Connections

[Greg M]

Glad to see this new forum.  The exploration of inner photography is as important as the outward exploration.  I got so caught up in equipment and techniques, as I am sure most beginners do, when I started.  Now, as I go through my negatives and prints, it seems my best were not what I took the photo with, but how I formed a rapport and connected emotionally with my subject.  My best ones seem to be family and friends.
   I have started to carry an Olympus Stylus Epic wherever I go, and just take it out and photograph what I encounter on an early morning walk or see alongside the road as I drive.  Very satisfying.

[Glenn Thoreson]

You mean I don't need closets full of cameras after all??? Amazing!

[Major Black]

Glad to see this new forum.  The exploration of inner photography is as important as the outward exploration.

Greg: Exactly! Inner Space is where it's at. I have been collecting my thoughts on this and will unleash them upon an unsuspecting public soon!

[Austintatious]

Let me ask you..... about the inner side of photography.
It has been stated in some of the books written by the master photographer,
Ansel Adams, that in order to get the kind of results he strove for one must visualize the image in the mind before the actual photograph is captured.
I have been reading some books on quantum physics lately, and it seems that I see a connection here. The laws of quantum physics state that our "perception"
of reality is greatly influenced by our expectations or intentions about a thing.
Have any of you ever experienced this ? Am I getting too metaphysical here?
The reason for this question is, because I too tend to get "GAS" and get caught
up in the gear that will enable me to get the kind of results I am seeking. I must have a couple dozen cameras now. Surely the photographer makes the image, not the equipment.
I value your thoughts on this topic.

Charles

[Major Black]

Let me ask you..... about the inner side of photography.
It has been stated in some of the books written by the master photographer,
Ansel Adams, that in order to get the kind of results he strove for one must visualize the image in the mind before the actual photograph is captured.

Diffferent artists have different goals and ways of attaining them. Ansel knew where he wanted to go and used previsualization to get there. I suspect that he had been where he wanted to go before.

I seek to go places that I haven't been before, where previsualization becomes a trap. I am more of a jazz musician than a classical player. The journey is where it's at. The pictures are souvenirs. Being in the moment (not thinking about where you want to go but knowing that you are there) is important.

[Glenn Thoreson]

I have a really hard time previsualizing a shot. I don't know why. I do know what I want when I see it, however. I'm also pretty picky about what I think is a scene worthy of a photo. That means I don't shoot enough.

[LarryD]

I shoot therefore I am. I took this to heart and it just developed into a part of me that is a capture of light in the iris if time.

[Zen Librarian]

I think when you 'previsualize' a photo you expect it to turn out a certain way.... Expectation is a prison (at least according to Robert Fripp!).  You're setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect a photograph to turn out just the way you visualized it. Sometimes it does of course, but I guess you can't expect that always to happen.

The process is the journey and the joy:  Seeing something that might be visually interesting, thinking about your composition, setting your camera settings, holding your breath when you take the shot.   I love the joy of seeing the finished product and remembering the process it took to get there.  Yes, a photograph is a souvenier of the journey, that's a great way to put it.

[KirkT]

But, if you just snap a photograph without any visualization or expectation, which just happens to be great, how is it "yours"?  It's an accident and by that nature, not within your control and, in my opinion not "yours".

I have a difficult time being proud of a photo like that.  I'd much rather have a photo that I took where the contrast or composition, for example, did not turn out the way I expected than a photo that works perfectly that was a total accident.  With the bad photo, I can learn to adjust my photographic reflective equilibrium*.



*I just made that term up  

[Greg M]

the F/64 group's credo reflected the importance of "straight photography".  It was a reaction to pictorial photography.  Yet the images of Saint Ansel bear little resemblance to the objects he photographed, as seen, and look more like a tribute to the god-like aspects of nature he so admired.  His zones, while scientifically determined, are perfect for the vision you wish to create of your subject. Head and heart and/or heart and head.
  Our photos, even the serendipitous ones, probably reflect that same inner direction on what we believe, think, and value more than we realize. Anybody ever have a "feeling" that this would make a good photo, walked past, and then knew they needed to come back and take the photo?  Then spent time deciding which piece of equipment to use and how to set it up?

[NancyB]

I find that some of my best shots were taken quickly with very little or no previsualization.  I credit this with my ingrained knowledge of composition and exposure and a familiar camera working on auto-pilot.  You can call it serendipity if you like.  I also find sometimes that the more I previsualize a shot the worse the picture seems to come out, almost as if I over-thought the shot.  When that happens, I will go back to the same spot another time and try the shot again.  Sometimes I get it right, sometimes not.

[Major Black]

You're setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect a photograph to turn out just the way you visualized it. Sometimes it does of course, but I guess you can't expect that always to happen.

If you learn photography fully, it will "turn out" just the way you visualized it.
That is craft. If you allow that you might discover something new (beyond craft) and allow it to go beyond what you originally envisioned, that is art.

Regarding my; "I am more of a jazz musician than a classical player". One has to learn one's instrument fully in order to play "in the moment". If one cannot create an image that meets a preconceived desired result, you need to keep working at it. Once you have learned how to do that, you can just flow and be in the moment and not have to think about the technical side. You do not have to tie yourself down with a layout of "My image will look exactly like this- period." Be available to things that may happen that we're unexpected and use them to take you places where you may have never been. But, you need to fully learn your instrument first before you can jam with the Muse.

Remember: "It's the button on the right. Anyone can do it!"

[sandeha]

I previsualise the whole time and can remember many many shots that I never took.  Didn't have a camera, but the shots are there in my memory instead.  Those shots often inform what I'm doing when I have a camera with me.

Being open to what turns up really matters.  It stops you from rejecting stuff that didn't turn out "quite like you meant it to" and allows you to explore nuances that hadn't occured to you before.

I play Blues.  

[Major Black]

I previsualise the whole time and can remember many many shots that I never took.  Didn't have a camera, but the shots are there in my memory instead.  Those shots often inform what I'm doing when I have a camera with me.

Being open to what turns up really matters.  It stops you from rejecting stuff that didn't turn out "quite like you meant it to" and allows you to explore nuances that hadn't occured to you before.

I play Blues.  

LOL! Right on! Well said Sandeha.