Re: [Leica] What makes a good photo (was: Lee's week four)

[S Dimitrov <sld@earthlink.net>]

Why do I get the feeling that this going to wind up as some sort of
research material with the usual turgid academic excretions adhered to it.

Slobodan Dimitrov


Henry Ambrose wrote:
> 
> I wrote:
> >> For an experiment try turning off all that you "know" about taking
> >> pictures then go out and do it. Shoot a roll of only things that interest
> >> you. Walk around until you see something interesting. Don't "dress them
> >> up" shoot EXACTLY what piqued your interest. Don't use any of the rules
> >> you know, reject them. Come back and look really hard at the film. What's
> >> happening?
> Martin replied:
> >Yeah, the two schools.  I'm of the other one: First you learn the rules,
> >then you break them, but in interesting ways.  I don't believe that you can
> >turn off what you know.  You carry it with you at all times.  You cannot
> >switch it off.  The trick is to know it so well that you use it in more
> >abstract ways, that you break free of the lowest level of knowing it.  I
> >believe that with my way of doing things, the ability to analyse (the "look
> >really hard at the film" part) is enhanced and rather than doing and "seeing
> >what happened" you can conciously do.  Which, ultimately, allows you to
> >express more.
> >
> >M.
> and Martin also wrote:
> >I like both of these -- and they go back to photographic clichés.  Know for
> >a given situation what the photographic cliché is and then don't to it: do
> >something different.  At the moment, I'm very much exploring photographic
> >clichés, conciously taking the unexpected, mundane, unsurprising photograph
> >so that I get to know it, get to feel it in my gut when I'm confronted with
> >it.  Then I can start finding ways to break out of the mold.  Like music,
> >where people practice scales and variations until they can use one structure
> >to create others.
> 
> No, I am suggesting an exercise that is close to what you are saying.
> Reject what you know (the cliche that you already learned).
> You know cliches whether you know it or not. Make any stupid picture you
> want but NOT the cliche one. You already know the rules. And you can't go
> out and say "I'm not making cliches" you go out and say "I'm
> photographing that which is interesting just as I find it  - first
> thought."
> 
> Put your brain and intellect on vacation and photograph what you see.
> Sure they're still with you and you can't completely send them away for a
> day. Just listen to the other part that sees without thinking.
> 
> It is hard to shoot a roll of film this way. Very hard. Lots of "why are
> you making a picture of this?' and "no walk over there it looks better"
> Then just ignoring all that and photographing only what I found
> immediately interesting.
> 
> Henry