Bobbert's review, in so far as it's serious, draws attention to one
thing which I think is really important for me as a photographer.
The image happens. Then I figure out how. To me, that is the
essence of being in or getting into the zone.
I have become even more aware of this since I went digital. Bringing
a couple thousand shots home from 6 days on the road left me with
many hours of editing and many aesthetic decisions. It's not only
what to throw out and what to keep, or which of the ones not
discarded are actually worth processing, but especially it's how to
process.
In the old days one needed to make many of those decisions before
pushing the shutter release. Film gave options that we now enjoy
after that shutter push, and we had to choose the correct film before
we even saw what we were going to shoot unless we could run 4 or 5
camera bodies or a large format camera. Those were the days when one
needed a graduated neutral desity filter to balance the sky against
the land, one carried (depending on just how much manipulation one
wished to make) a variety of colored filters and polarizers as well.
So, when Robert speaks about composition in that image, he's
addressing the choices before the shutter push. But had he claimed
that he wanted more contrast, deeper shadows, more saturation, he
would have been discussing what happened after the shutter was
released.
Still, both those things were choices for me. Where to put the train
and exactly what arrangment of orange and white train cars to allow
at the moment I released the shutter were things I thought about. If
the breeze had come up already and there had been no substantive
reflection of the train cars I probably would not have even taken the
shot. I also considered how much of the cliff to include, not
processing many shots of the variations.
Afterward, when I got home, I went through the old conflict between
what it looked like and how far the contrast and saturation should be
pushed. And those could have been pushed much further, that's for
sure. And the image would have much more impact if I had pushed them
as well.
But it would have lost its morning-ness if I had.
Our spirits are peaceful in morning light in a way that they aren't
in afternoon light. The water surface would have conflicted with a
more contrasty interpretation as well, denying the truth of the
image, making the viewer uncomfortable without knowing why.
I appreciate Bobbert's long commentary, whether it's sincere or
tongue-in-cheek, because he actually felt strongly enough about the
image to sit down and write it.
--
Emily L. Ferguson
mailto:elf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
508-563-6822
New England landscapes, wooden boats and races
http://www.landsedgephoto.com
http://e-and-s.instaproofs.com/
