Thoughts, notes, quotes, and approaches that have helped your photography.

First, like Jon, I look a lot and always carry a camera.
And as with Andrew, "I very rarely regret taking a picture, but I often regret not taking a picture."

Beyond that, well, a couple of ideas are important:

"Live like you will never die, love like you've never been hurt, dance
like no-one is watching." Alex White

"You better watch out what you wish for
It better be worth it; So much to die for" Courtney Love

And, of course, that classic Bill Mattocks line in my .sig here.

William
 
On low light photography without a meter: 1) Give as much exposure as you can hold steady for. 2) You probably need one or two stops more exposure than your first guess.
 
Sparrow has mentioned this before, but it is my main influencer: What you leave out, is as important as what you put in. As in: visual elements that do not add to the image, detract from the image.
 
When my son was about 15 he wanted a guitar. I bought him a guitar. He practiced and listened to my collection of 60's rock music and practiced some more. One day he came to me and he said "Dad, I just realized why there was such an explosion of musical creativity in the late 1960's!"

"Why is that, son?" I asked.

"Because they were all stoned or tripping!" was his reply.

I think there's more than a kernal of truth to that. Seeing or hearing things from a different mental perspective can be a major influence on creativity. For Janis Joplin it was that bottle of Southern Comfort she always carried with her on stage. Gene Smith was reputed to keep a bottle of Scotch next to the enlarger in the darkroom. The Grateful Dead sang about "Ridin' that train, high on cocaine!". Whether backstage with the band or out in the audience on the other side of the stage you could get a decent buzz just breathing the air. It was an era when I used to take a few tokes with my attorney when I was at his office. To turn him down was impolite.

Retiring at 62, the house and the photography gear all paid for, no longer worrying about keeping editors and art directors happy, all very liberating, extremely liberating. That's probably the most altered state of mind I've ever experienced, just the freedom of it. Buying that 15mm lens and getting to the point where it's about all I ever use has been a fun journey into a new way of seeing. If people like it, great. If people hate it I don't give a damned. Their problem, not mine. Better than any drug!

I guess that what I'm really saying is don't worry about it, just do it. Worry isn't a very good mind altering experience.
 
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"Photography is not at all about what is in front of the camera - it's all about what is behind the camera"

Wolfgang Tillmans in a lecture on his work I was attending some years ago.

This quote, still in my mind, did really change my perception on this media we're talking about. It still helps when strugling with certain scenarios when you just try to hard to show things how they are..
 
After carefully setting up a shot, I sometimes turn around. I've been finding some very good shots directly behind myself lately.
 
Al Kaplan, great post above, THANKS.


Here's my "old wise man" point:

First, take a GOOD LOOK at each and every frame you shoot - if it's film make a GOOD QUALITY contact sheet or DECENT scans and look at, and reflect on, each and every frame. Presumably you pushed that shutter button for a reason. Why? Did you achieve what you wanted? If not, why not? This process is crucial for me in order to improve my photography, because I typically only REALLY LIKE about 1% of the pictures I take, yet I pushed that shutter button at that particular moment the other 99% of the time because I felt there was something there. The failures teach more than the successes, so don't just take a quick look at your shots and pick the best few to scan or print. This process takes time, but it's worth it.
 
go to utube and find videos on HCB... there are some interviews of him and every minute he talks it's pure philosophy... my favorite is: 'if you want it, you wont have it' he refers to his decisive-moment photos. It's all about being receptive.

Adji
 
nikon_sam said:
I went through this recently at an event I shot for a friend...It was a tough shoot...But it's something one needs to go through every once and a while...It teaches (more like forces you) to see and then see the things that don't just jump out at you...You get creative and find angles that you normally wouldn't...
A week later I shot a family portrait and it was soooo much easier and I enjoyed it soooo much more...had it not been for the first event I would not have realized how easy and fun the portrait shot was...

sepiareverb...great idea, great assignment...
Click to expand...

It really does make you think differently. Even when I'm pretty much set in my way of working on a project and getting good images I'll run the 4 rolls and often find a new perspective or direction.

The making some things seem easy is a great bonus!
 
Bob, I wonder if the same benefit is achieved by using digital, or is it just too quick and easy. Film involves a greater commitment of time and money. Since there is more at stake with film, the process may have a more profound effect. It would be interesting to put this to a test using 2 groups of photographers/students, one group using film, the other digital, and see if there is a difference in effect from this process. Hey, maybe you could apply for a grant! :)
 
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I do what I feel, that's all, I am an ordinary photographer working for his own pleasure. That's all I've ever done. - Andre Kertesz
 
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