In the zone...

J

jky

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When out shooting, ever experience this? The rare occasion I felt like I was "in the zone" was almost euphoric...
Cheers, j
 
Yes! I own and use all kinds of camera gear (digital, mf, af, slr, etc.), but I only get this special feeling of being in the "zone" when I'm using my rangefinders, especially the meterless ones like my Feds and Zorkis.

--Warren
 
Oh, I love it! It's what keeps me shooting. I noted this afternoon when shooting out in the country that it just wasn't clicking like that. I think I had too much equipment with me. Had an RF, 6x7 SLR, and 4x5. It seems to happen more often when I'm with one camera, one lens, and my handheld meter.
 
Happens all the time. The problem with shooting in "the zone" is that dump trucks and trains tend to sneak up behind you...
 
Warren T. said:
Yes! I own and use all kinds of camera gear (digital, mf, af, slr, etc.), but I only get this special feeling of being in the "zone" when I'm using my rangefinders, especially the meterless ones like my Feds and Zorkis.

--Warren
Click to expand...

Amazing, the art of some people able to steer the discussion into that direction no matter what the subject is :D Congrats, Warren!
 
I like best the part of driving home after this experience, when everything fits, and you know that you didn't just take photos, but got an image or two :)
 
schaubild, I too love the feeling of knowing there's at least 1-2 frames out of 36 that's decent... it makes the experience worth it.

Love that feeling of walking around town & the creative juices are flowing & your eyes just see all the possibilities in front of you without much effort & your anticipation is up to par.... you tune out the people around you, you feel as if you're the only one on the street during a busy lunch hour, you're reading the light correctly.... it sort of like "runner's high" - that thing that marathon runners get - or so I'm told.
Cheers, j
 
Pherdinand said:
Amazing, the art of some people able to steer the discussion into that direction no matter what the subject is :D Congrats, Warren!
Click to expand...

heheheh...:D :D :p

But seriously, I wouldn't say that unless it was really true... for me.

i suppose that if I was able to afford a Leica, I would have mentioned one in my original statement too :).

I have commented privately to my wife and friends about the "zone" a long time ago (outside of RFF), and how I only got when using my meterless RF cameras in particular. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it's especially good, I'd have to agree with the OP that it is almost euphoric...

I am also a long time slr user (35+ years, Nikon F2, F3, F4, etc.), and the "zone" that I get into when using slr's is good, but is an entirely different feeling.

--Warren
 
>>but what "in zone" does mean in your (or common) interpretation ?<<

Total focus on the act of creation, accompanied by the self-knowledge that you are succeeding in creating something of merit.
 
okay, jky and vince described it well.

In psychology terms, it's called "flow" (I just found this out).

You can read about it here.

It's commonly referred to as being "in the zone", a term used by people in sports quite often.

--Warren T.
 
VinceC said:
>>but what "in zone" does mean in your (or common) interpretation ?<<

Total focus on the act of creation, accompanied by the self-knowledge that you are succeeding in creating something of merit.
Click to expand...


It has it's counterpart - that sickening nervousness when you are on your way to the lab hoping that everything will come out as wished it to, or ditto when your developing the film praying you don't make some cock-eyed mistake and wreck everything.
 
I'm often in the "zone," with my magical rangefinders, that's when I get the photos that are really Zen--the essence of emptiness, totally black--forgot to take the lens cap off.
 
Toby said:
It has it's counterpart - that sickening nervousness when you are on your way to the lab hoping that everything will come out as wished it to, or ditto when your developing the film praying you don't make some cock-eyed mistake and wreck everything.
Click to expand...
... I'd categorize this as "ball-dropping" :) definitely bites....

Warren, I didn't really realize this until my wife commented on how she "doesn't exist" when I get into this "flow". Funny 'cause I enjoy having her with me only to have her disappear when I'm shooting....
Just wish it happened all the time.

Cheers! j
 
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