Applause and Acclaim

A newspaper for and of the Arts

Photography:  A beginning to a vision

by

Timothy O. Sutherland

So you want to be a photographer?  Well so do I, and I am still trying.  Everywhere I look I see things that I want to keep in my memory, to savor,  time and again. I recognized this about myself a long time ago. I am an extremely visual person.

When I go to a Mall or on a busy street, I rarely see "people".  Instead I see "things". I wonder how many faces I would recognize If only I had the capacity to sort them from the crowd or the background?  This is why I tend to photograph landscapes and static things,  rather than people.

I think each of us in our inner self gravitate towards what we are most comfortable with.  People lovers like to photograph people,  earthy people like photographing nature and landscapes.  Artistic people never cease to amaze me with their ability to construct something visually from nothing.

Whatever your chosen direction,  you need instruction.  You need the tools to put into visual form what you want to preserve or share.  So many of us have gone out and purchased  a camera or been given one by a relative with the grandiose notion of becoming the next Ansel Adams or Annie Leibowitz. This only lasts until you see your first few rolls of developed film.  You ask yourself, "what happened"?  What was so beautiful when you were there is not in the photograph.  Why isn't the photograph true to your vision?  Probably because you did not have the tools and knowledge to produce the vision the way you wanted.

Tools mean education.  If you do not know how to properly use the simplest of cameras, then you are at the mercy of the "Happy accident" syndrome.  That is when, as fate would have it; all things from the lighting, the exposure, aperture and shutter speed come together through the choice made by the automatic camera to make a nice picture for you. The trouble is,  could you reproduce that shot at will?  Probably not,  emphatically not!  While new cameras with very complex computers do strive to make an intelligent decision as to exposure,  it is the human touch that makes the "artistic" decision.

What we all need to learn is that we should stop "taking" pictures and start "making" pictures.  All of us,  even those that should know better, "take" pictures.  Slow down and do what I tell my students.  "Look at what you see in the view finder and be absolutely sure that what you see is what you are willing to pay for. This is because when you snap the shutter, that's exactly what you just did, you "Bought" that picture. You are going to pay the store for the developing and the printing of that shot, chances are it will be put in a drawer for the rest of it's natural life!

"Making" pictures involves making decisions that even an automatic camera is not capable of.  Composition;  what to include in the frame is an important decision.  Choices about how much or how little depth of field is desired.  I preach over and over in my classes that "photography is nothing more than the ability to solve a set of problems to attain your visualizations.

Knowing what a good photograph is becomes paramount in helping you to compare yourself to generally "accepted" work of others.  No matter what the genre,  being exceptional technically and artistically shines through.  In later discussions,  I will get more deeply involved in the variables that can help you drastically improve your photographs.

I am also going to force myself to practice what I preach.  Right now I am on the rooftop terrace of my apartment in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico.  What wonderful opportunities behold the eye!  From here I can see billowing white clouds forming over the hills surrounding the town. The flowers, bouganvilla, and beautiful cactus plants sway in the warm gentle breeze.  I can hear church bells in the distance,  perhaps from the large Cathedral I can see in the distance.  How can I capture all of this,  or part of it?  What impresses me?  What do I want to share with others who have never been here?

A few raindrops are starting to fall, I'd better get started.......

Click here "Doors and Windows of San Miguel" to see the results.........