How big a part does luck play in photography?

ann

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the saying is f8 and be there
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Is it just photography in which this is true? Someone else who wasn't a photographer once said "art loves chance and chance loves art" (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics).
 

MattKing

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Any time I can free up a few minutes to do something photographic, I consider myself lucky .

Matt
 

copake_ham

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MattKing said:
Any time I can free up a few minutes to do something photographic, I consider myself lucky .

Matt
Click to expand...



Hi Matt,

Merry Christmas!
 

Allan Swindles

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It's about being in the right place, at the right time and having the foresight to press the button at the right moment. Some of us have to work for a living and so time is limited. Many of today's pictures which achieve acclaim are nothing more than snapshots, being successful only by the above criteria and being newsworthy. So yes, luck does help, the digi. mobile phone pic. will be used if it's the only one available, BUT A PHOTOGRAPH IT AIN'T!
 

Mateo

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Making good art is work. Becoming the naked emporer of the inbred new york art scene is luck.
 

Rombo

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If You want to take studio portrait, than I believe You will need knowledge more than lucky.
But, if You will work bad (or having bad breathe or smell) in studio, model will try to escape before You will finish photosession. Then You might need some luck to explain model why he/she should stay...

I might be joking. But there exist (even in my portfolio) photographs where some luck is present and obviously shown in photographs. If You take picture of flying birds, and they are in perfect composition - there is a little bit of luck. I can not imagine that anyone can explain birds how to fly...
 

Jim Jones

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In a controlled environment like a studio, competent subjects and photographers can make their own luck. Often, as in combat, in sports, and in nature, there are lucky opportunities open only to the photographer who is prepared to seize the moment. It takes a lifetime of preperation to make the most of a rare 1/250 second opportunity.
 

Richard Boutwell

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I think all my luck flew out the window after my first roll of film. There is one picture of 1/1000 sec. of perfection with a camera I could barely load. That piece of luck, though, is what made kept me looking and shooting. And now, I have to actually work for every picture.

As for the Sontag quote: It is mostly true. Photography, in general, is "easy." Anyone can spray a scene with an F5 and a motor drive and just hope for the best, but not everyone can be a Garry Winogrand. I would rather like to think of luck as being keenly aware and exceptionally perceptive to the world and one's place in it while being prepared to take full advantage of whatever is laid out. As for the importance of the book as a whole, so much of the current wave of photographers are influenced by her writing. This is going to be an extreme example, but it is like an atheist not accepting the Bible and therefore disregarding its importance in how it shaped the world—

I remember something Robert Adams said in one of his books or interviews about any photographer passing the same church at sunset in New Mexico would have made something equivalent to Moonrise. That is not to say Ansel didn't have to work for it, but that, in general, we are all capable of responding to beauty when we encounter it. I wonder what the world would be like if Ansel was cruising along five mph faster or slower . . .
 

Doyle Thomas

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"Take whatever she says with a pinch of salt and remember the saying that "the harder I work, the luckier I get". Now who said that."

"THE MORE I PRACTICE, THE LUCKIER I GET"
BEN HOGEN (GOLFER)

"WHERE OBSERVATION IS CONCERNED, CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPAIRED MIND"
LOUIS PASTURE
 

Shawn Rahman

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Richard Boutwell said:
Anyone can spray a scene with an F5 and a motor drive and just hope for the best, but not everyone can be a Garry Winogrand.
Click to expand...


Wait a minute - that's exactly what Winogrand did. 20 to 30 iconic and superb shots out of what? A half-million that he exposed?

I understand your point, however - you and you are absolutely correct.
 

Photo Engineer

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The most spectacular scene I ever saw took place when I had no camera.

An F-100 was being refueld and stocked with explosives for a mission. I walked by on the other side of the 12' revetment and was about 200 ft away when some unlucky tech fired a sidewinder missile into the LOX truck. The first thing was I heard the distinctive sound of the sidewinder fire, and then I felt the hair on the back of my neck burn and it looked like a huge flashbulb went off. I turned to see the LOX truck in pieces suspended about 100 ft in the air. Flames were everywhere, and the tires of the truck were burning and turning slowly.

All 12 workers survived!

That image is etched into my memory as no other, and all I could think was that I hoped everyone was ok. No thought about a camera, but if I had had one, those pictures would certainly be in my gallery.

Does luck play a part? Yes indeedy do! I can prove it with more than one story like this.

PE
 

Arglebargle

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I spend all my lottery money on gasoline. There is certainly an aspect of gambling in my approach to photography. Some days I find the magic combination, other days I'm just spinning wheels and go home with nothing. If there was no chance of failure, it would not be as rewarding when you do get something worthwhile.
 

Videbaek

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Often, it's the tiny detail that makes a photographic picture special rather than normal -- unforeseen magic that can't be planned for. I think most photographers would admit to this, and to being open to receiving that spontaneous bit of magic if it offers itself. I hope for it, look for it, indeed it's what makes photography interesting for me. It's the element of uncontrol that makes it all worthwhile -- with the technical side completely under control, of course. This doesn't make sense unless I give an example. A picture of my daughter blowing bubbles, taken spontaneously on a brilliantly bright day when I guessed exposure and guessed development, expecting nothing, and received a negative where, not only are her eyes closed at the precise moment of the release of a big bubble, but the shadow cast by the bubble is located on her sweater right over her heart, clearly and sharply and lovingly and incredibly. There are other examples. Yes, I'm not embarrassed to say that luck has been the prime mover with many of my best photographic pictures.
 

jovo

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Brian Kosoff once described what he goes through when he's on location, and for that matter when he's going to be on location. It involves GPS, weather info, seasonal almanac kinds of stuff like moon phase, sunrise and sunset times, tides, and a host of other preparatory work. It almost seemed like voodoo and over-the-top silliness till I realized how much more likely he is going to be to get what he set out to get. Are his results lucky? Well, of course they are up to a point, but when "good luck" is consistent, then there's much more to it than that.

I've learned what weather events will trigger fog, or mist on the lakes and rivers around here. I have a clue about foliage, and time of day. I understand what to expect after heavy rain, or protracted drought...when to anticipate rime ice etc. There's absolutely nothing that can plan for the kind of serendipity that PE describes, but there's a helluva lot we can do to make the happy accident a near certain photograph.
 

copake_ham

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Charles Webb said:
I believe that "luck" has more to do with picture making than it gets credit for.
Click to expand...

I agree.

I didn't "plan" this shot - at least not the way it came out.

Even after 30 years of shooting, I was "lucky" to get this available light shot this way a few weeks ago. It's kind of what I wanted - but much more than I expected. At least, I think so....

Now, since it is Safe for Work - I guess it doesn't meet the "standards" here for The Gallery.

BTW: Fuji Velvia 100F in my F5 using the 28-85 zoom
 

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JBrunner

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George,

That's beautiful. Luck may have brought it to you, but you had the camera, the know how, and the wisdom to see. Luck favors the bold.
 
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