25. Photo by Violin C.,
Photosforhumanity.org
“ I am shocked by her hardship. The burden on her back
makes it nearly impossible for her to lift up her head. ”
Editor's Notes
Photography? What comes to your mind?
Is it a image like this?Have you ever come to a point whereby taking pictures become a mindless and meaningless chore?For e.g. You feel obliged to pictures of every little detail of a tourist attraction – Your eyes are binded by the viewfinder.Furthermore: You feel frustrated as the pictures you take aren’t unique or interesting they just look like those pictures on the postcards!Moving on: How many times have you looked at an iconic photograph and said to yourself: Oh I can easily take that picture, just that I’m not in the right place at the right time..blahblahblah…” I have experienced all of the above before
So here’s a summary of your problems….<List them out>Yes! I believe that everyone can be a good photographer, that’s why…
…TODAY, I’m gonna share with you three ideas that will change your photography.O Y E!
<LIST OUT>Hopefully these concepts will help you to embrace photography for the joy of it.
“ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. – UK based portraitphotographer Matt Hardy Based on this concept, we should not take everything that is being “thrown” to us. It’s hard for us to change the environment…
…BUT we have choices: we can choose what to include or exclude in our pictures. We can change angle/lenses/composition…whatever it takes to make the picture better.In this image, the cropped off view of a woman’s body and a little girl’s head is not a photographic mistake. It is a deliberate attempt by Murray Riss, One of the most acclaimed photographer in the Mid-South.He’s trying to document the loving yet complex relationship between his wife and his daughter
In making a picture, we must also avoid capturing the “most obvious image”.In his book “How to look at photographs”, David Finn, a leading photographer of sculpture recounts his experience in Stonehenge. He saw many tourists snapping away in front of the attraction taking pictures similar to theseBoring? --> What about this picture?This is not the picture taken by him but this distant view of the stonehenge is far more interesting than the previous ones. Agree? So wander away from the crowds! Enjoy the thrills of finding views no other eyes ever saw
SECOND, recognize that everything is photogenic if you see its beauty and capture it!
These are mundane objects that look different when you just focus on them.I really like this picture of the lamp post that I took in Taiwan. The true colors of the light is shown as I did not use any flash. This picture, taken by one of my favorite photographer on flickrlomokev shows two ordinary balloons lying on the ground I think it invokes a sense of abandonment
Another famous example, Henri Cartier Bresson, the father of modern photojournalism, is able to take the most mundane subjects of a spiral staircase with a guy on a bike riding past and turn them into an iconic image.
Some people have argued that they are not in the ‘golden period of time’ for photography. How can we achieve the timeless pictures of the past NOW? Street photographer Eric Kim said we should not let all these excuses about the present not being interesting enough get in your way of shooting. He says: The “Opportunity to shoot the past is today.”Let’s look at this photograph by HCR in the 1970s… I am sure we can still find opportunities to shoot images like this today
Plus, we have new technologies today that allows us to capture pictures far beyond the streets and the earth!<LIST>That’s why, we should treasure present, live and photograph the present!
Being clear of the concept that “Everything is photogenic”. You may say: What about the rules of photography! I don’t know anything about the “rule of the thirds”, “the decisive moment”, “framing” etc. etc.What can I do?
I urge you not to be confined by the rules! Please, take the courage to break the rules! Here are some ways that you can rebel!
Firstly, the rule tells you: Focus on the center of interest.Break it! Act like a child, have the spirit of play and keep the center of interest out of focus! Play with the balance of forms. This picture is taken by my 4yo cousin Elise. I feel that this is a awesome picture which entirely convey the fun and comical spirit of our day on the cable car.
The rules tell you: Fill in the frame with the subject. BREAK IT.I can easily zoom in on my friends and capture their faces.. But why did I include the bridge? What attracts me was the how the shape of the bridge .Our excitement associated with visiting Hendenson waves in Singapore for the first time. (LOOK FOR INTERACTION WITH THE ENVIRONMENT)
The rules tell you: Keep the camera level with the horizon.BREAK IT! These are pictures I took in Taiwan of the guards by one of the famous gates.I was bending (almost crawling of the floor) as I photograph but I think the result is brilliant.It’s gives quite a divine view of the guard. (but of course I gave the guard a lot of discomfort in the process)
<LIST OUT>There doesn’t exist a standard way of photography. It is a constantly evolving process of discovery. Experiment and Invent your style!
Back to this picture..I think the picture of these tourists taking pictures are even more interesting than the tourist attraction itself!Would you rather be the ones in the photograph or the one photographing?Either way, I hope you can enjoy photography from now on! Thank You.
Here I have with me this book <SHOW AND LIST> that details the photography experience of blind students. Tthey take pictures of even the mundane details of their life all the mundane objects interest them since they have no idea how they look like. For example, this picture of cracks on the ground by Katy seems to be ordinary but she meant to record down the cracks as proof of dangers (especially to the blind). If we can embrace photography with the similar curiosity of these blind students, how much more we could achieve!
In making a picture..it is also crucial for us to <LIST>Enjoy the fact that photography is an outlet for your pounding heart
At first look, you may be wondering what’s the purpose behind this picture.This picture is taken in Nepal, 2010. Now let’s look at the caption: <LIST>You can see that the photographer is mindful and emotionally involved of what she is seeing and she creates meanings of the image in her head. The power of the picture is further enhanced by the captions. It’s a good idea to practice writing captions on the pictures you made, as a reference of what you are feeling at the decisive moment. It will help you to understand yourselves better Higher EQ?The concept of making instead of taking a photo will divert your attention to the process of photography, instead of focusing too much on the results. Your spirit will feel free to express yourselves through photography…but the next question is…what is a good subject?
