Yes. When I was a kid, I climbed a 30-foot tree to get a different shot of our house.

I use a digital Nikon D5100 camera now and an iPhone, but in the age of film, I used a Rolleiflex and a Canon AE. I used a tripod (sometimes a lightmeter) and patience to get the perfect frame and shot.

It was an obsession for excellence. Now dozens of photos and...