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Really Bad Photography

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My Personal Collection of Bad Photography

I was digging through a box of stuff from my childhood while cleaning the basement and came across this batch of photos. I can't remember how old I was when I took these pictures, but I do know that I didn't know what I was doing with a camera.

I mean, look at the picture here of the seagull on a sign. What is the focal point of the picture? If it is the bird - I didn't center the bird. If it is the sign - I didn't even capture the entire sign plus it is too dark to read.

So enjoy my wry commentary on this batch of bad photos that I took as a kid while visiting Mackinac Island.

The Headless Horse



Well, if I was going for a shot of one of the beautiful horses that pull the "grand" carriages for guests of the Grand Hotel - I cut off his head.

Was I trying to capture the carriage and the horse? Oh well, at least it was in focus, right?

Photography books of interest

These are good books for improving your picture taking techniques. There is even a pocket guide for digital photography for easy on the go reference.

If all of that fails, you can use the Photoshop Elements book along with your copy of Photoshop to "fix" your mistakes on a computer.
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Fog, Blur, or Poor Lighting?

You make the call.



Believe it or not, but the Mackinac Bridge is actually in the fog there somewhere. I rode up on the top deck of the boat to Mackinac Island in the early morning hours.

Go figure that there was a lot of fog in the morning on a humid summer day. Huh?



I can see three items of possible interest in this photo that I might have been trying to take a picture of.

  1. The 'No Swimming' sign

  2. The Breaker Light - that white tower in the water

  3. Round Island - that green blob in the background

Picture frames for your great pictures

Hey, if you take a great photo you should display it and show it off. Find great picture frames at eBay.
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Did I fall down this hill?

When you look at these three poorly taken snapshots of Arch Rock it almost appears that I took them as I fell down the hill. I thought I would sequence them and add commentary to complete the illusion.


Here I am happily leaning over the railing for this shot.




Oops! I have flipped over the railing, but I continue to take really bad pictures on the way down.




Not only did I survive the fall, but I manage to take a picture (in focus no less) of the hill I fell down.

Randomness, or did these photos have a point?

I am not sure.



This is a nice shot with the green railing of the boat featured prominently. Perhaps I was into taking pictures of piles of lumber or groups of bicycles. If it was the resort in the background I had no idea what the 'zoom' function might be used for.





Was I spying on the nice couple wearing their sweaters over their shoulders? Maybe I meant to capture the busy downtown street.

Was this taken on purpose or simply an accident?

Ahh, the old inside a vehicle shot. Was it simply an itchy trigger finger or was I trying to take a picture of something through the window? Either way, it is a nice end to my first (and only - I hope) really bad picture collection.

Visit Mackinac Island

Hey, even though my pictures don't do it justice - Mackinac Island is a great place to stay. No cars allowed. Just bicycles and horses.

Watch out for the, uh, horse droppings.

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How to take bad pictures


  • Give a kid your camera without any instructions

  • Make sure they have never used a camera before

  • Encourage them to just 'point and shoot'

  • Don't tell them not to take pictures from moving vehicles (or boats) with slow speed film

  • Tell them, "sure everyone loves foggy pictures"

  • When they do use the zoom, make sure they cut in way too close

  • Nah, you don't need a tripod. Are you trying to avoid blurry pictures, or what?

  • Wash, rinse, repeat

Think you can take worse photos?

I am sure that these aren't the world's worst photos, but they are pretty bad. Share your photo horror stories or simply comment on mine.

  • Jillianne Jan 21, 2011 @ 1:07 pm | delete
    After my dad passed away (my mom passed away 3 yrs ago) my siblings and I went through ALL the family photos that dad had saved. These photos were taken over several generations. None of them had been dated, very few had names written on the back. ALL the photos were stored in shoe boxes, etc. Most of the scenery photos we had to throw out because we had no idea where or when it was taken. Correction, we could make some intelligent guesses as to where and when. Many photos were funny at the time or meaningful at that time. Soooo, please, for the sake of your children's children... please date and store your family photos. Also, take photos of family with the thought in mind that maybe, perhaps someone several generations in the future might appreciate knowing what great-great grandma looked like. PS - I had a good laugh at your bad photos cuz I have taken some just like yours.
  • I think they're great Nov 5, 2010 @ 10:37 pm | delete
    Glad you posted these -- you may think they're useless, but they're just what I was looking for to learn how to use all the wonderful photo editing tools in Gimp. Everything from perspective to deskew to color levels to smoothing, your pics need them all.

    I would take my own, but I know better than to pick up a camera and point it at anything. At least your pics got better as you aged; mine never did. :)
  • Emele Feb 16, 2009 @ 8:37 am | delete
    Lol we all have them though don't we... Shocking to look back and see how bad we were. Cringe time!
  • Maren Nov 6, 2008 @ 7:03 am | delete
    The strange thing is that I think some of these are good. I'm thinking especially of the boat railing with lumber, and the headless horse.
  • Soulshine_Expressions Nov 4, 2008 @ 1:39 pm | delete
    Thanks for the view of the lighter side of digital photography!
    Great lens! PEACE!
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BackPorchView

Enjoying life in a small town in Michigan. I am a dad who works from home to raise my kids and I love every minute of it.

I have numerous interests... more »

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