With all the snow we have been having here recently, I have made an interesting observation which makes me wonder how very different photographers might be from the rest of the world (said only somewhat tongue in cheek).
For many, many years I saw snow as white. At that time, I had already put down my camera for several decades in order to pursue career training. Several years ago, when I finally had the opportunity to rekindle my prior interest in photography, it soon became very apparent that snow, while white, often appeared to have color casts on the slide film that I was shooting at the time. The color cast on the snow depended on such factors as weather conditions and sky color, the specific location of the snow (in sun or in shade), or what color object was nearby.
At the current time, odd as it may seem, I believe I have started to train myself to see at least some of these casts before taking the photograph. This is particularly true in the early morning when the snow may have a slightly blue cast on it before sunrise (that is, during the very few ‘blue sky’ winter days that we have here). Likewise, if I am still out shortly after sunrise it seems obvious that the snow, if not shaded, has a warm color cast to it.
The other morning I asked my wife if she noticed that the snow had a slightly bluish appearance. I got a very odd look in return (the what have you been drinking look). Nonetheless, now that I know what I am looking for, I can see it......not all the time, and not spontaneously. But when I think about it and look very carefully.....well, there it is.
Certainly photographers and artists have a unique way of looking at the world, noticing details and shapes that others might not. In addition to seeing those types of details, I think that, as photographers, it is also quite possible to train ourselves to see other facets of the physical world, such as color casts, that others simply don’t because they have not looked long enough, hard enough, or with an open enough mind.
11 comments:
Howard, I think you are so right. We do see what so many other people don't see. I don't know which came first, the chicken or the egg. Do we see more because we are photographers or are we photographers because we see more?
I never use to understand what color I was seeing until I started working with color photography. Now, like you, I don't just see the grass or snow or whatever without seeing how the color changes in the light and what is reflected around it. It is a blessing and a curse. We are doing some painting and I'm obsessed about the color in the different lights of the room. I just told my husband that the pale terracotta that the painters just put up is "lush". He laughed and said he didn't know what a lush color was. LOL
It does seem like a curse when I am running around the house looking at a print in all kinds of light after liking it under my Ott light but knowing it will be displayed and viewed in other types of lighting!
The wierdest thing here is that at this time of year the daylight hours are so short that if I want to view a print in 'natural light' I have to wait until the weekend because it is dark when I go to work and dark when I arrive home. But it is late February and there is light at the end of the tunnel....6 more weeks.
By the way, glad to hear the kitchen is working out so well!
Howard, of course we see things differently than 'normal' people. That should be expected as our senses and taste are educated to see the world in a photographical (or at least aesthetical) way.
Nevertheless, our different mode of viewing things raises the interesting problem of 'who are our pictures aimed to?' or, putting it in a different way, 'will the people understand our photos?', 'should I consider the public when making a picture?'. For a low-level hobbist such as myself, the answer is easy and bears no consequence (I shoot for myself) but for people making their living from selling pictures the question is far from irrelevant.
Best regards
Oronet, thanks for dropping by. In years that have long gone by, the amateur was actually held in higher regard than the professional, as they were doing it for the love of the art....
The trained eye can certainly see more - from what I've read the areas in the human cortex alter depending on the use (input) in that area - eg braille readers have more cortical representation in their fingers than someone like me. So perhaps the perceptions that we heighten with sensitive viewing change our brains, never to return completely to the way they were.
And some researchers believe that people who see creatively have some cortical differences (in the form of looser connections between 'colour' and 'shape' for example) - some of these appear to be inherited, others may well be developed.
So, we probably had some innate tendency to see things in a more creative way, but we also develop this skill as we practice.
Oronet asks who is our public. Something I hold as being incredibly important is to develop and retain my honesty and creative integrity. While I know that some people will not like what I create, and while I acknowledge that what people say about what I create has an effect on me, I want to produce something that is authentic to me. One great way to 'dumb down' a creative strength to become homogenous is to try to please - one reason people like what we produce is because of its uniqueness. I think even professional photographers (and any artist trying to make a living from a creative endeavour) treads a fine line between pleasing the audience vs staying true to the inner self.
One thing that digital has given me is the opportunity to shoot multiple images, play with the images without fear of cost standing in the way. This means every effort can be a no risk experiment. Some commentators have said that the ability to take lots of images makes for less careful composition - I disagree! For me it means I can take risks, and have the vision that I never had when film meant the costs could climb alarmingly!
Adiemus, thanks for the very eloquent input!
Oronet asks who is our public. Something I hold as being incredibly important is to develop and retain my honesty and creative integrity. While I know that some people will not like what I create, and while I acknowledge that what people say about what I create has an effect on me, I want to produce something that is authentic to me
Adiemus, I also liked a lot what you said. Even if I acknowledge that I shoot for pleasing myself, it isn't always easy to disregard the effect of what other people are going to say. In a way, there is some point of exhibitionism in all forms of art, isn't there? Your appeal to honesty and authenticity is inspiring to me.
The short answer is Yes. As designers, composers, fabricators of the images we see around us in our daily lives, makes us more conscious of their aesthetic value. We often look at things -- whether buildings, furniture, appliances, etc -- in a rather critical way; whether it suits our tastes or not, our idea of what is elegant, ugly, etc. This gift develops over time, with practice.
Howard, do you ever take pix of the same item, eg the snow, at varying times of the day, just to see what you get in the way of colour cast and interesting effects? Using, of course, various fstops/shutter speed and keeping a record, with your comment then against each using your own value-system of what you think constitutes a good/excellent/not so good image.
I have to presume that your photography training has given you the basis for becoming more discerning, and that your experience in this regard has honed your skill -- observational and in practice -- taking into consideration your eyesight weaknesses as well.
Janina, I never have done the exercise of coming back to a location at various times of day, mainly because of time limitations. Sounds like a good idea though. It would certainly be nice to have the time to do all these things that one puts in the back of their head on the to do list!
I can relate! Have you ever had this happen? - where you looked at something and perhaps dismissed it immediately because it was in bad light versus just appreciating it was there to begin with?
Sure have...and it is usually when I am going out with a 'goal oriented', Type A mindset...gotta get pix instead of going as an adventure...
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