The photographic experience.

[Torus34]

Given today's cornucopia of technological marvels, it's possible to overlook another aspect of photography as we struggle to keep up with the newest this and the latest that. We can easily miss the singularly personal pleasure to be had in the process of taking a picture.

We've all experienced the effect of a fine restaurant's ambiance on the 'feel' of dining out. It can change the otherwise everyday activity of eating into something quite different. The difference lies in how we view the event. Over the years I've sought out ways to bring a similar enhancement to picture-making.

One is to wander about my city [NY] with an old 35mm rangefinder camera. I've a few of these. They're the type of rig used by the great street photographers of the past. For a while I'm transported into their time period as I try to see the world through their eyes with their equipment.

Another is to seek out a subject for one of my pinhole cameras. Here, limited to a single exposure, I must concentrate exclusively on the light and composition. There's no knob to turn, no menu from which to select an exposure mode. The limits of the camera force me to see the scene with something approaching the eye of a painter.

Perhaps you've also found a way to change takingapicture into taking ... a ... picture.

 

[AKUK]

I think it's a multi-dimensional problem to be honest. Firstly, like you say, is keeping up with technology - or moreover, the need people feel to keep up with technology. With the rate at which manufacturers pump out cameras, it doesn't take 5 minutes before the marketing and hype makes your purchase feel old and redundant.

Unfortunately, this gives people an excuse to think that they can't take good pictures because they don't have the latest and greatest gear. Obviously this is complete nonsense, as it is down to the photographer, not the camera to produce a good photograph. People need to take emphasis off of their equipment, stop spraying and praying in the hopes that something awesome is going to magically appear on the LCD and take responsibility for making a photograph.

I suppose shooting film will do this, limiting you to however many rolls of film you have. Having said that, there is nothing stopping people putting a small memory card in the camera and achieving the same limits. Obviously you can delete images but, knowing you have limited shots certainly makes you be more discerning and casting a critical eye over a scene, paying attention to light and composition, before depressing the shutter.

The frustration of not producing good results often means people placing pressure upon themselves to perform better. Not that there is anything wrong with striving to produce better images but, at the same time it is important to enjoy photography if it is a hobby. The same thing applies with professional photography, where the pressures of dealing with people, running a business and often being restricted in your creative vision by meeting client requests, can also suck the enjoyment out of photography too. This is why taking on personal projects and finding time to enjoy photography again is important. It's all about finding a balance, which can be difficult to do at times.

 

[pixmedic]

technology changes, but the fundamentals of photography do not.
up to this point in technology, you still have to work with the same basic principles of photography as you did with the first film cameras. The exposure triangle.
now, technology has made some things easier/better. multi coated lenses, vibration reduction, higher ISO capabilities, etc etc, and the digital age has streamlined a lot of processes. But in the end, you still have to work within the same basic confines as film photographers. Light, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and your own artistic vision.

 

[limr]

I know some people who use small memory cards to force themselves to limit the number of shots they take. I rarely shoot digital, but when I do, there really is an overwhelming sense that if I just took a few more, I'd get the shot exactly right. I still tend to shoot less, probably, than digital shooters who have never used film because the habit of taking fewer shots is too ingrained in me, but I still shoot more than I do with my film cameras. If I ever find myself carrying a digital camera more often, I'm sure I'll be using small memory cards.

As for making it more of an 'event'...well, for the most part, I have manual control cameras because I want to control the outcome as much as I can. Other times, however, I like the feeling of completely relinquishing control and seeing what happens. Doing so brings me back to the feelings I had about photography as a kid. My dad's Polaroid camera was like magic - he'd take a shot, pull out the film, and then let me peel it apart when it was ready. We were all gathered around, "How will it come out??" If it wasn't so good, it was a letdown, but we knew what went wrong and could usually correct it with just one more shot. Or, it came out really good and we were thrilled.

So even though I love the feeling I get when I'm in control of an image and it turns out exactly like I planned/envisioned it, I also really enjoy that mystery of not knowing what I'm going to get. To achieve that, I'll shoot using some alternative techniques - expired or redscaled film, for example. Again like Torus, I like pinhole photography. And I love working with instant film - I still use my father's Polaroid.

 

[pixmedic]

I know some people who use small memory cards to force themselves to limit the number of shots they take. I rarely shoot digital, but when I do, there really is an overwhelming sense that if I just took a few more, I'd get the shot exactly right. I still tend to shoot less, probably, than digital shooters who have never used film because the habit of taking fewer shots is too ingrained in me, but I still shoot more than I do with my film cameras. If I ever find myself carrying a digital camera more often, I'm sure I'll be using small memory cards.

As for making it more of an 'event'...well, for the most part, I have manual control cameras because I want to control the outcome as much as I can. Other times, however, I like the feeling of completely relinquishing control and seeing what happens. Doing so brings me back to the feelings I had about photography as a kid. My dad's Polaroid camera was like magic - he'd take a shot, pull out the film, and then let me peel it apart when it was ready. We were all gathered around, "How will it come out??" If it wasn't so good, it was a letdown, but we knew what went wrong and could usually correct it with just one more shot. Or, it came out really good and we were thrilled.

So even though I love the feeling I get when I'm in control of an image and it turns out exactly like I planned/envisioned it, I also really enjoy that mystery of not knowing what I'm going to get. To achieve that, I'll shoot using some alternative techniques - expired or redscaled film, for example. Again like Torus, I like pinhole photography. And I love working with instant film - I still use my father's Polaroid.

awe....
that almost makes me want to break out one of my land cameras... almost.

 

[Forkie]

The taking of the picture is actually why I love it so much. I love watching my subject through the viewfinder, chatting to my subject, the click of the shutter, the post processing and viewing the final image.

A lot of people focus on the technical aspects of photography; getting the right aperture and shutter speed; white balance, ISO, how much noise there is, etc., and rightly so. They are obviously how you take a picture.

A videographer colleague of mine is obsessed with the technical side of videography. What lens are we using? What's the focal length? What Kelvin Temperature are the fluorescent bulbs in this room and what white balance temperature should we set the camera to? What codec should we be outputting? That's all fine, but it all falls down when he concentrates on that so much that his composition is unbalanced, or his model/actress is bored of waiting for the technicalities to be perfect and loses motivation or his video is clinically perfect technically, but bereft of personality.

I've never been that technical in my approach to photography. It's always been the interaction with my subject that I enjoy the most. The very process of pointing the camera and shooting - it's only because I want to be able to actually see the picture at the end that I care what the camera settings are at all.

I think that is lacking in a lot of photographers these days. They're so hung up on what camera, lens and shutter speed to use, that they get frustrated because they forget to enjoy taking photographs.