Are you able to master luck?

Seems that Bernard Shaw was right: "The photographer is like the cod which produces a million eggs in order that one may reach maturity."
 
Wasn't it Bresson that said you have to milk a lot of cows just to get a little cheese.

If you don't put in the work you will not get lucky consistently thats for sure.
 
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything" .. so as not to be out Shaw'ed :D
 
Roger Hicks said:
But do you actually believe it? Some days, sure. Maybe fairly often. Some days, quite possibly more than 20 rolls. But every day? This sounds like myth-making to me.

Cheers,

R.
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Roger,

I didn't make the news, I just reported it. I have am relying entirely on the person who wrote that post.
 
I suspect the luck HCB was referring to was pressing the shutter at exactly the right moment to catch the man in mid-air. Catching this moment now days with several frames per second is not hard. Doing it in the 30s with a Leica III is another story.

But his position, his waiting (how long?), his understanding that something of this nature would eventually occur, none of that was luck.

Although I doubt that HCB always shot 20 rolls per day, I have no doubt that when he was working he would frequently shoot 20 rolls per day. Based on what I understand, he also hand rolled his own film, at least in the early days, so he was shooting what he had loaded the night before.
 
And not only the guy jumping but the posters in the background and the reflection of the jumper and the poster in the water. Repeating shapes galore.

I think many times today people miss the moment with FPS. Sometimes the moment is between FPS. I don't shoot FPS and I get lucky once in a while. I have really worked on my timing and I still am working on it.
 
The point about contacts is really interesting. How long does it take you to go through ONE contact sheet? I take it for granted that you've paid someone else to dev the films and print them.

Either HCB was incredibly and very rapidly decisive or he didn't go through 720 contacts a day.

And yes, I talked to one of his printers once, too, and he said that consistent exposure was not HCB's strong point. Or framing in camera: he was strong on cropping instructions.

Cheers,

R.
 
Either HCB was incredibly and very rapidly decisive or he didn't go through 720 contacts a day.
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You know how it goes...

HCB: I got myself two blocks of film today, that should last me a while.
First quoter: HCB buys his film 20 rolls at a time.
Second quoter: HCB uses 20 rolls of film a week!
Third Quoter: HCB uses 20 rolls of film a day!

Give it time, he'll be up to shooting 20 rolls an hour soon enough.

:angel:
 
Mr. Cannon, my High School's AV Guy (back in the days of 16mm films, film strips) told me once that the hardest thing to learn as a photographer is how to edit. He said it was one of the skills that made the difference between very good photographers and great photographers.

I think he was right.

B2
 
I don't believe you can "master" luck but I do believe you can improve your chances of success and reduce the risk and impact of failure. However, doing so removes a lot of "luck" because, by definition, you are manufacturing circumstances rather than leaving "luck" to run its course.
 
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