Quick Quotes: Peter Adams

"Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field."

Peter Adams

I thought this quote was particularly pertinent following my last posting "Everything's Been Done". Been done, yes, but with a different depth of feeling applied than the one you will use. Your depth of feeling may not be any 'better' or 'worse'.....just different. And as Andy and Colin pointed out in the comments section of that post, that is what makes each photograph unique, even when the subject has been photographed many times before.

Everything's Been Done

When I was in a bit of a nature photography rut recently, I found myself wondering how many more pictures of waterfalls, flowers, fall foliage, and mountains the world really needed. But as I began to think about it more carefully, I realized that one could ask the same thing of almost any subject. How many more images of abandoned buildings, cityscapes, smiling people from other cultures, and portraits of people we don't know does the world really need?

Interesting questions! But if the answer is none......than what we are left with is to go out and photograph simply because whatever the subject is has not been photographed very much in the past. That might lead to some interesting images, but my guess is that those interesting shots would be lost amidst millions of inane photos with little artistic merit that were taken simply because of the novelty. We have all seen plenty of those already.

My conclusion is that the vast majority of what I am going to photograph in my life has already been photographed before.....and quite frequently. BUT, the issue is not has it been photographed before but has it been portrayed the way I see it? In the end, I realize that one's audience isn't simply interested in your image of a waterfall because they haven't seen a waterfall before but, rather, that IF they are interested in your photograph it is because they want to see the waterfall the way you see it....through your eyes.

I think the answer, for me, always comes back to making photographs of the subjects that I am interested in and have a passion for. If you don't have a real desire to make images of the subject you are photographing it is unlikely that many people will want to see that subject through your eyes.

So, I am going to shoot what I love......but what I love to shoot is open to change from time to time based on interest, but never simply based on novelty!

Experimentation

For the last week, I have been on a family vacation in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. This was a family outing and so the opportunities for serious photography were somewhat limited. Nonetheless, I did get out to photograph early on two or three mornings, before the rest of the family got up. In coming posts I will show some of these images. But today, I wanted to write about experimentation because I think it is one of the most creative and overlooked aspects of photography.... and the digital age makes experimentation easy.

Most people know how to make abstracts by moving the camera during exposures. This, and just about any other 'experiment' with motion, shutter speed, and aperture can be easily accomplished and the results seen immediately on the LCD screen of a digital camera. Although I don't suggest that immediate editing decisions regarding any images be made 'on the spot' (I think more deliberate editing is better done with a larger image on the computer screen), the immediate feedback of digital can help guide you on a course. In the case of camera movement during an exposure, the LCD can give important feedback as to whether the degree and speed of camera motion is giving you the type of results you were hoping for and suggest changes that can then be used to achieve the look you want.

One afternoon, while waiting for my kids to get ready to go out for dinner, I was walking through the garden in back of the condo where we stayed. There was a plethora of orange lilies growing and I had a few minutes to spare, so I got my camera out. I didn't want to spend time taking the types of flower photos that I might typically take at home, so I decided to experiment a bit and took a series of images using camera motion. I was hoping that the resultant abstract blur might express the essence of these beautiful, but common, orange flowers in a different sort of way.

Lily Abstract
Copyright Howard Grill

I can understand how some might say the image is little more than a blurry flower photo, but to me it communicates a bit more....

Quick Quotes: Anthony Barboza

"You are putting on paper, in print, what you sense and feel in your mind"

Anthony Barboza

I have written many times about The Candid Frame podcast. For a short period of time there were no new episodes.....well, that time is over and there is a new podcast available now. The latest interview is with photographer Anthony Barboza, which can be heard here.

The interview really brought out Barboza's personality and thoughts about art and photography. I particularly enjoyed the quote I have reproduced above, as it really puts into words a deep and emotional feeling that I have about the photographic process.

Mill Via Pinhole

I was looking over some of my older images and ran across this one, which is from a time when I was experimenting with pinhole photography using film. I could be wrong, but I don't believe I have posted it before.

McConnell's Mill
Pinhole Photo On Film
Copyright Howard Grill

I did enjoy photographing this way, but it became quite cumbersome to develop the film in my basement and then scan the film even before bringing the image into Photoshop. However, I became quite pleased a year or so ago when I found that I could once again do some pinhole imaging using the new LensBaby with drop in optics!

With the drop in pinhole / zone plate optic one can now do pinhole and zone plate imaging digitally, without film. Some might call this heresy.....but when you have limited time you do what is practical.

We Are Not Alone

A bit of a surprise link today....with no clue as to what you get. Suffice it to say that it is reassuring that creative lapses happen to everybody....even the 'greats' . Here it is put into words far better than I could ever have hoped to!

Daniel Stainer

Every so often you run across someone who seems to be similar to yourself. And so it is with Daniel Stainer. I ran across his blog entitled "Illuminations" and noticed that we share many of the same philosophies and tend to photograph in many similar ways.

I actually e-mailed him and, as it turns out, we only live about an hour or so from each other and had briefly met under non-photographic circumstances eight or nine years ago, though I hadn't initially recalled that. So we decided to go out photographing together and had a great outing at a place called Frew's Mill. The light wasn't all that great by the time we got there, but we still enjoyed the experience of photographing nonetheless. Below is one of Daniel's moody images taken when the lighting was more conducive to making photographs.

Frew's Mill
Copyright Daniel Stainer

So check out his blog and his image gallery as well. There are some inspirational images and writing to be seen and read!

Show Themes

I am a bit befuddled about themes. Most juried art and photography shows have submission themes. Knowing that such themes are usually loosely interpreted, I nonetheless try to have my submissions demonstrate a clear relationship to the requested theme. While some shows seem to stick to the stated topic, there are still many where I am frequently surprised that, at least in my opinion, many of the accepted submissions don't seem even remotely associated with the submission theme, even with what I view as its loosest interpretation.

This leads to me wonder.... how important are statements of show themes? How important is trying to think of a construct wherein your submission would fit into the stated theme? Is it the artists or the judges job to understand how a submission fits into a stated theme?

No answers here. Just some rambling thoughts .......