Monday, June 14, 2010

Sees




Okay, okay. I am going to be completely honest... Auto-focus is mostly on cruise control for me, and I usually tweak my photos' coloring on my editing program. However easy it may seem, it is all to recreate the "beauty that I find in the ordinary every day".

So when my highly intellectual cousin questioned my beloved art of photography, I told him that exact statement above.
"Photography is the lazy man's art," he said, "anyone can press a button, and then edit it to make it look perfect. I wouldn't say you have to be talented to do that..."

Little did he know, but those words deeply bothered me for quite some time. Am I really an artist? Is photography really an art? How am I special if anybody can make a pretty picture?
It sure took me a long time to answer the thousands of questions in my head, but I finally did it. And here is my answer:

Photography is much more than a pretty picture. It's true- anyone can do that. Photography, however, is the magic found in an exchange of good mornings, the soft sheets woken up to every day, an afternoon drive to soccer practice, a child's playdate, carefully drawn sidewalk chalk murals on the driveway, the touch of a loved one, an overpacked minivan headed to the beach, the irony of an out of place conversation ...

A true photographer is different because

a true photographer sees.

**To answer some questions:
I do almost always shoot on manual modes (mostly Av) , and I sometimes use manual focus, but auto-focus is the most common because when I see something I want to capture, it is the best to use because I don't want the moment to go by.

14 comments:

  1. I would have smacked him.

    I have people look at my pictures and say "Wow...you must have a nice camera." Yes, I do, but my camera doesn't take pictures. I do. That last thing you wrote is so true.

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  2. I love the definition that you came up with -- sees -- it's great. Really though you could say that is the definition of an artist in general -- they see things that others do not see and then they express it in their chosen medium -- your medium is photography and you are an artist. Thank you for putting into words something that I felt inside, but wouldn't have know how to say. Blessings

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  3. SO TRUE.....
    we always see what everyone else fails to notice and if we're lucky enough, we capture it and it's called a photograph.....

    WOW....those are my own words :)
    i might have to use them again on my blog :)

    and tell your cousin.....shhhhhhh

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  4. The choices you make when tweaking, cropping and shooting are all very artistic. I love what you do. This picture, for instance. The skirt appears to be corduroy, the little girls knees are locked and a little backward bowed. She has pulled up her own socks, that's why there's a little wrinkle at the top of the right one. It all suggests innocence and youth. It's lovely.

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  5. i would have been bothered by that comment too. but i totally agree with you. it is in the seeing and the way we see things that makes us a photographer. a good one, at least.

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  6. I agree with the conclusion you reached ... and you see well ... very, very well.

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  7. Kass- you pinned the nail on the head! The perfect description. You, my friend, really see.

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  8. and thanks to all of you for the feedback! you lovely seers, you.

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  9. Give your cousin your a camera and tell him to create art! I bet then he will change his mind.

    Photography is not just about pressing a button. It's about composition,focus (stuff you can not fix in photoshop!!!) sure you can manipulate light or give your photos an antique look or add texture to an image with software. But a photographer must understand ISO, relationships between ISO. aperture, shutter speed, they must understand and connect with their subject and they often must see in a way that the ordinary person does not. A photographer must understand light. A good photographer not only sees what is in front of them but sees with their mind and portrays the way they see and feel with in their images.

    There is far more to a good photographer than pushing a button and photoshop otherwise we'd all be photographers and then freelance, portrait, wedding photographer and alike would all be out of business.

    In some ways you can argue art is easier as you can make it up. A photographer can only photograph what's in front of them we have to use or lens and our knowledge of our camera and the way it works to remove a object from a situation or manipulate light. A painter just makes it up as they go.

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  10. I totally agree with you Liss! It is not easy! But I think once people learn the certain techniques, and "read the manual," there is still a difference in the photographers who know how to technically work the camera, and those that actually "see" and are creative in their picture taking- the true artists.

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  11. tell your cousin to look closer at your photos... he has to be real still and look with his heart, not with his eyes. and he will feel just a bit of what you see, through that magical lens of yours. ; )

    you are one of my favorites and i want to hug you each time you share what you see: )

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  12. I could guess who this is.. Love the definition, Suz!

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  13. I love seeing through your eyes. A beautiful view of the world indeed. Love it.

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  14. Oh yea so true.But you've got to be kidding me about the autofocus. Don't you play with your camera in the manual way? Your pics are so amazing over and over again. But of course that's also because it's your heart and soul I feel in there. Hugs D.

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Hey guys. Please leave a comment- I want to learn more about the interesting and wonderful people who happen to stop by and see my work. I would love to hear from you!

-suzyQ