I stumbled across a podcast this week, by some amateur photographers (more about this in another post some day), where they talked about motivation. Their talk didn't turn out to be so much about actually getting motivated to get out with your camera as it was that the pictures they got were discouraging them. This, in my opinion is simply an education and a critique/analysis/feedback problem, not a motivation problem. On the other hand, if you shoot crap, and you don't try to figure out why - I guess it can be pretty demotivating. I started thinking about the topic of 'motivation' itself. Of course - having a muse is the ultimate motivation, but I also put together a bunch of thoughts on what I have done over the years to try to re-motivate myself, or try to keep the creative juices flowing. I think I still have a LONG way to go, but perhaps if you are in a rut, these thoughts and ideas might help you along. http://4-minutemiles.weebly.com/motivation.html
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I have been listening to a number of podcasts lately - various sources, not specifically one point of view. One in particular went off on some name-dropping which included some reference to Henri Cartier-Bresson. I studied Cartier-Bresson in my history class. Yes, he was a trend-setter in the field that we now call 'street photography'. Personally, there were only a few of his photos that I ever liked. Honestly - I don't really care much for his work. This is not to say that Mr. Cartier-Bresson was not an amazing photographer. I just never saw anything there that made me look twice, or made me look closer. Okay, maybe a few. So I decided to give him a second chance. No difference. In fact, I am guessing that if I handed in a photo (as an example, the photo on the right) as an assignment, I can imagine the critique I would receive. "Wrong shutter speed, subject is blurred, but not enough to look like that was your intent". "Try following rule of thirds/try a different crop". "Not sure what is the main subject". "Too many things going on in this picture". ...and so on. I wonder how Henri Cartier-Bresson would make out today with digital equipment. How would his photos look? I have no question in my mind that Henri Cartier-Bresson was a major influence to modern day photography. The term "decisive moment" is so misused by people who like to sound like experts in the field these days. Technically, the "decisive" moment is the moment you intend to press the shutter. That's it. Nothing more. Everybody does it. Everybody sees that which they are trying to capture, and therefore presses the shutter. Pretty Decisive I think. I hope I have not offended anyone by this, and I am certainly open to having my eyes opened to whatever I may be missing. |
John T."Photographs capture my viewpoint - based on my place on this planet, where I've been and who I am. If you 'get it' then you've been there too, either in mind, body, heart or soul." Also see the "EauPositivePhotography" pages for other stuff
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