards, Bainbridge has the Alphacare board that gives extra protection. Make sure you finish it off with UV protective museum glass for the longest life.

If you get images you like, make sure you get prints you like, mounted, matted and framed to show them at their best. Then, display them, give them away or sell them. Whatever you do, view the photographs. They are made to be seen, not hidden away while you apologize to everyone for never having anything for them to see.

If you hang the images where you can control the lighting, dump the fluorescents and strong window light and go with simple halogen lamps set up to showcase the image. Your photos are just like a pizza. Piping hot, served in a clean surrounding lit for a pleasant atmosphere and the pizza is great. Cold & leftover on a dirty plate while you try to swallow it along with asprins to cure your hangover and the Pizza loses a lot of its appeal. Give your photos every chance to look their best. Clean viewing conditions, good lighting, good mats & frames and even a marginal image will look better.

But, if you have good images, they will look great.

So there it is. A simple plan to get twelve good images on your walls in twelve months. Go out and do it and as you progress you will get better images and have a real reaon to go out and photograph more often.

Best of all, you will be able to kick back on the couch, looking at your images each night and say "damn, I'm good", and have the images to show it.