December 7, 2013

From birth we are trained to see the world in certain ways.  This conditioning is called socialization and it makes our lives easier when society is all on the same page.  This usually works well through the first years of schooling and then an individual begins to see different ways to accomplish and solve problems that others have missed or ignored.

Obviously this conditioning applies to photography.  We all know about the Kodak instamatic camera that claimed you could get perfect pics as long as you shot the subject a certain way... their way.  Usually this meant the sun had to be coming from behind you, over your shoulder and the person had to squint into the plastic lens.

Freeman Patterson said that a major barrier to seeing is labeling.  And Monet, the painter said,"That in order to see, we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at".  We infer from the label of a thing its essence and we then think we know this subject perfectly.

In todays fast pace and overwhelming bombardment of information, it is no wonder people have shut down and lost interest in going deeper into their inner sight.  If we were to react to everything we wouldn't be able to do anything.  So we condense our experience into a quick tweet and an ignorance of substance waiting to be discovered.

If we can open up and truly reflect on our conditioning which imposes a narrow band of consciousness in our lives we can begin to open up to our own feeling and ideas we want to express photographically.

It is rare that one finds a true voice, a true calling in the beginning of his/her career. You must work at it constantly and through trial and error, likes and dislikes, you will grow as a person and as a photographer and slowly but surely you will find a unique way to photograph your subjects through  light and composition that begins to feel right, begins to say this is who I am.  And this will lead you to the realization that you are not  going to shoot and shoot frivolous pics that have no depth or meaning beyond your nose.  Why add to the glut of the usual suspects, why not create an image with purpose and bring a new vision that can stand out from the billions of images being taken on a daily basis.

As we learn and mature in our new sight awareness we find ourselves attracted to new subjects. We begin to look for light that creates the impetus for us to the show the subject our way, an expression of self rather that a imitation of others struggles and experiences.  

Your mind having been trained to organize reality a certain way always wants to impose old patterns of seeing on your subject.  This old model is a combination of your conditioning to see imagery a certain way and to look for the casual easy redundant image over the more personal ones. We all have pressures in our lives and we sometimes try and do too much, which leads to shoddy exposures of film.  We feel the pressure to hurry up and move on to the next subject so we can conclude the image taking process and to feel somewhat satisfied that we took some pictures.  We are all guilty of this and there have been times when I have taken images knowing that I didn't put all my energy and inner sight into the exposures.

Preconceiving an image before you even get there limits your ability to find your real subject. You must let yourself open up to the subject once you are there. You absorb the environment you are in, becoming aware of light and its effects on the subject present in front of you and allowing the light and composition to move you in a new direction which connects you with your subject.  Only then do you make an image.  The preconception of your image is not imprinted on you before arriving to your destination but is there once you have explored your subject fully and found the self awareness between what the subject is in your eyes only.   

I am not saying you go to an environment completely blind and ignore the qualities of that place that make it unique and photographable.  I always do my research and have a want list in mind before I get to a destination. But once there I try and open up to the surrounding possibilities and begin to look deeper into my own reactions to the landscape.

As you grow as a photographer, you will gain valuable travel experience and craftsmanship.  You will become more aware of lighting, composition, lenses, and the freedom to bring all that together to make a great image.  You will be open to serendipity and chance encounters, looking for unusual compositions that were brought about by knowledge of camera and your high intuitive nature now resisting the casual approach of past conditioning.