Which school of photographic thought you're in

[George Mann]

HCB never had to work a day in his life.

He spent his life working to get some of the best pictures ever taken!

 

[Auer]

Auer has a good point. Planning is needed for flow for when one wishes to achieve a goal. Struggle can arise when one realizes that planning for the known will only take one to the known...and one has to push and struggle to break through the known to get to the unknown...the goal one did not realize existed and could not be planned for.

A solid foundation is like muscle memory, take you out of that unexpected tight spot even when you been hit a few times.

Goals are just rest stops, to be remembered but not revered.

 

[blockend]

Creative photography is a subject that requires little expertise to get rewarding results. Someone with a point and shoot camera and access to interesting situations and people, will produce better work than someone with fabulous gear and access to old gates covered in cobwebs.

Professional photography is a different matter. That's making silk purses from sow's ears, which necessitates technical knowhow.

 

[George Mann]

old gates covered in cobwebs.

Fascinating! Don't underestimate its potential.

 

[Cholentpot]

Well, you should put them back when you're done looking at them...

Over thinking gets me in trouble. It was a struggle learning the ropes. Once I got it down I'd rather just take photos and not overthink it. I'm breaking rocks learning 4x5, however once I get the workflow down I'll just go and shoot.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Has anyone read Eugen Herrigel‘s Zen in The Art of Archery? I think it relates to life as well as photography.

 

[Vaughn]

Over thinking gets me in trouble. It was a struggle learning the ropes. Once I got it down I'd rather just take photos and not overthink it. I'm breaking rocks learning 4x5, however once I get the workflow down I'll just go and shoot.

There is not much that is automatic with LF use. It is important to learn from ones mistakes in order to reconize them when one makes them again. And then again...
Spontaneity in LF for me, is in the moment of realization of the image to be made...the length of time required to actually make the image is relatively unimportant. This sprung out at me while wandering around in this place. But the exposure was long enough for me to enjoy a short nap. (4x10 carbon print)

 

[Cholentpot]

There is not much that is automatic with LF use. It is important to learn from ones mistakes in order to reconize them when one makes them again. And then again...
Spontaneity in LF for me, is in the moment of realization of the image to be made...the length of time required to actually make the image is relatively unimportant. This sprung out at me while wandering around in this place. But the exposure was long enough for me to enjoy a short nap. (4x10 carbon print)

Excellent shot and print.

With a Crown Graphic it allows me to roam around and use the rangefinder and viewfinder. I've been shooting it off hand, really just like a massive point and shoot with a few (ehm) extra steps. It's more for me getting familiar with the system and the film stock I have on hand. And I've found that no-one bothers the guy with the 1940's looking press camera. Opportunities to use it are more limited than say a XA2 in my pocket. It's a joy to use when I have the chance.

 

[mmerig]

No pain no gain.

No pain, no pain.

 

[Vaughn]

That's cool! I have an old wood Speed Graphic that I used with a magnifying glass as a lens (with the rear curtain shutter), hand-held, and using Type 55 Polaroid film for a few images. And many people have found your combo (much lighter than the Speeds) great for traveling...home and abroad. My son's last BB game -- fitting...I guess the Dodgers are in the World Series. Alex is between undergrad and grad school, studying Japanese in Tokyo under a fellowship.

 

[Cholentpot]

No pain, no pain.

If you don't feel it, it's not working.

That's cool! I have an old wood Speed Graphic that I used with a magnifying glass as a lens (with the rear curtain shutter), hand-held, and using Type 55 Polaroid film for a few images. And many people have found your combo (much lighter than the Speeds) great for traveling...home and abroad. My son's last BB game -- fitting...I guess the Dodgers are in the World Series. Alex is between undergrad and grad school, studying Japanese in Tokyo under a fellowship.

My team hasn't won the Series since before my Pop's was born. I'd love to drag the Crown Graphic to an MLB game.

 

[Vaughn]

Then you'll want to take Big Bertha with you! https://kodakery.com/2013/06/28/big-bertha-and-don-newcombe/

 

[Sirius Glass]

No pain, no G. A. S.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

No pain, no G. A. S.

Stand back when I have pain from gas.

 

[Auer]

Hard work is most overrated.

 

[Cholentpot]

Then you'll want to take Big Bertha with you! https://kodakery.com/2013/06/28/big-bertha-and-don-newcombe/

Woah. We've come a long way from there.

Hard work is most overrated.

Hard work doesn't always mean good work.

 

[DonW]

Auer has a good point. Planning is needed for flow for when one wishes to achieve a goal. Struggle can arise when one realizes that planning for the known will only take one to the known...and one has to push and struggle to break through the known to get to the unknown...the goal one did not realize existed and could not be planned for.

Well said.

 

[DF]

Being at the right place at the right time, so there's the luck factor.
I was at the right place at the right time a couple of days ago, so, when I took out my camera, POOF! A great photo op was entirely blown - the camera I took with me had the wrong lens, one that wouldn't work for that scene (I forgot to change it back to the lens I use most before I left out the door).
So, there's the preparedness factor as well.
Creativity, or specifically Photography, is a Jin, the controls are not all in your hands.
Photography you just sort of have to allow things to happen around you. Not the same with a painter, sculptor, writer.

 

[Vaughn]

While I agree, some people prefer to make things happen.
But you hit the nail on the head. The essence or joy of photographing (one part of the whole process) for me is the wandering, until I stumble upon the intersection of equipment, experience, eye, and luck (or wonder, or whatever one wants to call it) that brings everything together as seeing.

In the instance you just shared, that is why I photograph. To be able to see that light and its interaction with what is reflecting it. And seeing it with or without a camera is an equal joy. I have experienced incredible light in instances that there was no way to set up an 8x10, or even the Rollei...so what? It was the experience backed by decades of looking at the light that matters. I can bring that experience into my future photos...it will not go to waste.

 

[Cholentpot]

While I agree, some people prefer to make things happen.
But you hit the nail on the head. The essence or joy of photographing (one part of the whole process) for me is the wandering, until I stumble upon the intersection of equipment, experience, eye, and luck (or wonder, or whatever one wants to call it) that brings everything together as seeing.

In the instance you just shared, that is why I photograph. To be able to see that light and its interaction with what is reflecting it. And seeing it with or without a camera is an equal joy. I have experienced incredible light in instances that there was no way to set up an 8x10, or even the Rollei...so what? It was the experience backed by decades of looking at the light that matters. I can bring that experience into my future photos...it will not go to waste.

As a relative youngster and less than a decade taking photos this is what I strive for. I make every effort to get that 'Wake Up At 2am' knowledge. That is, wake me up at 2am and shove a camera in my hands and will I instinctively be able to take a passable photo. When I can answer yes to this then I feel I've got it down enough to go out and shoot without needing to think about using the camera. Second nature some call it? I'm gaining the knowledge and hands on work. Experience will come with time. But, for now I just enjoy photography, it has to be one of the most effortless things I've done in my life all the while putting loads and loads of time and work into it.

As for missing the shot, eh. There will always be something else just as fleeting, maybe I'll get it next time.

 

[focus_on_infinity]

I'm a musician, so I'm very used to spending what many people would consider a psychologically questionable amount of time running scales and arpeggios. And as we say in music, if you spend 5 years practicing it, it comes out spontaneously.

Inspiration is neat. It truly is. But it's mostly accidental, and really has nowhere to go unless you understand what you're doing.

 

[DonW]

Creative photography is a subject that requires little expertise to get rewarding results. Someone with a point and shoot camera and access to interesting situations and people, will produce better work than someone with fabulous gear and access to old gates covered in cobwebs.

Professional photography is a different matter. That's making silk purses from sow's ears, which necessitates technical knowhow.

Absolutely spot on! Well said.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

I enjoy what I get, seems to have improved level of satisfaction with fewer rejects as times goes by. Joining any camp arrests progress, although may help start it.

Even AA said human way of seeing evolves over time resulting in a completely different valuation of earlier work.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

He spent his life working to get some of the best pictures ever taken!

Do you mean the 1% of shots HCB took, or ALL the shots he took, which he then berried and never showed to anyone?

 

[AnselMortensen]

The School of Hard Knocks.