gvarner wrote:
We don't physically see and record a scene the way the camera does. There, I've said it. I hadn't thought about this until last night's "aha" moment. It speaks to the difficulty I have in translating what I see into what I want the photo to show, this thing called artistic vision. Photography, in a way, is like viewing a scene with part of your vision cut off, then adding the various pieces back through falible technology. The challenge is real.
Of course we don't see as the camera does. When we see an image, it is within the context of what went before and came after. It triggers memories when you look at it. However, it does not trigger those same memories in others. The artistic part of photography is taking a photo that can elicit similar emotions in another viewer. The camera actually sees everything, while your brain filters out those things you consider unimportant to the scene. If you can learn to step out of the moment and take photos as others will see them, you may get closer to an ideal. Just don't be disappointed if you never quite get there. It is a quest, not an end.