Some have claimed Time-Flow Photography (experimental imagery with continuous motion and long shutter speeds) is accidental and others say it is not a legitimate form of photography. For this reason I wrote a Manifesto refuting those statements and explaining its goals.
You can view and/or download the Manifesto in PDF form.
The "Fundamentals of photography" module is focused to adults learners interested in exploring the possibilities of managing digital photography.
This module is part of a set of materials designed and developed in the project Telecentre Multimedia Academy (Lifelong learning - Grundtvig (2012-2014)) project.
The Telecentre Multimedia Academy is a project where Fundación Esplai worked with a consortium of 8 partners from Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia and Hungary, whose coordinator is Telecentre Europe.
You can learn more about the Telecentre Multimedia Academy project in:
http://fundacionesplai.org/e-inclusion-internacional/tma/
The "Fundamentals of photography" module is focused to adults learners interested in exploring the possibilities of managing digital photography.
This module is part of a set of materials designed and developed in the project Telecentre Multimedia Academy (Lifelong learning - Grundtvig (2012-2014)) project.
The Telecentre Multimedia Academy is a project where Fundación Esplai worked with a consortium of 8 partners from Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia and Hungary, whose coordinator is Telecentre Europe.
You can learn more about the Telecentre Multimedia Academy project in:
http://fundacionesplai.org/e-inclusion-internacional/tma/
The "Video Production" module is focused to adults learners interested in exploring the possibilities of managing digital video.
This module is part of a set of materials designed and developed in the project Telecentre Multimedia Academy (Lifelong learning - Grundtvig (2012-2014)) project.
The Telecentre Multimedia Academy is a project where Fundación Esplai worked with a consortium of 8 partners from Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia and Hungary, whose coordinator is Telecentre Europe.
You can learn more about the Telecentre Multimedia Academy project in:
http://fundacionesplai.org/e-inclusion-internacional/tma/
The real world is rarely flat and devoid of texture, yet our virtual designs often do little to mirror what lies beyond the monitor. Tasteful use of lighting, shadows, gradients, and more traditional arts such as photography, oil, water color, pencil and charcoal can help us mimic the world around us. Learn to use and create realistic textures and media, and make your designs leap off the screen.
By "straight" photography, I am referring to the act of making an image that depicts a scene in sharp focus and with minimal manipulation. I say minimally, because historically, the "straight" photographers or "purists" did, in fact, enhance their images in the darkroom for things like exposure, contrast, tone, etc. What they did not do, in contrast to the pictorialists, is manipulate the image by adding Vaseline to their lenses or chemicals to their negatives and so on to achieve a more dreamy or painterly appearance. In other words, straight photography is about aiming the camera and taking a photograph — what you see is what you get. And, what you get is what you present to the world. Facing reality, as it were.
A Visual History of the Visual Arts - Part 2piero scaruffi
A Visual History of the Visual Arts - Part 2 From Abstract Art to Conceptual Art - A free supplement to "A Brief History of Knowledge" (Amazon ebook) - Downloadable version: http://www.scaruffi.com/art/history/index.html
This booklet provide an in-depth insight into key aspects of Eduqas GCSE Film Studies with a detailed overview of the history of film technology. Providing key context about the nature of film as a technology from Nicéphore Niépce's first photo the rise of CGI, this booklet covers it all. With dozens of images, photos and links to various clips, videos and bespoke examinations, this booklet will provide students with a thorough examination of how film technology has changed and developed over the last 200 years.
A core focus of this booklet is on the technology timeline which is a key aspect of component 1 in the Film GCSE and this guide is a useful way of providing not only the core details but some extra context and history that helps to provide further insight and context to the technology and the development of it.
This textbook is perfect as a printable textbook for students to work straight onto, as a guide for teachers and staff as it's fully resourced and contains a huge range of tasks and links to YouTube videos, it also works brilliantly as cover work, work for remote learning such as those isolating at home, as a homework or for revision. You could even use this as an introduction, extension or home learning task for A-Level Film Studies.
To purchase, please go to selly.com/iandoublem
The "Video Production" module is focused to adults learners interested in exploring the possibilities of managing digital video.
This module is part of a set of materials designed and developed in the project Telecentre Multimedia Academy (Lifelong learning - Grundtvig (2012-2014)) project.
The Telecentre Multimedia Academy is a project where Fundación Esplai worked with a consortium of 8 partners from Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia and Hungary, whose coordinator is Telecentre Europe.
You can learn more about the Telecentre Multimedia Academy project in:
http://fundacionesplai.org/e-inclusion-internacional/tma/
The real world is rarely flat and devoid of texture, yet our virtual designs often do little to mirror what lies beyond the monitor. Tasteful use of lighting, shadows, gradients, and more traditional arts such as photography, oil, water color, pencil and charcoal can help us mimic the world around us. Learn to use and create realistic textures and media, and make your designs leap off the screen.
By "straight" photography, I am referring to the act of making an image that depicts a scene in sharp focus and with minimal manipulation. I say minimally, because historically, the "straight" photographers or "purists" did, in fact, enhance their images in the darkroom for things like exposure, contrast, tone, etc. What they did not do, in contrast to the pictorialists, is manipulate the image by adding Vaseline to their lenses or chemicals to their negatives and so on to achieve a more dreamy or painterly appearance. In other words, straight photography is about aiming the camera and taking a photograph — what you see is what you get. And, what you get is what you present to the world. Facing reality, as it were.
A Visual History of the Visual Arts - Part 2piero scaruffi
A Visual History of the Visual Arts - Part 2 From Abstract Art to Conceptual Art - A free supplement to "A Brief History of Knowledge" (Amazon ebook) - Downloadable version: http://www.scaruffi.com/art/history/index.html
This booklet provide an in-depth insight into key aspects of Eduqas GCSE Film Studies with a detailed overview of the history of film technology. Providing key context about the nature of film as a technology from Nicéphore Niépce's first photo the rise of CGI, this booklet covers it all. With dozens of images, photos and links to various clips, videos and bespoke examinations, this booklet will provide students with a thorough examination of how film technology has changed and developed over the last 200 years.
A core focus of this booklet is on the technology timeline which is a key aspect of component 1 in the Film GCSE and this guide is a useful way of providing not only the core details but some extra context and history that helps to provide further insight and context to the technology and the development of it.
This textbook is perfect as a printable textbook for students to work straight onto, as a guide for teachers and staff as it's fully resourced and contains a huge range of tasks and links to YouTube videos, it also works brilliantly as cover work, work for remote learning such as those isolating at home, as a homework or for revision. You could even use this as an introduction, extension or home learning task for A-Level Film Studies.
To purchase, please go to selly.com/iandoublem
An activity booklet and guide to to film history, mise-en-scene, cinematography, and editing, designed for GCSE Film Studies.
Featuring over 170 pages of information, analysis, tasks, assessments, insights and examples, this guide is the definitive introduction to the basics of film studies, designed to introduce students at GCSE to key concepts that they need for their whole film education.
GCSE Film History booklet updated for new spec from 2022_watermark.pdfIan Moreno-Melgar
Fully updated to take advantage of the updated 2022 GCSE Film Studies specification, this booklet is designed to cover the Technology of Film aspect of the course. Featuring nearly 25 pages, this in depth guide expands the timeline provided by the exam board by offering more detail, facts, anecdotes, information and a wide range of tasks. There is also a suggested viewing task at the end to ties things together. This version contains the Word AND PDF versions of the booklet. The PDF version can be instantly printed and distributed to students to be used as a workbook. It's also great for revision, for digital distribution or hosting for students or just for your own reference. The Word version is perfect for editing and adapting to you and your students needs.
You can buy this from here:
https://ko-fi.com/s/e7f83fdf7d or here:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12414478
Time-Flow Photography: Experimental Imagery with Continuous Motion and Long S...Rick Doble
For the first time in the history of photography, digital photographers can now experiment with photographic effects and immediately review the results. This capability, which is crucial for experimentation, opens up a new world of imagery with slow shutter speeds that 'paint' light in a variety of ways. Yet some people believe that the effects of movement in slow-exposure photography are about the same and accidental. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a quite sophisticated vocabulary, a physics of light and motion, that can be understood and once understood is not accidental. This eBook details the ways these different motions are registered on photographs and the new artwork that is now possible -- work that has its roots in modern art.
indtroduction to Wet Plate Photography historyRaimo Dahl
Step back into the captivating world of photography's golden age with wet plate collodion—a process that revolutionized the art and science of image-making in the 1850s. This historic technique, known for its remarkable detail, depth, and tonal range, bridged the gap between the earliest experiments in photography and the modern era's digital snapshots. Developed by Frederick Scott Archer, wet plate collodion photography quickly became the standard for capturing the world in its truest form, from breathtaking landscapes and intimate portraits to groundbreaking documentation of events that shaped history.
Today, the allure of wet plate photography transcends time, inviting contemporary artists and enthusiasts to explore its unique aesthetic and hands-on process. As we delve into the depths of this mesmerizing art form, we uncover not just images but stories—each plate holding a piece of the past, each photograph a testament to the enduring beauty and complexity of the human experience. Join us on a journey through the lens of wet plate collodion, where history and artistry meet, and discover the magic that happens when the past is brought to light.
Similar to Manifesto: Time-Flow Photography - Draft 2 (20)
Proposal for a University Department for 'The Study Of Time'Rick Doble
Time is the most used noun in the English language according to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. This is probably true for most other languages as well. Time is critical to everything we do as individuals, as nations, and as human beings who inhabit the Earth. Yet there are virtually no University departments or courses that deal with the human experience of time. This paper proposes that such a department be established and suggests topics and areas of study that need to be included. Suggestions are based on my blog DeconstructingTime now in its fifth years, with more than 70 blog-essays, almost 50,000 page views from more than 100 countries. Much of this work is also available at my site at slideshare.net in eBook or in individual papers.
Thoughts About the Future of Art in the 21st Century (1997)Rick Doble
Written over 15 years ago, this is an experimental outline written in 1997 during the earliest days of the Internet and digital photography. The purpose of this outline was to ask questions and suggest answers about the role of art as the world entered the 21st Century. Because the outline was open ended and experimental, it also invited others to join the discussion. This paper was widely reprinted across the Internet around the year 2000 and today can still be found online at the archives of the National Library of Australia, a website by the Board of Education - City of New York and the online Canadian publication, Annihilation Fountain. See more about these references in this document.
Digital Pictures Made Directly From the Big Bang Radio Signal by Rick DobleRick Doble
In 2003, Rick Doble photographed a series of images made directly from the radio signals from the Big Bang explosion that created the universe. These signals, known as "cosmic microwave background radiation" or CMB or CMBR, can be processed with computer graphics. The resulting imagery is quite unusual -- repeating patterns, that never quite repeat. These patterns are not unlike biomorphic art that was made by a number of artists in the 20th century. This project seeks to compare and combine art and science and at the same time create a connection with our origins.
Introduction to Scientific Experimental Methods for Artists: How Science and...Rick Doble
As any scientist can explain, experimenting is an art. Some of the greatest findings have come about because of a clever experiment that revealed a significant result. And although every new experiment will be different, there are lessons to be learned from past experimentation. Contemporary art can learn from science and incorporate some scientific methods into its own quest for exploration. While art and science are quite different, experimentation has been central to major art movements in the 20th century and today is a major trend with digital art and photography.
From Plato to Einstein to Ernest Rutherford, who discovered the basic structure of the atom, to abstract expressionist painters such as Rothko, this essay details the similarity between science and art when it comes to experimenting. After discussing basic problems and pit falls, it details a specific method for experimenting in the arts with examples.
Space-Time Digital Photography: Photographs Recorded Over a Duration of TimeRick Doble
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Stealing the Oceans: Humanity Struggles for Survival in This 1000 Year Epic W...Rick Doble
Stealing the Oceans by Rick Doble is a hard science fiction novella based on our current understanding of science and technology. An unusual SF story, it covers 1000 years when the people of the Earth are forced to make drastic changes. This occurs because ocean levels begin to gradually fall for hundreds of years -- with no end in sight. Using the latest technology, world governments work to determine the reason. But the discovery of the cause leads to panic and desperate attempts to rebuild civilizations. This epic story is as much about the forces involved as the individual people -- and comes complete with a city directory for one of the new cities that is established, along with a full description of how a new culture evolved.
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This fully illustrated 23 page paper traces the history of photography and our understanding of light from prehistoric times to the present day and also speculates about the future. From Aristotle to Einstein the camera is much older than most realize. Because photography can record fine detail and freeze a moment of the past, it has also transformed our modern understanding of time and also provided a record of the past which was previously unavailable.
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Using the power of digital photographer, this interactive PowerPoint eBook for teachers, students and artists examines the depiction of motion in still photography. It is based in part on the innovative work of the Cubist painters (Picasso & Braque), the Italian Futurists, and in particular the photographs of Anton Bragaglia, a photographer associated with the Italian Futurist movement -- around 1900. A brief explanation of their work and ideas is included in an introduction. This interactive PowerPoint presentation concentrates on the movements of musicians, exposed over an extended period of time, in candid situations -- dubbed 'time flow' photography. The resulting imagery is similar to the goals of the Italian Futurists. In over 60 candid digital photographs taken over five years, this eBook presents photos of guitarists, violinists, singers, bass players and more. Teachers, students and schools may use this presentation in their work, if they want -- see the notice in the eBook.
Historic Timeline: The Capture of Movement in Painting and Photography by Ric...Rick Doble
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Fashionista Chic Couture Maze & Coloring Adventures is a coloring and activity book filled with many maze games and coloring activities designed to delight and engage young fashion enthusiasts. Each page offers a unique blend of fashion-themed mazes and stylish illustrations to color, inspiring creativity and problem-solving skills in children.
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1. 2nd Draft
Manifesto: Time-Flow Photography
Imagery With Movement Is An Important New Aspect of Photography
YOU MAY QUOTE FROM, COPY, RESEND THIS DOCUMENT AS LONG AS YOU CREDIT
THE WORK AS: Time-Flow Photography Manifesto
You can also view this document online at:
http://deconstructingtime.blogspot.com/2016/05/manifesto-time-flow-photography.html
PLEASE NOTE: This is the first draft -- we will accept comments, suggestions, additions, support or
criticisms for the next couple of weeks and then will issue the final Manifesto in due time. If you
would like to also be one of the sponsors, let us know. This initial draft was written by Rick Doble,
but he expects that when completed it will be a work in which many have contributed.
We draft the following Manifesto because we are annoyed
by critics who make unsubstantiated claims that Time-
Flow Photography is purely accidental although it does,
in fact, require more skill than traditional photography.
And further we offer this Manifesto because we are also
angered by pronouncements that Time-Flow Photography
is not a legitimate form of photography.
TIME-FLOW PHOTOGRAPHY DEFINITION: We define 'Time-Flow Photography' as one that deals
primarily with slow shutter speeds and movement that is visibly recorded in a photographic image. The
movement can be camera movement, subject movement or a combination of the two.
TIME-FLOW PHOTOGRAPHY MANIFESTO
PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE ART OF LIGHT
ON LIGHT SENSITIVE MATERIAL
• The word photograph comes from two Greek words: Photo = light and Graph = drawing
or painting.
• Photography is the art of light on light sensitive material -- no matter what form that art
takes.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 1 of 12
2. • Therefore a photography of light recorded in movement is a valid form for the
photographic arts.
• We reject the notion that valid photography must, for the most part, be sharp and
realistic. For various reasons in the past (see below) sharp realistic photography has
been most useful and therefore considered the standard for the photographic arts. But
now with the new capabilities of digital, this standard is outdated.
• Deliberate artistic blurred images or images that show motion or streaks of light or a
duration of motion are just as valid a photographic statement as traditional
photography.
SUBJECT MOVEMENT:
Candid 4 second, telephoto, handheld,
available light photography by Rick Doble.
Used as a central image at the SCIENAR (Science/Art) Exhibit
in Bucharest, Romania, 2010.
https://www.academia.edu/24480664/Rick_Dobles_Space-
Time_Photographs_and_Writings_with_the_European_SCIENAR_Science_Art_Project
• The idea of recording motion in photography was suggested over 100 years ago by
Anton Bragaglia, a photographer associated with the Italian Futurist movement. The
idea of light in itself being the subject was suggested 50 years ago by Wynn Bullock
who spent six years, from 1959 to 1965 creating what he called "Color Light
Abstractions" on 35mm Kodachrome slides.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 2 of 12
3. Anton Bragaglia (his photo above) wrote his own Manifesto in 1911, Futurist Photodynamism
(Fotodinamismo futurista)in which he described many of the same ideas that are fundamental to
Time-Flow Photography but were difficult to implement with the film and cameras of the time. He
wanted to understand unbroken movement with precision -- and he wanted to put together what
he called an "algebra of movement."
"Light to me is perhaps the most profound truth in the universe. My thinking has been
deeply affected by the belief everything is some form of radiant energy."
"Light used in its own right...gives to photography the wonderful plasticity that paint gives
to painting without loss of the unmatched reality of straight photography."
Wynn Bullock (1905 - 1975) writing about his "Color Light Abstractions"
http://www.wynnbullockphotography.com/galleries_color/color_index.html
Experimental digital photography has the potential to create abstract expressionist pictures with the
depth and quality of traditional painters but with light as the medium -- light which has characteristics
all its own.
Rick Doble, 2010
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 3 of 12
4. CAMERA MOVEMENT
This photograph was created entirely with camera movement and a still shaft of light:
4 second exposure, handheld and white balance set to give the light a blue color.
By Rick Doble.
Exhibited in the Bridges Mathematical Art Galleries at the Bridges Conference in 2012.
http://gallery.bridgesmathart.org/exhibitions/2012-bridges-conference/rickdoble
WHY THESE SLOW SHUTTER SPEED EFFECTS
ARE A NEW ART FORM THAT IS NOW POSSIBLE
WITH DIGITAL CAMERAS
• In the past the effects possible with slow shutter speeds were virtually ignored due to
the expense and uncertainty of the results and the desire to create only sharp imagery
for documentation. While time-flow effects were possible with film, the result were
haphazard, time consuming and expensive so for all practical purposes slow shutter
speed effects were not used or explored.
• Now however, digital photography allows a range of expression and an ability to
experiment that was not possible with film because of the immediate feedback of the
digital image and the low cost. Rick Doble wrote an essay about this over 15 years ago.
• In particular, candid digital photography is now possible with 'Time-Flow' effects --
which allows an immediacy and spontaneity that was first imagined by the Italian
Futurists over 100 years ago.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 4 of 12
5. • This means that difficult photographic imagery can now be crafted using a variety of
slow shutter speeds and types of movement.
PHOTOGRAPHY HAS BEEN CHANGING
AND EVOLVING FOR ALMOST 200 YEARS
• Almost from the moment photography was born, it has evolved and changed. But the
standards of the past have often mistakenly been applied to the newer technology.
Now with digital photography, the new possible imagery with Time-Flow Photography
is being criticized by outdated notions that prohibit most kinds of blur or visible
motion in a photograph.
• From the very beginning photography has been changing. The first photograph by
Niepce around 1827 required an eight hour exposure. About fifty years later Muybridge
was taking photographs at 1/2000 of a second. Each technological advance in
photography (from large tripod view cameras and collodion wet plates to handheld
SLRs that took roll film, from black and white to color) led to new imagery but not
without controversy. When small 35mm cameras became available their photographs
were considered vastly inferior to the earlier large format cameras, for example.
• Like any new art form it will take some time to determine what effects are possible and
which photographs exhibit these effects with the best possible artistic skill
• We reject the notion that these images are purely accidental as some critics have
asserted.
• At its most complex, this type of imagery requires more skill than traditional
photography -- and does not happen by accident. The exact techniques have been
described in detail by Rick Doble in his book, Experimental Digital Photography.
• Like any new experimental art form there will be trial and error at the beginning which
in time will evolve into specific techniques over which the photographer will have full
control.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 5 of 12
6. WE LIVE IN A SPACE-TIME REALITY
WHICH PHOTOGRAPHY IS UNIQUELY CAPABLE OF CAPTURING
• As Einstein pointed out, we do not live in a world that is purely space, we live in a
space-time world. Time-Flow Photography has the ability to record time as well as
space and to make visual our space-time existence.
• A photographic 'exposure' is created by the combination of light through the lens for a
specific period of time (the shutter speed).
• Therefore photography is uniquely capable of recording a space-time image because a
photographic image is the combination of space (through the lens) and time (via the
shutter speed) -- so each photo is a space-time picture.
• The dream and aim of recording the 'fourth dimension', that of time, is now possible
with digital photography.
• A depiction of the fourth dimension has been a central theme of modern and
contemporary art.
• This is an exciting time for people who are willing to work with a new way of thinking
and new imagery.
WHY A MANIFESTO?
• Writing a Manifesto in which one defines the goals of a new art is in keeping with a
long held tradition in art such as the Cubist Manifesto (Du "Cubism") of 1912 or
the Symbolist Manifesto (Le Symbolisme) of 1886 or the Surrealist Manifestos of 1924
& 1929 or theDogma 95 Manifesto by avant-garde Danish filmmakers in 1995.
Manifestos have also been a tradition in photography. For example the newly formed
f/64 group, which included Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, published a highly
influential Manifesto in 1932 which still affects photography to this day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifesto
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 6 of 12
7. SUBJECT & CAMERA MOVEMENT COMBINED
The camera is moving relative to the background outside the moving car,
but the camera is steady in relation to Doble's wife who is driving
and whose movements are subject movements.
Photograph of Doble's wife driving: 8 seconds, handheld, available light.
By Rick Doble
Exhibited at the SCIENAR (Science/Art) Exhibit in Bucharest, Romania, 2010.
https://www.academia.edu/24480664/Rick_Dobles_Space-
Time_Photographs_and_Writings_with_the_European_SCIENAR_Science_Art_Project
NOTE: While we have named our kind of photography of slow shutter speeds with continuous motion,
Time-Flow Photography, there may be a better name. It has been called space-time photography and
also painting with light -- but neither of these, we feel, is as clear as the term Time-Flow Photography.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 7 of 12
8. IS TIME-FLOW PHOTOGRAPHY ACCIDENTAL?
Claims That Time-Flow Photography Is Accidental:
One customer review said Doble's book Experimental Digital Photography was a "book
about pictures you could easily take by accident." A new art form requires that people
look at the works in a new way -- otherwise the artwork can appear random. When the
Abstract Expressionists first exhibited their paintings in the 1950s, many said things
such as "My kid could do that." Jackson Pollock's dripped paintings are now
considered some of the best work of the 20th century and sell for millions of dollars.
With Time-Flow Photography a new dimension has been added, the dimension of time.
To the untrained eye these pictures might appear to be the result of luck but the best
Time-Flow photographs are subtle and carefully constructed. However, most of us
have been taught to avoid any kind of blur in a photograph -- so changing gears and
seeing blur as an artistic technique does demand a new way of seeing.
The notion of accident brings up another aspect. One mistake with such criticisms is
that they often confuse accident with chance. Time-Flow Photography is not
accidental, but it does take advantage of chance, which is quite different -- and is
explained below.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 8 of 12
9. Rick Doble, Raindrops on a Windshield in a Moving Car, 2003
This photograph is not accidental.
This shot might seem accidental to the untrained eye -- yet it is anything but.In heavy rain as Doble
was driving, he turned off the wipers on his windshield and then he focused the camera so that it
focused close-up on the drops of water on the windshield and also threw the lights on the highway
out of focus due to depth of field. Next he waited to take this 8-second shot until he was the right
distance from a stop light -- which he knew from past experience would create a web like red
pattern and the red would also be reflected in the water on the highway. Then he steadied the
camera on the dash of his car to eliminate camera shake to get a sharp picture of the water drops.
Since the distance between the camera and the windshield was unchanging, the water drops on the
windshield were relatively sharp. However, the approaching traffic lights at a slow exposure were
spread behind the drops and out of focus. In addition because Doble had taken a number of
pictures of water on glass, he also knew that each drop of water would act like a lens which would
distort the light and the colors coming from the stop light and the traffic.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 9 of 12
10. ACCIDENT VS. CHANCE
Accident Vs. Chance:
Saying that Time-Flow photographs are accidental can only mean no skill was involved
-- that the photographer had almost no control over the outcome. This is simply not
true as seen by the explanation above. However, chance often plays an important role,
especially in candid Time-Flow Photography. Dealing with chance is not unusual. In
fact, we all deal with chance everyday, such as driving down the highway and
expecting the unexpected. This can happen, for example, when a car in front of us
suddenly comes to a stop for no reason and we must brake quickly to avoid hitting it.
Chance is something we all live with on a daily basis.
Candid Photography And Chance:
Candid photography for over 100 years has depended on chance to give its imagery an
immediacy and a sense of the moment. Cartier-Bresson, who many consider the
greatest photographer of all time, often framed a composition and then waited for a
chance element to enter his camera viewfinder. But he could also compose
spontaneously when the situation demanded. The exact moment when all the pieces
came together, Cartier-Bresson called, "The decisive moment."
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 10 of 12
11. Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907 (commons.wikimedia.org)
Considered a milestone in photography, Alfred Stieglitz came across this scene by chance when he
was on a steam ship. He immediately saw the geometry and the stage-like arrangement, but crucial
to the picture was the man in the straw hat (upper left) which was catching the sunlight. Stieglitz had
to run back to his cabin, grab his quite large camera and return in the hope that the man had not
moved. He was in luck. As Louis Pasteur so wisely said, "Chance favors the prepared mind,"
because it is one thing for chance to occur and a completely different thing to recognize and take
advantage of it. Candid photographers are tuned into chance and make it part of their medium.
Stieglitz wrote:
"On the upper deck, looking over the railing, there was a young man with a straw hat...A round straw
hat, the funnel leaning left, the stairway leaning right, the white drawbridge with its railing made of
circular chains…I saw shapes related to each other. I saw a picture of shapes and underlying that the
feeling I had about life." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 11 of 12
12. Candid Photography And Time-Flow Candid Photography:
Both of these photographic art forms count on chance to give it a power and
spontaneity that other forms of photography do not have. A candid Time-Flow
photographer can create a framework in which chance can occur and then take
advantage of such chance. For example, when taking photographs of musicians, a
photographer might spend half an hour finding the right spot to frame so that the light,
the colors, the background and the way a musician holds his or her instrument fits into
a composition. Then using a slow shutter speed the photographer will try to capture a
sense of that moment, capture the rhythm and the energy in a picture that records the
musician in motion.
Chance And Modern Art:
Chance has been a major component of modern art and contemporary art such as the
art of the Surrealists, the Dadaists, the Abstract Expressionists in addition to candid
photography or street photography. There is even a term for allowing chance into the
art process: aleatoricism.
"The marvellous mixture of emotion and geometry, together in a single instant."
Henri Cartier-Bresson
MASTERING TIME-FLOW PHOTOGRAPHY
Time-Flow Photography demands that an accomplished photographer have a broad
technical understanding of photography such as the interrelationship between focal
length, aperture, depth of field, perspective, working distance and shutter speed; plus
a knowledge of hyperfocal distance, circle of confusion, reciprocity failure, shutter
speed and the desired effect, absolute and relative motion and ghosting or negative
ghosting -- just to name a few, all of which need to be done manually and often quickly.
But also, just as Ansel Adams said almost 100 years ago, photographers can learn to
previsualize their photographs before shooting, i.e. see the scene the way the camera
sees it and not the way the human eye sees it. A Time-Flow photographer can also use
this method to previsualize what a scene will look like when exposed over time -- which
with Time-Flow Photography is markedly different from what the eye sees. With years
of experience a Time-Flow photographer can imagine what a picture will look like with
movement and a long shutter speed before taking a picture. Consequently they can
learn to zero-in on different and new lighting situations that will work with this
technique.
NOTE: "Visualization is a central topic in Ansel Adams' writings about photography, where he defines it
as 'the ability to anticipate a finished image before making the exposure.'"
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Previsualization)
Minor White refined the idea a bit, calling the visualization before taking a picture, previsualization but
crediting Ansel Adams with the basic idea.
Time-Flow Photography Manifesto Page 12 of 12