Creating photos over time is a cumulative process. We create a lifetime collection of many individual images that taken together are our body of work. Within our greater body of work are smaller bodies. It’s like solar systems within a galaxy. Collectively our bodies of work express our style and interests. Over time our style …
How often do we have time to mull over our scenes before we turn them into images? When they aren’t moving. Moving targets scatter your contemplation like billiard balls during a break. Grabbing an active shot comes down to getting everything in the frame triggering that shuter at just the right time and hoping everything …
Photography is as simple or complex as our little brains desire. Fisher Price makes a camera for toddlers and Linhof makes superb high-end large format cameras for the ultra pro. The basic process is the same no matter how complex the overall procedure, just push the button. To make it just ever so slightly more …
“And it’s One, two, three… who are we shootin’ for?…” (Sorry for stealing that line Country Joe McDonald, I have an earworm). 1960s rock lyrics aside, who are we shooting for? Who are you shooting for? Short answer is you, of course. It’s always you. It can’t be anyone else. It’s your vision, your seeing, …
Digital photos have no mass, they are not physical, although they do take up space; hard drive space, virtual space, mental space. Photographers are often proud of the number of photos they take. It is honorable to be prolific. The more we produce, the better we feel about our effort. The more we produce the …
How often do we re-examine a scene after getting the shot? Probably fairly often unless it’s a timing thing. Static subjects are easy to re-examine. They don’t go anywhere and don’t change quickly. Dynamic subjects are a different story. By the time you take the second look, they are different. But that doesn’t mean we …
Fast thinking doesn’t use words. It’s more of a knowing. Ya just “know.” In his book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell calls it thin slicing. Somehow, without quite consciously trying you are able to make correct conclusions about something complicated. Calling it fast think may be a bit of a misnomer, though. It may be fast in …
We take photos for two audiences, ourselves and others. We look, we find something, maybe a scene, an object, an expression, a moment and then we capture it. We frame it and manage settings to render it as an image. We are our first audience but it rarely stops there (except for fails!). There is …
Life is more fun when it’s effortless. When it flows. The brain loves effortless. There is a evolutionary urge to minimize energy output and conserve resources. To be lazy. It’s built into us, but it’s not very productive. Thought takes effort. It’s how we get things done. It’s how we survive. It’s how we grow. …
Life is a project (and it lasts a lifetime). Within the big metaproject are a seemingly infinite number of mini and micro projects. Projects give us focus. It’s something to git dun whether it’s simply cleaning off your desk or earning a degree. Photo projects give us focus, too. And can imbue our art (and …