You are obviously a man of action, and that's admirable. But you have misinterpreted what I have admired. If you look at Nana Sousa Dias's photos, or Jiri's, or the other photos I've commented on, it's not the long exposure, or the ultrawide lens, or the ferns (ferns?) that elicited my admiration. The photos I admire have a dynamic balance to them, a rightness that I can't seem to see myself on the ground glass, at least on purpose. They say what they have to say with extreme economy. I once entered a photo in a contest that I had reduced to line graphic using Kodalith. The judge nailed me to the wall with the comment, "when you use a special effect, it has to support the idea. It can't be the idea."
When I say I don't need success, don't misunderstand. I have been making photos for decades and have made some that have attracted more than a few oohs and aahs. I have not posted that many here, because not much of my large-format work is in the digital domain. I'm not a production photographer, though. I think--a lot. Then, suddenly, I'll get to a point where something will gel in my mind at the same time as life cuts me some slack in terms of available time and I'll go on a tear. Maybe it works out, often it doesn't. The next time I am compelled to go out with the camera, though, I want a different mental process in place.
You shoot guns; I used to race cars. Track time was unavailable at my bottom rung of professional motorsports. So, when track time is not an option, how does a weekend race-car driver practice his moves? By understanding processes and rehearsing them in his mind, training the right responses. There is a physical training required for any skill, and a mental preparation. I don't need the physical part of photography, but I do need the mental part. I suspect that will be the first to go with me.
Rick "who has plenty of filters and knows what they are for" Denney
Bookmarks