Shanghai Tricycle

When I first started taking photography seriously I would photograph just about anything and everything.  Unencumbered by a lack concern for technique, I photographed with freedom.  A freedom to express my thoughts and capture what I saw.  Of course, there was a lot of dross amongst the images I took.  Without technique, you don’t have the tools to render what you want to capture and certainly not be able to add emphasis or mood to a subject.  So many potentially good images were lost because they were “too” something. Too soft; too dark etc.  Although my technique let me down again and again, I was still encouraged by the fact that there was something in the photos that I was taking.  That I had an eye for an image.  That I could sense a moment and that I could compose the subject within an image.  Then started my journey on improving my technique.  And as I became driven to learn and improve on  my technique, I found that I had lost the freedom I once had.  I was turning out competent images but the content was lacking.  Then, in turn, as my confidence in my technique grew, I began searching for the freedom I once had.  As a result, a style to my photography developed and maturity that can only come through the experience of this journey.  I’ve not given any thought to the idea of having “an eye for an image” for a long time.  A good part of what we do as photographers has to be intuitive, but also, much of it comes through our learned experiences as well.  And where does intuition come from anyway?  It that something we have also learned in our development or is it something we are born with.  Maybe even a mixture of both.  When I was on a recent visit to Shanghai I took the street image above.  I was attracted to the light on the road and I thought the silhouette of the tricycle would be quite striking against it.  I didn’t need to include the rider or even all of the tricycle, just the three wheels is enough to tell you exactly what it is.   There is a striking similarity with the image below that was also taken in Shanghai.  The low angle, the cropping of the subject down to its simplest form are two things they have in common.  However, the second image was taken based on pure instinct.  It was taken with absolute freedom.  The photographer saw something he liked and just took the picture.   The photographer who took this has very little learned experience and certainly no understanding of composition.  The photographer who too this picture was my three year old son.  It suggests that you are born with an eye for an image.

Streets of Shanghai

Performance and perfection

Arthur Pope said that the artist should never write about his art – the artist speaks in terms of his medium. Ansel Adams also said that he cannot tell what a great photograph is. He can answer best by showing a great photograph, not by talking about one. So what about us humble photographers?

Judging by the number of photography blogs (mine included!) most of us are happy to talk about our art, as well as letting it speak for itself. But how do we know what a great photograph is? Is it a perfect balance of composition, light, colour and subject? And what is “perfect” anyway? If you come up with an answer, perhaps you’ll let me know.

In the meantime, here’s a pic from a fantastic French dance troupe performance – there is something about a guy who can balance himself on one hand that screams some sort of perfection to me.