Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 17 of 17

Thread: A curious matter of photo-psychology

  1. #11

    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    226

    Re: A curious matter of photo-psychology

    I think I'm more aware of my surroundings, and also made more aware of my surroundings.

    I am more aware of the surroundings when I'm under the cloth: I hear things clearer, I'm more aware of oddball noises, that sort of thing. Or when I'm concentrating on camera movements, meter readings, shutter settings, I'm aware of movements in the periphery of my vision (I have almost 180 degrees of peripheral vision), a good thing for an LF photographer.

    And as I compose, I tend to pop in and out of the cloth, so I see things surrounding the area I see so clearly demarcated in the GG. It causes me to shift my camera to include/exclude things I didn't see before. It forces me to pre-pre-previsualize other compositions (sorry I couldn't resist).

    One of the things I like about photography so much is that it forces me to be keenly aware of the world around me.

    Brian

  2. #12

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    2,588

    Re: A curious matter of photo-psychology

    Sharper -- because in NYC I am always afraid that as soon as I stick my head under the darkcloth, someone is going to come at me with a baseball bat.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    644

    Re: A curious matter of photo-psychology

    I don't think it's so much "the zone" this lessened state of awareness
    I think the zone brings about a heightened state of awareness

    You might say it's the same thing but I don't believe so
    -heightened one place would mean lessened another- I don't think so
    Concentration like this just means you're not caring about superfluous stuff
    I don't think that's the same as not being aware of the superfluous stuff ..you're just not concentrating on IT

    You can walk up behind someone and spook em if they're busy ..cooking
    Doesn't really mean that person is in a cooking zone
    I think it' just they have no reason to be diligent over their environment

    I'd bet that if you were in a circus taking photographs you'd be on the watchout for elephants
    if not then you simply weren't exercising the needed caution
    You are in a zone but not the same kind
    more like tunnel vision or daydreaming


    Again
    I've played sports all my life
    You don't hear individual cheers as you would otherwise while performing
    There is no reason to
    Sometimes you are able to selectively focus on a coach and "tune out" to great degree the fans

  4. #14

    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    954

    Re: A curious matter of photo-psychology

    [QUOTE=sun of sand;482954]I don't think it's so much "the zone" this lessened state of awareness
    I think the zone brings about a heightened state of awareness

    The zone is not a lessened sense of awareness, but an acute focus of awareness, like a laser, that concentrates all the senses on the central task. That's why race car drivers don't listen to music, or talk on cellphones.

  5. #15
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Seattle, Wash.
    Posts
    2,929

    Re: A curious matter of photo-psychology

    Quote Originally Posted by bvstaples View Post
    [...] It forces me to pre-pre-previsualize other compositions (sorry I couldn't resist). [...]
    I almost missed the significance of Brian’s remark.

    I think it’s unique because it suggests more than a heightened sense of the space around you; it implies a broader awareness of time, too – that is, your future photography.

    Composing a shot seems to inspire a lot of unintended mental magic.

  6. #16

    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    644

    Re: A curious matter of photo-psychology

    [QUOTE=Toyon;483035]
    Quote Originally Posted by sun of sand View Post
    I don't think it's so much "the zone" this lessened state of awareness
    I think the zone brings about a heightened state of awareness

    The zone is not a lessened sense of awareness, but an acute focus of awareness, like a laser, that concentrates all the senses on the central task. That's why race car drivers don't listen to music, or talk on cellphones.
    Being in the Zone bringing about a lessened state of awareness in regards to the outside environment -not the zone being a lessened state of awareness
    I shouldn't have said brings about but rather IS a heightened state
    But I don't think you completely exclude the extras ..just don't focus on them as intently


    I don't believe in your "all the senses on the task"
    I believe when in the zone you are simply ignoring for the better part what isn't important in getting the job done
    You don't lose all sense of what is going on around you
    An elephant could not trample you simply because you're in the zone
    I don't believe the zone is a permanent state but one that pushes up at the needed time -even if it seems it would be needed 100% of the time -as in racing- I doubt it is ..just milliseconds-seconds during the critical decisions. Those decisons may come rapid-fire but it's hardly permanent
    A race car driver could listen to music
    they just wouldn't be able to follow along too well with the lyrics -in part- because you lose track of time
    One second you'll be bobbing your head and then once its time to focus the song is gone ..immediately
    only to come back once that moment of extreme focus is no longer needed
    They could talk on the phone
    They just couldn't hold a conversation w/out pissin the other person off
    you won't lose sentences but perhaps words

    I also believe that things can help put you into a zone
    smells perhaps
    music
    I think it's very complex
    I love -"get hyped" when a certain song is played before/during a game
    It's mostly beat and rhythm of the song I focus on
    Some music doesn't have the correct beat and some can completely turn me off and help take me out of the game

    I'm no expert but Natives etc surely banged a drum to help in their meditations etc
    I think it's a certain comfort level that is attained through the music or whatever it is that does it for you


    Having lost ones self
    The disappearance of all self-consciousness is the best, most freeing -obviously- feeling in the world
    Nothing truly matters outside of what you're doing
    This is The Zone

    "You" in way ceases to exist while your purest self takes control

  7. #17

    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Montara, California
    Posts
    1,827

    Re: A curious matter of photo-psychology

    Although I hadn't thought about it in these terms until now, this is a key reason why I'm getting back into LF.

    For me the details of the equipment sort of go away, if all is going well. The camera becomes, in my phraseology, transparent. This takes me a while to get to this point.

    When I made the switch to DSLR I rarely get into that "zone" (to use this thread's phraseology). Sometimes when the camera is on a tripod with fixed lighting and all I'm doing is firing it. But with most other subjects where I have to manipulate the camera is some way the camera always seems to get in the way.

    Sort of like being really into a movie, really immersed in it, and then something distracts you and brings you back out of the film.

    I sometimes find myself staring at the camera forgetting how to make some basic change when this happens, forgetting what it was I wanted to do in the first place.

    I'm experiencing that to a degree with my new Chamonix. I just start to get "in the zone" and I find myself feeling around for the focus knob at the front of the camera. After a while it I realize I'm not finding it and I make a more "focused" (pun) effort. And then suddenly realize the damn thing is in the rear, right in front of my nose (literally).

    But, then again, I've just started to use the Chamonix (as in, just days ago). It will become transparent in time.

    --Darin

Similar Threads

  1. Geezer Photo Stroller Secrets Revealed...
    By Richard K. in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 9-Mar-2010, 04:33
  2. New Photo Clam Ballhead Models from Really Big Cameras
    By Really Big Cameras in forum New Products and Services
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 11-Jun-2009, 03:33
  3. matte Ink & Photo Black--Epson 3800 problem
    By Raymond Bleesz in forum Digital Processing
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 15-Mar-2009, 04:05
  4. Ooops....Photo Flo in the Jobo!
    By J. P. Mose in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 15-Jan-2002, 12:51
  5. Replies: 7
    Last Post: 31-Dec-1999, 22:59

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •