[Leica] Re: What makes a good photo, by Ted Grant

[firkin@netconnect.com.au]

g'day Jem and Ted,

I've been trying to reply to his for a day or so --- everytime I start,
something stops a "meaningful" discussion. the last interuption was the
continual crashing of the computer which has required a "rebuild" ;-)

Ted wrote 
> ==============
> Again I ask the question, "what makes you shoot when you do?" Instinct?
> Experience? Gut feeling? What and why?  Over to you my friend.
> ================
Ted,
 
the short answer to your question is that I see the image I want before the
camera comes into play, and I often miss it. This is fine, of course, for
"environmental" images, usually whilst travelling. I "guess" which lens I
need, bolt it on, looking at the scene for exposure problems, frame and
align the components, set exposure and fire. If I want a person in the
image, I might set up and wait. The initial decision to capture a picture
is gut ie "Oh that's an image!", but the 'moment' is less important. For
decisive moment people images, I've learn't to have the camera, exposure
and focus ready, I move my legs to "frame" it, and raise the camera and
grab. I'm "hunting" for these shots, using increasing experience and
instinct. If the subject is not alerted to my presence, I will advance the
film and try again. Here is where a rapid winder would be great, though I
prefer to lower the camera away after shutter release. For these images, I
like an external bright finder or TLR camera. It has not always been this
way. The longer discussion follows ;-)

Ok, someone also asked me what I meant by fighting against my "style". I'm
lazy, a child of the Television era, I love "instant gratification". I took
up photography "seriously" aged 13 when I started developing my own films,
and I avoided sports by photographing them at school for the school paper.
Unlike every other camera user at school, I avoided the "communal"
darkroom, preferring to do "everything" myself. This obscession with
'control' means that I get overwhelmmed by 'projects', and never really
give any of them the care they deserve. I learn't to process prints without
guidance -- for example, I would just overexpose the print, and pull it
from the developer when I judged it to be right under the red light,
whipping it into fixer to "freeze" the action. I used the heat of my hands
to burn in areas. Exposure was always left up to the camera and I spent my
time trying to 'capture moments', usually at school sports. 

I think I became good at judging the moment to release the shutter, a skill
which made me a very fine photographer of a party, and this with casual
images of Weddings and other events, became my "forte" or what I would call
my style. I am fighting against it, because who wants to have a portfolio
of drunkards ;-) and the quality of my prints was always "suspect". I am
therefore trying to learn a bit of theory, improve 'quality control' and
find some sense of composition and humour in my photographs. I am also not
invited to many parties any more, and so I need new subjects and new
outputs for my interest. This is why FOM2 is such a useful project for
people like me, who want to capture images of the world around them, but do
not have an output --- the experience of life is only valuable when it is
shared. 

So how do I photograph. Party style involves getting a feel for the group,
moving amongst the crowd, and getting them used to having a photographer
there. This usually takes about half an hour. I then try to capture
everyone at the event at least twice, with a mixture of posed and casual
images, being ready to find an unusual angle on a common event -- say the
cake cutting. I take lots of images and cull back to series of images which
shows every individual at the event. I give this series to the hosts. Very
popular after the event ;-) sometimes hated by any official photographer
;-)

Travel: I travel to photograph, and so every day, I'm looking for images. I
usually use kodachrome to record the entire trip, and I do not hesitate to
take an image just to record it, even if the lighting is horrible or the
crowds are intrusive. I like to remember the trip. 

I'm trying as I said above to raise the level of my photography both before
and after the shutter is released. Long slow process I'm afraid ;-) and
work takes up too much of my time --- perhaps I'll always be true to my
style --- jack of all trades, but master of none ;-)


> Jem
> (wishing these discussions could take place face to face, rather than 
> through several thousand miles, and hours, of cyberspace!)

Yes, I remember those discussions last time in London over a beer --- great
memories, even if the photos of the event are suboptimal ;-)

Cheers to all and sorry I'm raving, but this was created in between X-rays
- --- as I said work will muck up the day

Alastair

afirkin.com