Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I am happiest when I’m “in the moment,” being fully engaged with the subject - which is usually nature or wildlife, and which often involve fleeting moments of light or action.

Unfortunately, this sometimes means I forget to change camera settings as needed, or I miss a better composition, and often means I try to include too much in the frame :)

How do you approach a subject: analytically, well organized; or emotional, intuitive, reacting? Do you have a specific end result in your mind, or do you find yourself discovering little gems as you “work the scene” - a distasteful term to me; photography should be joy and play - not work!

These questions were inspired by Frank2013's http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-322859-1.html

and part of MinnieV's response... "How do you/we find such things? Do you see the photograph when looking at the building, separating the lines and colors and light with your eyes?"

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

It will not surprise Linda that my way of seeing is similar to hers. There is a reason that more than one person has got us mixed up even though we live on opposite sides of the continent. While I can sometimes approach rather mundane subjects objectively, I lose my mind when confronted with good light, and often use the wrong settings or fail to shoot from a better viewpoint. With experience, I have progressed (when not overexcited) from the mental response of "Oh that's wonderful, let me capture it" to "It's wonderful and I know how it can look once I edit it, so let me do this/that to get the base file I need".

I dislike a lot of popular photography terms too. I don't work a scene. I explore it and try to discover something there. But what cues me that there is something to explore is my emotional response to the visual: certain light, certain colors or color combinations and to a lesser extent lines and textures.

Lynn L Loc: Northern IL

Linda, you have a grand question here. In my case, many times I fly freely into a scene and without thought record images. The number of successful images I've recorded with this procedure would fit in flea's naval! I have to explore a scene. (I didn't say work it.) I still don't have the ability to know exactly what draws me into a scene with consistent certainty. I have to walk around the scene, and hopefully discover a strong view. I have to be very critical of what I record because I have a tendency to, "fall in love" with what's in front of me, well before I've found a strong composition. So my procedure, if I have one, has to be quite meditative, for me to get good results. I don't have a gift for naturally "seeing" strongly; only once in a while do I do that. You, on the other hand, do see strongly quite frequently. What every way you do it, keep it up. You do very well.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

This is what this section is all about!!! S-

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

You are as eloquent with your words as your photographs, Minnie!

I love the verb "explore" over "work" - that speaks to me, and I will use it. I plan to even write it on a yellow sticky to carry :) This might be a milestone, as was my hounding Steve 'til he finally explained in a way I could relate to the idea of a photograph "telling a story."

Also how you're cued that there is, in fact, something worthy of exploring. Thanks!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Thanks so much for your compliments and your pov, Lynn. I can definitely identify with "fly freely" into a scene and start recording :)

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

LAF

Frank2013 Loc: San Antonio, TX. & Milwaukee, WI.

Back in my film days I was very carful with the shutter. I would just look for the longest, then maybe check it out in the viewfinder from all around. Then maybe just maybe I would feel it was worthy of snapping the shutter and reducing the number of shots I had left by one. That mentality is totally gone now. I'm not saying I snap at the drop of a hat but sure don't worry about it anymore. The downside to that is time spent deleting. I'm more spontaneous than anything else. Can't say I go out with intent, other than to capture a few shots of whatever I might see. I will say I am starting to think a little more about different genres though. Seeing other's work here has opened my thought process to certain subjects and styles, such as Billyspad or Grahams street stuff or rmalarz desert/landscapes, minniev's swamps. I take shots when I am not even thing of photography, heres one of a series that popped up last night. I haven't even looked at them yet and have not processed any of them, they all may end up deleted. Just my spontaneous example, happen to glance outside at the right moment or these would have never happened.

(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

A compelling image, Frank!

You spoke to what I was thinking about for a future topic: how digital photography has changed our shooting "habits." I was thinking more in terms of being lazy about carefully composing a shot (a year of b&w film classes in 1990 and I still hear, "Check the edges of your frame!" ).

But I really like your take on it: spontaneity - not worrying about results, just being in the moment and enjoying the process. Besides, I bet most of us have discovered, when reviewing later, a shot we just "grabbed" that turns out to be a favorite.

Thanks for your time and comments!

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Can I confess I'll sometimes shoot what I find, but then think about what I want from or can do with that image later?

With the cats, it's a moment to moment thing, with planning only in a very general way. Wait for them to get into the right light, wait for them to strike a pose I like, and shoot (if I'm lucky) before they run away...

The flowers are done differently. More the 'shoot it in good light and at the angle I want' and then choose how to present them later.

Landscapes I will plan, but again, it's often a matter of 'this is the base shot I want, but now I have to wait for the light to be right...' And that may take minutes, hours, days, or even years. Even so, sometimes the light is absolutely perfect, and the scene may actually be secondary to the light (sunrise/sunset would qualify here). Grab it while you can.

How about I use the term 'Planned Spontaneity?' LOL

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Super-interesting response, Randy. Thank you so much!

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

I see this like gathering flowers in a field and arranging them later.
- of course, I'm not a girl and don't do this sort of thing... (ahem) S-

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Uh,oh....I've been using " ...work the scene..." Since the 1950s, so I may not get over it. Lessee..." Maximize options" "look wider" ??? Just saying "explore" ( to me ) seems a bit too random. To my mind there is and should be a drive to do maximal justice to a subject or scene that has moved us to "pay attention" and to do the best we can by it. To my mind, "work the scene" carries just the right sense of purpose needed to accomplish our creative best!

Just one guy's opinion.

Dave

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

But, that's what we're here for right, to hear another opinion! S-

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Maybe it's a guy thing. Men and women do think somewhat differently, especially when it comes to problem solving. Most photography language is, well... guy talk.

Perhaps a topic for other threads. Why is there such a predominance of men in the field? Women seem to be breaking into portrait and wedding, but not so much into landscape, for example. Do men and women "see" art differently? "Think" art differently?