carlysue Loc: Columbus

This article asks the question,"Does the World Need another Aspen Image"--Cynicism and Nature Photography. Since I've been in a creative slump and lacking some enthusiasm lately, I found this article to encouraging. Thought I'd put it here for your input and consideration.


http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles1006/gt1006-1.html

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

What a wonderful article, Carla! I'm going to read it several more times to remember its message.

I posted the below to Photo Gallery not long ago, with the title, "Another Mount Rainier Postcard," because the mountain has been photographed from this location thousands of times :)

The joy and awe I feel up there hasn't lessened in the five years I've been making regular visits. One day I may discover the perfect conditions or moment to make a creative and original piece of photographic art, but until then, I am so very thankful that I can just (as he says) immerse myself in the moment!

(Download)

CSand Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

Carly Sue, I think I am a cynic. Funny but recently I found that I don't even take a 2nd. look at some magazine pics if it is the same old shot from the same old vantage point of our national parks, etc. The images are beautiful and far better than I could ever dream of doing. But I would rather see a HH shot in which the person has done their best, maybe not perfect, but different. Last night at a GNPA meeting our wonderful instructor spoke on a park trip and showed some of his photos which were just wonderful. The difference in his and others was that he found an off- the-path vantage point and included something different in the foreground of the scene. Or shot what he called an anchor on either side of shot. Did not take away from the beauty of the shot, just added so much more interest. One other thought-sometimes I walk into a area to shoot and see nothing. I have found that if I just put my eye to the viewfinder and just begin to move my camera around, something invariably catches my eye. Then something else and before you know it I have taken quite a few pictures. Amazing what is really there if we slow down and look. I wish you good shooting and lots of fun. Sandy

CSand Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

Just saw Linda's photo. It is beautiful. Sandy

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

It happens to all of us. It may be from feeling that you need to specialize.

This is a good time to try something completely different - something you may have never tried before like street photography, landscape, arcitecture, wildlife, action, black & white.

carlysue Loc: Columbus

I think that's it exactly,Linda. Nothing should take the joy and excitement from what we are doing, and because it gives us that kind of feeling is why we should continue.
We should not stop because its "been done before".
Or else there'd be only one hamburger joint and one kind of chocolate bar.

Dixiegirl Loc: Alabama gulf coast

Fantastic article, Carla, and it gave me a bit of encouragement. I read another article recently about shooting often-photographed sights. The suggestion was to make your shot a bit different. Nature is always changing, and if we return to the same scene over and over, eventually we're going to discover something different that will make our image unique.

carlysue Loc: Columbus

[quote=CSand]Carly Sue, I think I am a cynic.

Sandy, I'm thinking you are not a cynic, just maybe not inspired by every image; A cynic thinks he has seen it all and typically has negative responses to what he sees.
You found inspiration in another's attempts and those images stayed with you. I appreciate your encouragement.

carlysue Loc: Columbus

I've been there before,Scotty. Thanks for the encouragement. Its just been a difficult summer and I found myself not taking advantages of opportunities. I have a new IR converted camera,thanks to Mike (Blacks2) and will get out again while the area is still green.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks for sharing this article by my very favorite photographer, one who has influenced my journey more than any other. I was privileged to participate in Guy's Eastern Sierras workshop a couple of years ago, and his message is very consistent. He stresses the importance of being IN nature and experiencing the places where we take our photos and making the photos of that experience rather than just dramatic captures that look like everyone else's.

That has made a lot of difference for me, whether I'm traveling somewhere new or digging deeper into the rather unphotogenic environment where I live and spend the majority of my life. Every week I go into the swamps a couple of days not because the world needs more swamp pictures but because I need to be in the swamp and while I'm there I'm going to find something new or different and I'm going to want to make an image of it.

Slumps come and go, but getting out there even when I don't feel like it always seems to work for me.

carlysue Loc: Columbus

I'm glad you found it encouraging,as well, Donna. I have to tell myself that every image is not going to be award winning,let alone original. I love it when I can feel the excitement of composing an image that turns out the way I had in mind. Doesn't happen every time but I don't want to loose the thrill of trying.

jgordon Loc: Boulder CO

I have a real question about whether the world needs any additional photographs. Billions are taken every day and mostly the world does not take much notice.

However, I don’t think photographers make pictures for the world’s benefit. I think that photographers – and other visual artists – mostly make images for their own benefit. An artist feels a need to express something and the art flows from that. When photographers stand, camera at the ready, at a vantage point overlooking a beautiful scene of Aspens, most will feel a compulsion to try and capture the beauty they see. The process doesn’t have much to do with what the world needs, it is about what the artist needs.

From a viewer’s point of view, the dynamics can be a little different. Many people probably feel overwhelmed by a tidal wave of images to which each of us in subjected every day -- sometimes it feels like every minute. So the issue becomes how much time and emotional investment a given viewer brings to a particular image -- in view of the deluge of images with which he or she is constantly bombarded.

How much time and energy will a viewer invest in “another Aspen” image? It depends, obviously, upon the viewer and the situation. It is, however, probably true that an unusual image will have a better chance of grabbing and holding a viewer’s attention (at least for a few moments) than would yet another version of an image that the viewer has seen on multiple occasions.

This phenomenon is not about cynicism. It has more to do with the sensory overload that most of us experience in the modern world.

Fred Harwood Loc: Sheffield, Mass.

The world may not need another photo of this or that famous place, but as a serious amateur capturing memories and the mnemonic for reference, I take them for myself, family, and friends who may not have the opportunity to experience the time and place. When not in use, my 27-inch iMac runs our library of photos, very often delighting guests and us as we recall this and moment of our lives.

Take the photo.

carlysue Loc: Columbus

Excellent advise,MinnieV. I,too, live in a place that I don't find particularly photogenic. Perhaps because I see it daily. My mentor told me that she, along with a group of photographers, were each given a location unfamiliar to them, and they were to come back with an image for critique. Making oneself "get out there" is certainly a key.

carlysue Loc: Columbus

..... I don’t think photographers make pictures for the world’s benefit. I think that photographers – and other visual artists – mostly make images for their own benefit. An artist feels a need to express something and the art flows from that. . The process doesn’t have much to do with what the world needs, it is about what the artist needs.

I agree, jgordon, well said! You can tell if an image is from the heart or just documenting what is seen. I feel that way as an artist/painter as well as photographer. My mentor told me once- "hand,feet,heart": have the tools, go there, feel it"