Left Eye Creative tool

The Left eye as a creative perspective

I've been having thoughts lately on left brain, right brain creative processes. Much discussion in art about using the left hand vs right hand. What about the left eye vs right, I myself am left eye dominate. I'm really good at finding the surreal imagery in life and notice that many photographers seem to shoot in a more analytical point of view.


Any thoughts here.

Chris

Well I just posted this in a different thread on Exposure, likely the wrong place.

I know there is discussion in the art circles on using the left hand for drawing and the right brain as the more creative side. What about he left eye?

I myself use my left eye even though cameras are designed for right-eye use and right hand trigger. Has there ever been a left-handed trigger for a camera?

I've been having thoughts on this because I now realize there is more distinct connection between artist and photographer.

What are peoples thoughts on this?

I think that the technical aspects of photography are a hindrance to creativity for many. It is easy to talk about the technical...it is a far different matter to be creative.

radiantdarkroom said:

Well I just posted this in a different thread on Exposure, likely the wrong place.

I know there is discussion in the art circles on using the left hand for drawing and the right brain as the more creative side. What about he left eye?

I myself use my left eye even though cameras are designed for right-eye use and right hand trigger. Has there ever been a left-handed trigger for a camera?

I've been having thoughts on this because I now realize there is more distinct connection between artist and photographer.

What are peoples thoughts on this?

Click to expand...

I don't think there's a blind bit of difference, if you'll pardon the phraseology. I'm right-eye dominant; my wife, left-eye. It doesn't show THAT much in our pictures -- far less than can be explained in terms of history, background, interests, etc. It might be interesting if you took a look at the free modules in the Photo School at www.rogerandfrances.com to see if you agree.

Mind you, we've been working together for a quarter of a century...

Try an Exakta for a left-hand wind-on.

Cheers,

R.

I have recently been unable to see fine detail with my right eye. Surgery has produced some improvement, but I have had to use my left eye now with cameras. I do not observe any change in my creative abilities.

I have recently been unable to see fine detail with my right eye. Surgery has produced some improvement, but I have had to use my left eye now with cameras. I do not observe any change in my creative abilities.

As far as reading is concerned my mind made the change from being right eyed to using the left for me without any concious effort.

A few years ago one side of my face was paralysed for several weeks. I was unable to close my left eye -- in fact I first realized I was paralysed when making a picture and as I lifted the finder to my right eye, I found that my left eyelid was 'stuck.'

During those weeks I had to shoot with my left eye to the finder and would close my right eye -- opposite of my usual practice.

I am 100% certain that the experience changed the way I 'see' and respond to how the world is revealed against the rectangle of the photographic view.

Once I healed I went back to my usual right-eye shooting but the left-eye shooting experience was definitely the silver lining of the whole cloudy ordeal.

--

(coped from other thread)

Threads merged and most duplicate posts removed. I can't remove the first one without deleting the thread, so I'll leave them both.

i think any way that you can change the way you see - change your perspective, or how you see - is a great way to change the way you have been taught to see and an open door to do things creatively.

-- john

I am left eyed, but I can't say that it makes any difference to the way I see the world. The only issues I have ever noticed is that it always stopped me using Nikons because they switched on with the wind on lever and my nose keeps me a bit further from my Leica MP's viewfinder than I'd like.

David.

Offhand I wouldn't think that there is a left/right-eyedness that is at the same level as left-right-handedness. The hands are designed to work separately, but the eyes almost always work together e.g., for some portion of depth perception and focus and such. I recall that for the pupil reflex, both eyes are normally synched, and this is a standard test to check for normal brain activity. So I guess that's an indication that the brain is fundamentally wired to interpret the optical signals in a binocular way.

Moreover, I don't know if the visual cortex is truly divided between the left and right hemispheres as much as many other faculties; I seem to recall that vision itself is well centered even if perception and analysis are not, so that might also be relevant.

Now, as for how you interpret or analyze things, sure, that could be 'handed.' People do interpret scenes in different ways, e.g. creatively or analytically or both. I recall this visual test which is supposed to determine whether you are left or right brained:



In case you didn't notice it, there is a man's face among the coffee beans, and the speed with which people would recognize that is supposedly related to creative/analytical abilities. I thought this was nonsense when I read about it but then I did it and actually saw the face immediately, whereas some friends didn't even after 10 seconds. And I am indeed very analytical. So who knows....

Anyway, I don't think that creative/analytical ability overtly manifests itself in left or right-eyedness: tests such as the one above probably yield the same results regardles of which eye you use to do them. Unless of course there is a physical difference between the eyes, i.e. impairment on one side!

I think the difference between colour and b&w vision is very interesting; I am quite convinced that we have different ways of perceiving/interpreting colour or b&w scenes, and that is of course wrapped up in the way the rods and cones work.

"Offhand I wouldn't think that there is a left/right-eyedness that is at the same level as left-right-handedness."

But in fact there is. I can't use a camera at all with my right eye and when I look down I only see the left side of my nose (incidentally, I am right handed). I am not blind in my right eye. If I cover the left I still see fine, but the left eye is dominant.

By the way, I only see coffee beans in your test, but then those ink blot tests always look like ink blots to me. I suppose I must be totally unimaginative, which is probably how I managed to get all those books published

Woolliscroft said:

"Offhand I wouldn't think that there is a left/right-eyedness that is at the same level as left-right-handedness."

But in fact there is. I can't use a camera at all with my right eye and when I look down I only see the left side of my nose (incidentally, I am right handed). I am not blind in my right eye. If I cover the left I still see fine, but the left eye is dominant.

By the way, I only see coffee beans in your test, but then those ink blot tests always look like ink blots to me. I suppose I must be totally unimaginative, which is probably how I managed to get all those books published

Click to expand...

If you look down and only see the left side of your nose then maybe that has more to do with facial asymmetry Seriously though, our faces are surprisingly asymmetric, maybe it is related to that.

I certainly don't have a left / right preference, but on the other hand I am perhaps an oddball, I had no decisive left/right handedness until someone finally made me choose as a practical matter, and then after that I still remained mostly ambidextrous, which comes in pretty handy (pun intended). I also can read and write 'mirrored' at a normal speed, so I guess all of us are wired a bit differently!

About the beans, look around the bottom left, around 7 o'clock. It's a little face, only about the size of one of the beans. This coffee image is a bit odd, I see the face and I also see three sets of almost idential bean configurations along the diagonal. Hmm maybe I should be a professional bean counter.

I can't tell if I succeed or fail. I saw several faces in bits and pieces. One even side-lit.

One I saw these little african-esque masks in the beans, I couldn't see anything else.

Back to the left-eye topic, for myself the experience of forced left-eye use meant (a) greater deliberation betcause I was not habituated to rapidly seeing "good" pictures through that channel, and (b) different sorts of awareness of depth, lack of depth, and I actually think there's a tiny tiny difference in perceived contrast between my two eyes (no idea about the source of it).