November 14, 2020

Ask yourself why you are interested in making photographs. And remember that now you are competing with billions of cheap images. So making a living at photography is going to get more complicated and harder to succeed.

As with all artistic expression preparation is the key to success. We must be present in ourselves ready to travel miles to feel the elation of knowing the scene you hunted is here, where you stand.

As the light shifts startling your senses you remain calm without nervous energy overwhelming you. You have begun the most important aspect of being a photographer finding that all-important instinctive perspective that will allow you to bring out of the
chaos of overwhelming details your vision of the landscape that is your own personal revelation.

Serendipity for the photographer is no lucky break, you knew the composition you fought to get and now as the light illuminates your subject you press the shutter.

Photography is choice, seeking a reflection of yourself in the image you are creating. Image creation is always a personal involvement with the subject wether it is a street image or a still life it is your perceptual insights into the scene that is present when your image made.

To create your unique imagery you need stamina and a single mindedness that focuses your attention not on the scene per se but on how you are relating to the scene. Are you involved in the image creation or are you in a run and gun mode whereby your mind is filled with many distractions all of which are interfering with your intuitive inner perceptions demanding you stop the rat race and be present before the scene evolving.

Relax, take a deep breath and just open yourself to see and feel the landscape you are in and begin to piece together why you choose this scene and then start the journey of self revelation, your inner interpretation of the scene externalized through your visual senses creating a unique photograph.

The seeds of intuition are already planted firmly in your minds senses. You are aware of your inner universe and you understand that to create great imagery you must see beyond the formalized structure of perception through your intellect and into a feeling of a bonding connection with your subject and a willingness to be part of the scene by immersing yourself into natures miracles. This way you have laid the groundwork for creating a personal unique perspective. For you have made a deep connection with the external physical reality without over thinking its distracting nature but allowing your instinctive personal vision to guide you to your composition.

Great photography doesn’t need to be taken but made.

Shift your senses to become sensitive to your inner projections. We have to free ourselves from the devilish propaganda that instills in us at an early age to be followers of someone else’s vision instead of our own unique expressions, which will lead us into a security of thoughts and actions that demand realization. We must seek our own efforts to become comfortable in our own skin with a plan of attack to crystalize our inner being as an external visionary force.

We must focus our inner energy to move beyond the structures that inhibit our lives and to follow instead our intuitive artistic truth.

When you come upon a potential image you take your backpack off and sit and really survey the scene before you.

Your vision is on the alert. You have entered a scene that is beginning to register something of importance happening, the scene is evolving. You senses are now on alert as you dissect the scene in front of you looking for that detail that will blossom as the anchor of your photographic landscape you are preparing to make, a coherent reflection of your inner insights becoming externalized.

Then your photographic eye senses something extraordinary developing in nature’s majestic light and  you will apply your unique perspective to find the visual patterns that will create an image with power and uniqueness worthy of your visual skills.

Good writers dig deep into the minds for their characters, photographers look deep into peoples characters to make an image that not only represents the person being photographed but also the visual uniqueness of your photographic personality.

Photographers are composers just like writers feeling their way through the beginnings of their composition.

Words can make the reader feel like they are present in the scene when the author is on his game and the words flow just like the photographer who is instinctively absorbed in what he is attempting and having the patience to be still as mother nature opens her visual creation, applauding the effort the photographer took to get his unique image by supplying the light needed.

Both photographer and writer need self discipline to make words ring true and the photographer needs photographs created everyday to sustain his unique perspective and let his inner awareness of himself ring true in his photographs. Both photographer and writer need concentration and courage to sustain their talented vision.

When a writer sits down to a blank piece of paper and begins to fill that page with ideas he relies heavily on his own experiences, his own history and unique environment to help him discover his self and his characters.

A writer needs details that enhance the visual words that will create characters and a story line. Writers research their subjects, the characters that are being realized through their intuitive insights.

A photographer comes upon an infinite array of details in a scene where the writer fills the emptiness of silence with ideas, his words. The photographer eliminates excess paraphernalia, omitting anything that doesn’t contribute to the whole feeling he is trying to express. His visual intuitive senses are in high gear seeking through the scene only those details that will enhance his visual story.

Photographers need to research their visual possibilities narrowing down the details that will eventually create the photograph that you perceived without a concrete realization unveiled.

When you first came upon the scene you didn’t have the necessary visual stimulus to look further into the landscape. Only when you began to eliminate subjects and details that intruded on your unique visual perspective did you see the landscape change and get smaller in your inner revelation focused discipline. Once you see what you want and what was needed the rest of your time is spent in patience waiting for the pristine light to envelope your field of vision and complete your inner feelings externalized through a great image.

The best photographs are the simplest, they state the photographers feelings in a clear and precise way.

It is easy in stock photography to think that anything photographed will sell. And that is true if you have the only shot of a history making event and were able to in split second raise your camera or cell phone and click the shutter. But the competition is so great nowadays, so many skilled amateur photographers that if you are a professional stock photographer then you better not turn in sub-par work. And even then you are losing ground because in truth everyone now has the ability and luck to be in the right place at the right time to create an image that will sell.

I used think that photography took something away from our reality. In a split second we captured a scene and grabbed from your visual perspective, your physical presence, an external witness to the constant flow of time where human beings feel left behind, abandoned until they create a personal image that their families will keep in a precious photo album or a gallery show of your unique perspective each representing another inner viewpoint one in which you feel compelled to make images of a subject hiding its true characteristics and the only way to uncover the mystery subject is to dig deep, studying the subject until little glimpse of possibilities form and you begin to understand the scene and as you wait for the light to illuminate parts of your hidden subject you begin the necessary camera checks to make sure everything is functioning properly.

Technology is more than just tools created to sell products it also hinders the evolution of good photography.

Photography has become an albatross around the necks of professional image creators for a couple of decades now, they have been overwhelmed with the new kids on the block that use gear that pretty much takes the image for them.

This new gear takes away the importance of image creativity. It is no longer about the subject and the revelation of insightful compositions. Now it is about shooting, shooting, shooting without a care in the world about any thoughtful connection with your subject.

Digital cameras broke down the barrier between real photography of the pros and substituted cameras that took the photograph for the photographer.

People now take images without fully grasping the importance of feelings, empathy, confusion, connection etc… all paving the way to demand from you as a serious photographer to stay put, don’t run around clicking away at anything and everything, take your time, quit this run and gun theatrics of importance and just be yourself and make image that called to you to be made.

Snap shots are a penny a dozen now, you must settle into the details the scene presents, study it, focus your attention of the colors, light, time of day, early morning, late sunset, take in all mother nature’s beauty being given to you whether it is people, places, animals, still life, you must stop running away from your subjects.

Immerse yourself in the landscape seek the right light to bring out the surface details and to illuminate the landscape with beautiful texture a unique gift to you from our external reality.