At 14:38 10/23/00 , Chris O'Neill wrote:
>As a quick side note, I've recently noticed myself more and more saying
>things like, "Gee, the light sure looks interesting over there" and "That's
>a very pretty scene." I've come to realize that my photographic hobby is
>teaching me too SEE things, as opposed to merely LOOKING at things,
>as life whizzes by. I'm also gaining a better appreciation of things I
>never paid much attention to before like birds, other wildlife, flowers, etc.
>(although I'm still having trouble telling elk from moose and squirrels
>from chipmunks, and don't *anyone* ask me to point out a petunia cuz
>I'll probably point to a rose!) <G>
Ahhh grashopper, you will soon be able to snatch the pebbles!
Observation is the first step, and it's a different type of observation.
It's translating what you see, hear, taste, smell, feel and think in 3
dimensions at the time of making the photograph into a 2 dimensional image
that conveys to its intended viewer these senses, and capturing only a
portion of the totality that contains the essence of it using only a visual
medium. I now work at forcing myself to articulate what it is I'm trying
to accomplish with the image, and for whom. When those are answered, the
"vision" for the image to create usually follows; sometimes quickly and
sometimes with great difficulty.
My Rubicon was twofold and the journey continues:
(a) Photography is _light_ and nothing more than light. That's all that
strikes the film emlusion: light reflected, refracted, diffracted,
transmitted and/or radiated by the subject. (The Science)
(b) Photography is "making" photographs versus "taking" photographs. (The Art)
>Everytime I look at the work of members of the list, I'm both humbled
>and amazed. The talent of the people in this list is simply world class!
I too am in awe of the talent, and study how they did it technically, and
how it's organized artistically. I make blunders, sometimes enormous ones,
but never let anyone else see them (well almost nobody sees them; my better
half sees most of them; part of that "honesty" thing). ;-)
-- John
Who's getting quicker, but still cannot snatch the pebbles.
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|