We all have something that stops us in our tracks. This issue is about learning to recognize what catches your eye—and how that can help you find your voice as a photographer.
The primary thing I feel draws others into my photography is the ability to see something unique in the mundane or everyday setting that most people in my area walk by. Then when I reveal to them the location, they are often quite surprised that it's a place they're familiar with, but never actually saw the same space the way I did
I like deserted things I see on the street, a teddy bear, a bouquet of flowers, a balloon, the list goes on. The stories behind these sad objects never fail to draw me in.
I'm always drawn to liminal spaces, like Feroz, I love finding the simplicity and beauty in the transitionary spaces between A and B, as well as locations that are in-between their primary uses, like Canary Wharf early on a Sunday morning. Showing the beauty in the world you pass through when you're too busy thinking about work.
‘…I started to abstract reality.’ This is an absolute mountain of discussion material. It raised the statement as posed during the acrimony over I Rigoberta and the Nobel Prize of what is MY truth. Is my truth different from your, and is my reality different from your. Therefore if I abstract my reality it is bound to be seeing in a different way to anyone else's’ reality.
Two examples The Rolling Stones ‘ I see a red door and I want to paint it black’ - What actual colour is your red door when under the influence of drugs/alcohol etc, and what colour is black or is it merely symbolic. Then my wife - she had a post operation stroke following removal of a skull tumour that had mangled all her cranial nerves and cerebellum. Her ‘eyesight’ is variable / not stable depending on the day and her ability to see things clearly and for them to be stable is very limited. It is safe to say that often her view, particularly distant and when moving looks abstract! When in the mobility vehicle she uses an iPhone to record and post images so that she can look later at what she really ‘saw’. Before the operation she knew what was happening in the countryside each season, but since then she cannot see whether it is sheep or birds in a field. The image she takes of what is a very abstract scene from her perspective informs her of the reality. So is her image abstracting her own reality?
Probably a good dose of Ernst Haas and Sail Leiter is required!
moi j'aime tirer d'une scène ordinaire de la rue par exemple, ou d'un paysage : une ambiance, une atmosphère qu'un " simple passant " n'a pas pu voir, alors qu'il est passé à côté.
Extraire des détails pour les mettre en valeurs, et en faire le sujet principal !
Can't say I have ever been tempted for an internship, but dang that sounds quite fun. Lovely run through on various things here, Wesley. Glad you found your covid footing in the end. Things seem to be looking quite well since then, too.
The main draw for me is coastal locations. Not big epic landscapes, but details within the scene, such as rocks, waves, stones, detritus, and how the play of light affects it. This makes every scene continuously changing based on weather, time of day, time of year, and so on so it is rare that a return visit will be a duplication. This constant evolving of a location is a challenge, but always rewarding. My preference tends to be but occasionally colour if circumstances demand.
Also, I take photos for myself, not for anyone else or to pamper to an audience for likes and shares. I like to think that when I get it wrong I can recognise my mistakes, but, whatever I feel, no matter how much I like a photo that I’ve taken, I usually go back for a retake because I know it will always be different and always reveal a new aspect that I may have missed before but new different lighting or circumstances show reveal an extra treat. It’s about experiences, not just taking pictures.
I read this post after publishing a letter, addressed to my backseat daydreaming self as a kid who discovered seeing by watching the world pass me by as ever-changing forms outside the car window on Sunday drives with my grandparents.
How that experience never left me, even if I didn't pick up a camera until a couple of decades later, I never stopped carrying around my backseat car window with me as I travelled the world around me by foot, looking for salient moments when light, texture, tones, forms, and my inner state would align before me in the landscape, whether that was out in a field, down by the river, walking a dirt path, across the street from the paper plant, in the front yard of somebodies home, looking down a busy city street, strolling along a alleyway, or inside my own apartment.
What stops me is something that feels as close to an out-of-body experience as I can get, it is a moment that is two inches to the left, one step back, no, two steps forward, knees slightly bent, aperture f8, hmm, maybe f4, breathe, don't forget to breathe, activate the shutter release, and it's gone, but wait, what's that I see coming into alingment; rince and repeat.
I noticed years ago that photography trained my mind to look beyond a scene, for geometry, contrast, patterns, people. The human mind and body responds to focus and exercise with strengthened abilities, as many comments here reflect. Personally, what draws me most is the "here and now" experience behind the lens. I lose myself and become absorbed in the moment, the "seeing" is happening and I am interacting with my creative tool to achieve the effect I want. In this sense, it has been therapeutic, empowering me to deal with a disability I had difficulty accepting. I take one of my cameras to work and at break or lunch, a short walk and taking a few images is a wonderful way to unwind from any stress there. I can trust that I don't have to "find" a photo, they find me!
I’m a firm believer in photographing the things that capture my attention. It could be something as mundane as trash on the street. My goal when I’m out with my camera is not to search for a shot, but rather to be open to seeing.
It's an interesting question I've been asking myself from time to time, but bever really found an answer yet. I was strolling Berlin in November last year, never been there before. So I brought my camera and emwalked the city and the streets thinking that I would fotograph people and historical buldings etc. But I found myself fotographing trees, in Berlin :)
I've always felt drawn to the afternoon light around 3PM. There's something about the late afternoon light that feels lived in. It has a glow that makes me think of 90s music. I suppose it borders nostalgia and revelation in my head and when I choose to photograph, especially portraits, during that time it feels more intense.
The primary thing I feel draws others into my photography is the ability to see something unique in the mundane or everyday setting that most people in my area walk by. Then when I reveal to them the location, they are often quite surprised that it's a place they're familiar with, but never actually saw the same space the way I did
I SUPER love this too! Great share!
agree with Wesley.
When you start looking instead of seeing, you notice things in a deeper and more intenational way.
Great share
And great read as usual Wesley.
External Distractions are often so predominant that we forgot to slow down.
Thanks for those kind words Dan! Very much agreed on the external distractions!
I like deserted things I see on the street, a teddy bear, a bouquet of flowers, a balloon, the list goes on. The stories behind these sad objects never fail to draw me in.
I have been there many a time :)
I believe that if a photo makes you stop for more than 3 seconds it is trying to connect with you. I like that very much :).
I'm always drawn to liminal spaces, like Feroz, I love finding the simplicity and beauty in the transitionary spaces between A and B, as well as locations that are in-between their primary uses, like Canary Wharf early on a Sunday morning. Showing the beauty in the world you pass through when you're too busy thinking about work.
I like that very much, thanks for sharing Sean!
Long shadows, flat water & settings you can't date — even better if all three at once
killer trinity
‘…I started to abstract reality.’ This is an absolute mountain of discussion material. It raised the statement as posed during the acrimony over I Rigoberta and the Nobel Prize of what is MY truth. Is my truth different from your, and is my reality different from your. Therefore if I abstract my reality it is bound to be seeing in a different way to anyone else's’ reality.
Two examples The Rolling Stones ‘ I see a red door and I want to paint it black’ - What actual colour is your red door when under the influence of drugs/alcohol etc, and what colour is black or is it merely symbolic. Then my wife - she had a post operation stroke following removal of a skull tumour that had mangled all her cranial nerves and cerebellum. Her ‘eyesight’ is variable / not stable depending on the day and her ability to see things clearly and for them to be stable is very limited. It is safe to say that often her view, particularly distant and when moving looks abstract! When in the mobility vehicle she uses an iPhone to record and post images so that she can look later at what she really ‘saw’. Before the operation she knew what was happening in the countryside each season, but since then she cannot see whether it is sheep or birds in a field. The image she takes of what is a very abstract scene from her perspective informs her of the reality. So is her image abstracting her own reality?
Probably a good dose of Ernst Haas and Sail Leiter is required!
Big fan of Haas and Leiter myself! Your wife's "delayed" seeing is so fascinating! Thank you for sharing!
I’m drawn to the quiet, a moment or a detail that represents something peaceful and harmonious stops me
Thank you for sharing Tamsin! Love that!
moi j'aime tirer d'une scène ordinaire de la rue par exemple, ou d'un paysage : une ambiance, une atmosphère qu'un " simple passant " n'a pas pu voir, alors qu'il est passé à côté.
Extraire des détails pour les mettre en valeurs, et en faire le sujet principal !
I like that! thanks for sharing Lionel!
Can't say I have ever been tempted for an internship, but dang that sounds quite fun. Lovely run through on various things here, Wesley. Glad you found your covid footing in the end. Things seem to be looking quite well since then, too.
Thank you Hanz!!
The main draw for me is coastal locations. Not big epic landscapes, but details within the scene, such as rocks, waves, stones, detritus, and how the play of light affects it. This makes every scene continuously changing based on weather, time of day, time of year, and so on so it is rare that a return visit will be a duplication. This constant evolving of a location is a challenge, but always rewarding. My preference tends to be but occasionally colour if circumstances demand.
Also, I take photos for myself, not for anyone else or to pamper to an audience for likes and shares. I like to think that when I get it wrong I can recognise my mistakes, but, whatever I feel, no matter how much I like a photo that I’ve taken, I usually go back for a retake because I know it will always be different and always reveal a new aspect that I may have missed before but new different lighting or circumstances show reveal an extra treat. It’s about experiences, not just taking pictures.
Great insight, much agreed!
I read this post after publishing a letter, addressed to my backseat daydreaming self as a kid who discovered seeing by watching the world pass me by as ever-changing forms outside the car window on Sunday drives with my grandparents.
How that experience never left me, even if I didn't pick up a camera until a couple of decades later, I never stopped carrying around my backseat car window with me as I travelled the world around me by foot, looking for salient moments when light, texture, tones, forms, and my inner state would align before me in the landscape, whether that was out in a field, down by the river, walking a dirt path, across the street from the paper plant, in the front yard of somebodies home, looking down a busy city street, strolling along a alleyway, or inside my own apartment.
What stops me is something that feels as close to an out-of-body experience as I can get, it is a moment that is two inches to the left, one step back, no, two steps forward, knees slightly bent, aperture f8, hmm, maybe f4, breathe, don't forget to breathe, activate the shutter release, and it's gone, but wait, what's that I see coming into alingment; rince and repeat.
Love this, Matthew, so beautifully said!
I noticed years ago that photography trained my mind to look beyond a scene, for geometry, contrast, patterns, people. The human mind and body responds to focus and exercise with strengthened abilities, as many comments here reflect. Personally, what draws me most is the "here and now" experience behind the lens. I lose myself and become absorbed in the moment, the "seeing" is happening and I am interacting with my creative tool to achieve the effect I want. In this sense, it has been therapeutic, empowering me to deal with a disability I had difficulty accepting. I take one of my cameras to work and at break or lunch, a short walk and taking a few images is a wonderful way to unwind from any stress there. I can trust that I don't have to "find" a photo, they find me!
yes yes and yes!!
I’m a firm believer in photographing the things that capture my attention. It could be something as mundane as trash on the street. My goal when I’m out with my camera is not to search for a shot, but rather to be open to seeing.
that's the way!
It's an interesting question I've been asking myself from time to time, but bever really found an answer yet. I was strolling Berlin in November last year, never been there before. So I brought my camera and emwalked the city and the streets thinking that I would fotograph people and historical buldings etc. But I found myself fotographing trees, in Berlin :)
They do have such awesome trees in that city! and photo booths!
I've always felt drawn to the afternoon light around 3PM. There's something about the late afternoon light that feels lived in. It has a glow that makes me think of 90s music. I suppose it borders nostalgia and revelation in my head and when I choose to photograph, especially portraits, during that time it feels more intense.
I like that link of 90s music with the late afternoon light!
A melancholy look
never fails :)