[Leica] Going Places

[Afterswift at aol.com (Afterswift@aol.com)]

In a message dated 1/12/05 8:02:05 PM, fotabug@comcast.net writes:

> Just a few thoughts on getting to know the aesthetics of creative
> photography.? It isn't a bad influence, it becomes part of good habits.
> Result?? The work of everyone of us is different and very personal.
> ----------------------------------
Since a scene suggests an idea; and the idea suggests the technique which 
makes that idea manifest, I always try to find the idea in the print as a 
viewer. 
Idea and technique come together in composition to my mind. The composition, 
therefore, is where the quality of a true photograph can be found. Not in 
the 
framing.

Sometimes s subject overawes a photographer to the point where the only idea 
he has is the reaction to put that dramatic image on film or pixel. Sorry, 
but 
were I judging prints those alluring shots would get my appreciation but not 
my vote. 

I would seek those images which speak to me with the mind of the 
photographer. If an image resurrects the insight of the original impression 
of the 
photographer, that print is successful. But that insight must be powerful 
and have an 
esthetic dimension if art is present. I'm not referring here to 
photojournalism or studio work; although portraiture -- particularly the 
environmental sort 
-- may be another matter. 

What I look for: Relationships the bind the elements in the scene in such a 
way that they reveal the message the photographer recognized. Techniques 
most 
commonly used are scale, perspective, contrast, directionality, color or 
contrast, motion. In short, a photographer must know his stuff and be able 
to parse 
complexity fast and think on his or her feet.

Now you know why I don't shoot very many frames. The only danger of the 
idea-oriented approach to photography is that the photographer could lust 
after 
illusions: try to embrace an idea whose elements aren't there. A painter has 
no 
such problem. Which is why field art photography isn't for the impatient, 
lazy 
or the faint-hearted. 

Bob