Getting Our Images To Match Our Vision
Thursday, November 15th, 2007
The first one is so you can tell me how I could have made it better. It was such an interesting contrast. The bright autumn tree standing at the far edge of the old, subdued cemetery. I was using my little Fuji and it just doesn’t do as well with dim light. I took some shots up closer to the tree, but I like this one best. It just didn’t quite come off as I had hoped.
The other is by the Lithia fountain in the park. It was shot hastily when I was there with guests. I wish you had been with me on both occasions, I think you would have come up with some really good versions of what I was attempting.Thanks for your help.
Donna
Hi Donna,
I see what you are going for with both shots and both are very worthy subjects. You obviously have an eye for elements that make an interesting image. In the first there is the juxtaposition of color and mood, and a sense of perspective that draws the eye along the headstones, through the cemetery to the orange tree. In the second I can almost feel the warm glowing light transmitting through the trees and bathing the autumn scene in soft, magical tones.
I think you did particularly well with both of these images for the circumstances. There are a couple of composition choices that I might have made differently, but that is hard to say without actually being there. For example, in the cemetery image, it feels like there is too much empty space in the lower left corner. My instinct would be to move a bit and to adjust the composition, but then the headstones might not line up or the tree might lose its central focus. It is hard to know without being there.
I think most of what isn’t meeting your expectations in these images are functions of lighting, atmosphere, equipment, technique and post processing. The same cemetery shot taken at sunrise on a misty morning, with warm light casting long rays and shadows across the scene and lighting the tree would give it some of the drama you were perhaps feeling when you were there. A dense foggy day would give another mood, but also add to the image.
I have made many trips to, and shot hundreds of photos of, the Rogue Gorge in a variety of conditions. I was never happy with a single photo, even though I felt there was something there worth capturing. So, I kept going back. Finally I happened to be there on an amazing morning last month when the elements all came together and I made a photo that captured something of what I had been visualizing. It took me five years to get that photo and I will probably never again be able to get such a shot (although there is always the chance I’ll experience something different but just as good). I really can’t overstress the value of timing, perseverance and luck in outdoor photography.
The equipment, techniques and post processing used in creating a photo also have a great deal to do with getting a shot to match your vision. The same Rogue Gorge shot wouldn’t have been possible with my handheld pocket camera. I was using a camera with a large, high resolution sensor and a high quality lens. The exposure lasted for several seconds so I was shooting on a tripod. I used a polarizing filter to help cut the glare off the water and the wet rocks and a graduated filter to try to hold back the exposure of the sky. I also took two different exposures and blended them in Photoshop because the sky was so much brighter than the dark foreground that the camera couldn’t record the entire range of light in one shot even with the graduated filter. All told, including learning the techniques, I may have spent hundreds of hours creating that one shot.
So, I guess what I’m getting at here is that I think you are completely on the right track with your photos. Keep looking, seeing and photographing things that get your attention when you find them. This is how you develop your personal vision. I think developing that vision is the most important step, but it is only one step in getting your photos to match the vision. The other steps are a little harder to pin down. Learning the camera and processing techniques takes time and practice, getting the equipment takes money and finding the right conditions takes perseverance, patience and luck. In the end, however, it is the vision that matters the most. The best part is you don’t even need a camera to explore your vision. I’m always visualizing photos in my mind, as I drive or walk down the street. I often hike through the woods without taking photos, instead holding up my fingers to help me frame and visualize my “virtual photographs”.
I think every photographer is constantly struggling to create photos that best express his or her inward impression of the experiences he or she has with the surroundings, but I don’t think anyone fully achieves that. I’m content knowing that my images are incrementally getting closer to my vision, but that I’m not in any danger of putting away my camera because I have done all there is to do.
Best,
Sean
