Photography's Unbreakable Core

I just finished writing this series for my blog. Hope you find some truth here...

We live in a time of massive technological and social change. I wish I could say life is like The Beatles "Getting Better" but sometimes it seems more like we're feeling our way through the dark. While the new toys are fun and useful, I sometimes worry that our good sense is not keeping pace with the technology. Are we so enamored with the flow of fresh gadgetry that we're making bad artistic choices? Where do we look for guidance when the same bad ideas infect everyone?

To succeed during times of disruption you must focus on fundamental laws. Understanding fundamental forces establishes a foundation. Start by identifying what's not going to change. Your logic needs a toehold before you can start to move. So I ask myself what are the unchanging fundamentals of photography? What is photography's unbreakable core? That's the subject of these essays. Let's pick out the North Star, then we can set a course across these troubled waters.

The Frame

Think Big -- The Argument for More Details in Your Photos

Time and Photography (Part 1): Relics

Time in Thee Parts (Part 2): Something for Nothing

Time in Three Parts (Part 3): Broadband Communication

Speaking of frame check this piece by Meyerowitz
A little re-enforcement and a great little piece.
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=Xumo7_JUeMo

thanks david,i enjoyed reading this,as it makes one stop and think about our world and how we see it.

I prefer less detailed timeless impressionist paintings and classic b/w prints.
I like to see drama in the picture, but not searching for some bolts in it by sticking my nose to it
And where else 135L is "legendary" rather than on P.O.T.N. ?

But I thought if you had the newest camera with all the megapixels you would be a great photographer.. you mean to tell me I actually have to put thought into what I'm doing to take great pictures?

iamascientist wrote in post #17021453
But I thought if you had the newest camera with all the megapixels you would be a great photographer.. you mean to tell me I actually have to put thought into what I'm doing to take great pictures?

One should always be smarter than one's camera.

20droger wrote in post #17021786
One should always be smarter than one's camera.

Until you reach 60, then all bets are off!!

tonylong wrote in post #17021955
Until you reach 60, then all bets are off!!

I passed 60 so long ago that it's hard to believe. Digital? What's digital?

RbnDave wrote in post #17020276
. . . what are the unchanging fundamentals of photography? What is photography's unbreakable core?

A passion for one's subject, whatever that subject might be.
I believe that applies to all of the fine arts, not just photography.

The ability to see and then the skill to capture that vision.....

Thanks, Dave. You thoughtful approach is appreciated here.

AZGeorge wrote in post #17027562
Thanks, Dave. You thoughtful approach is appreciated here.

I'm happy you liked them. I've been a serious photographer for 12 years and those essays encapsulate my hard won photographic philosophy. Even though they're short, those essays were difficult to write. Even if nobody ever read them, I'm glad I went through the process of organizing my thoughts about photography. I feel like I'm in a position where I can move forward now.

Thank you very much for sharing your site, Dave. I enjoyed reading every bit of it and have it bookmarked so I can go back time and again. Everything you wrote made absolute sense to me not to mention the great images!

-Mark

Dave a couple of things I took a bit of exception to. Many of Winogrand's images lived near the edges of the frame. Face moving out of the frame cut in half by the frame and what could be the other half of the same face coming into the frame on the other side. So don't fear the edge use it as Garry did.

I also think like Gibson in this quote and I believe this is what separates great images from those you quickly read and can move on from. Great images keep pulling you back because they are not fast reads. The more you look the more you see and the more fluent you become with the language the more you understand. I think to many play to the simple instead of the more complex and compelling.

Gibson's quote....
"A good photograph, like a good painting, speaks with a loud voice and demands time and attention if it is to be fully perceived. An art lover is perfectly willing to hang a painting on a wall for years on end, but ask him to study a single photograph for ten unbroken minutes and he’ll think it’s a waste of time. Staying power is difficult to build into a photograph. Mostly, it takes content. A good photograph can penetrate the subconscious – but only if it is allowed to speak for however much time it needs to get there." - Ralph Gibson

Also composition is and should be as Weston points out here part of a personal way of seeing.
"When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches." - Edward Weston

"so called “composition” becomes a personal thing, to be developed along with technique, as a personal way of seeing." - Edward Weston

There's some good stuff on here http://m.youtube.com …&t=3m45s&featur​e=youtu.be

The thing about photography, is that at its core, its incredibly simple; something intrigues you, you frame the subject, you take the picture. Now of coarse it can be made so much more complex then that without even getting into technicalities (exposure, fstop, shutter speed, etc).

What Allen says about composition is right, it should come from your gut, as an instinct, and not from advice you got from some beginners photography book or what have you. You build that foundation most effectively, not from reading about photography, but from seeing, studying the stuff that stands the test of time and not just photography but all forms of art from painting, sculpture, film, even music, all of these things build a framework that instinctively drives you, always influencing the creative decisions you make, without even having to think so much about it because certain things are ingrained in your mind. This goes beyond composition, into equally important factors, such as mood, aesthetic, selecting subject matter, making bodies of work, and vision overall.

The thing is, your only going to go that route if your truly passionate about creativity and expressing yourself through it, to the point where you don't even have a choice, your subconscious leads you.

What's so unique about photography is that such a wide variety of people are able to pursue it, more so then anything else in the world that could be considered an art form. Photography is literally everywhere, without even going into cell phones, the price of entry is cheap, and the effort, if one chooses (and it seems most do) is almost non existent. It takes hardly any effort to buy a camera, read an article online about composition, and then go point your camera at things and maybe even take some "pretty pictures". What you end up with is emptiness. I see photographers who have been at it for years, and still haven't left that stage, and most never do. There's nothing wrong with this, there are just many different kinds of photographers with different reasons for doing what they do.

Anyways, its not about photographys unbreakable core (I mean really, we aren't talking about underground bareknuckle boxing here), but the individual with the camera. Just be yourself and pour yourself into the process.