Photography as a window to our mental state
Several people who commented on my pictures asked, How do you do it?
The implication of their question is that I do something to achieve a particular photographic result. As I have said before, most of the secret is composition. You have to see the photo in your mind and imagine it as the camera will see it.
The trick is taking photos that make people say, That's just what I remember! It has been my experience that photos that elicit such a response are taken from vantage points the audience never saw. They are often much simpler and indeed totally different from the scene most people observed at the event in question. Yet people think it's just what they saw.
That is the secret of composition and vision.
The second factor is state of mind. Your finished images often reflect your internal state, as suggested by the examples below:
This image shows evidence of depression. Note the deep shadow and total absence of color:
This one is reflects a slightly better state of mind. Some color is visible.
This one is pretty average. Some color. Reasonable sharpness and clarity
This images shows the effect of excessive alchohol consumption
This one shows the influence of acid
I think this one shows just the right touch of mania
While this one has crossed the line to psychosis
The interesting thing is, most of the real world is rendered in muted pastel shades. Yet the "realistic" images are often the most vibrant and vivid. As I said, some measure of mania or even schizophrenia is required to create them.
The implication of their question is that I do something to achieve a particular photographic result. As I have said before, most of the secret is composition. You have to see the photo in your mind and imagine it as the camera will see it.
The trick is taking photos that make people say, That's just what I remember! It has been my experience that photos that elicit such a response are taken from vantage points the audience never saw. They are often much simpler and indeed totally different from the scene most people observed at the event in question. Yet people think it's just what they saw.
That is the secret of composition and vision.
The second factor is state of mind. Your finished images often reflect your internal state, as suggested by the examples below:
This image shows evidence of depression. Note the deep shadow and total absence of color:
This one is reflects a slightly better state of mind. Some color is visible.
This one is pretty average. Some color. Reasonable sharpness and clarity
This images shows the effect of excessive alchohol consumption
This one shows the influence of acid
I think this one shows just the right touch of mania
While this one has crossed the line to psychosis
The interesting thing is, most of the real world is rendered in muted pastel shades. Yet the "realistic" images are often the most vibrant and vivid. As I said, some measure of mania or even schizophrenia is required to create them.
Comments
I also like to watch the TV with the color boosted a bit.
Fiddling around with photos is great fun.