The flow of it all

Many years ago I was traveling through South Korea and had the opportunity to visit one of the country’s national treasures. This particular treasure was an actual person and the thing he did that made him treasure worthy was Chinese calligraphy (or, at least a Korean version of it).

I’ve mentally revisited the old guy several times over the years and last week during the Sundance photographers series I was back in the land of the morning calm. I was transported after hearing Henry Cartier-Bresson talk about his photography work. Although I believe Bresson cared about the photographs he created I had the feeling he cared more about the process of photography. The thing that really rocked Henry’s world was the act of making pictures…the take.
Which is why I thought of the Korean calligrapher. This man said the real joy for him was the process of creating. I had the feeling there were no production goals rather, the goal was to stay in production.

Although ink and brush are different than silver halide and glass the mental state the creators achieve is similar. Time stands still. There is a merging of action and awareness. There is a balance between ability level and challenge.

Or, as Bresson says, “The eye, mind and heart have to be aligned.”

Another word for this is flow. Coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentimihalyi, flow “is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling or energized focus, full involvement and success in the process of activity.”

I like flow. I’m a big believer in finding your flow and going there often. Live there if you can. I can’t imagine a more satisfying pursuit…except maybe learning how to pronounce Csikszentimihalyi.

Keith

HCB: We share his photographic DNA

One of the first things I did today was log on to my Amazon account and buy “Henry Cartier-Bresson: Photographer”. During last night’s week-long Sundance series on photographers, HCB was one of two featured photographers.

I hadn’t really looked at any of his photos in a few years and at first I thought, hey, his stuff kind of looks like mine. As one of my old professors used to say, “that’s exactly right…except you’ve got it backwards.” Backwards is a little bit of an understatement as I would never place myself on the same stage with Bresson…not even in the same room.

I watched an old Bresson hold up print after print in the documentary and realized he’s responsible for what many of us see as the standard in photography today. He invented this style (for lack of a better word) that was made possible by the “then” new Leica 35 mm camera. Compared to the larger, view cameras of the day, using a Lieca was like pulling out into milktruck traffic in a M3 BMW.

This camera portability allowed the photographer much more freedom of movement and subject matter. It ultimately was responsible for Bresson’s trademark “decisive moment”, that split second of time when peak action is achieved. The composition, action and light all converge in one moment and then as quickly as it appears it vanishes.

Or as the master says, “the eye, mind and heart have to be alligned.”

Most of the interviews were in French and with English subtitles. I think my favorite quote was: “You don’t have to know that much to be a photographer….just look”. Which in my mind is the equivalent of Brett Favre saying, “it’s not that hard, just throw the ball to the tall, skinny man streaking down the sideline.”

Tonight on Sundance:

Peter Beard:Scrapbook/Africa 6-7 p.m. CST

Also (rebroadcast)

Stars by Helmet Newton 7-8 p.m.

Sundance photographer series

I missed Monday night but caught most of last night’s presentation focusing on Helmet Newton’s life. The thing that stood out most for me was the huge body of work Newton produced. Whether you’re a Helmet Newton fan or not you have to agree the the guy was prolific. He carved a unique niche for himself (often called elegant kink) and worked it.

The other thing that I’d forgotten I knew about photographers of his caliber is that despite his well-defined niche, no subject was off-limits. Newton took the old saw “always take a camera” and quadrupled it. He baffled more than a few nurses by taking a small camera with him as they rolled him into the operating room. Particularly revealing were the post-operative self-portraits as well as those of his wife (shot during different hospital stays).

What did I learn? Passionate pursuit of photography goals is a journey not a destination. If you ever think you’re there, you are completely missing the point. It’s OK if you can’t draw. Newton filled notebook after notebook with crude, stickman sketches and weird little lists. And, last but not least, always take a camera.

The Sundance Series continues tonight:

6-7:15 p.m. CST “Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye”

7:15-9 p.m. CST “William Eggleston/Real World”

Behind the lens documentary

“Photographers, On the Other Side of the Lens” a weeklong series on the Sundance channel begins Monday, March 3 and chronicles…”photographers–how they work, what they shoot and their inspiration” says the New York Times (March 2, 2008).

“As photography has become an increasingly sought after commodity in the art market, turning many photographers into celebrities, the film series diffuses the mystique somewhat by showing the everyday working methods that vary from one photographer to another,” writes the Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/arts/design/02geft.html?_r=6&scp=1&sq=

Photographers%25252C%252bthe%252bother%252bside%252bof%252bthe&oref=login

I’ll be watching if for no other reason than to see Helmet Newton. The series will also include: William Eggleston, Tina Barney and Robert Maplethorpe.

Keith

Citizen Paparazzi

OK, it was only a matter of time until this happened. The Wall Street Journal has a story (Feb. 28, The Rise of the ‘Citizen Paparazzi’) describing how regular folks have become a celebrity’s worst nightmare. Photo agencies like Buzz Foto LLC and Scoopt are encouraging (and paying) just about anyone to send in their celebrity images transforming the shooter into….citizen paparazzi.

Add the availability of cheap, technically capable digital cameras to a super efficient distribution channel like the web and you have the infrastructure for an army of photojournalists. The army self-deploys to the four corners of the globe and presto, 24-7 world-wide coverage…for free.

This is not completely new. More than a few Pulitzers have been awarded to camera-toting amateurs who happened to be in the right place at the right time (and who could forget the National Geographic cover shot by a monkey). The main difference is that citizen paparazzi get money not journalistic prizes.

Couple camera wielding citizens with the blanket of security cameras covering the developed world and it’s conceivable that walking around in public unobserved has become impossible.

Keith

http://online.wsj.com/article_email

/SB120214555663941015-lMyQjAxMDI4MDIyOTEyNDk1Wj.html

Attention spans: the shorter the better

I’ll admit it right up front. I like new stuff. I’m not talking about shiny toys (although I like them, too) I’m talking about ideas. I like the fact that our paradigm seems to shift every couple of months. I like the fact that not only is change ubiquitous but the rate of change is accelerating every day.

For a long time I attributed this to being an early adaptor. But I can’t decide if I’m a true early adaptor or just have a really short attention span.

Historically, having a short attention span hasn’t been particularly useful especially when we had to focus on one job for 20 years and there were only three television channels. But the information age changed that.

People who study human brains say the fire hose of information that confronts us every day is forcing our brains to process information differently. We now live more moment to moment as dictated by the current data stream hitting us in the face.
Could it be that multi-tasking is actually multiple, micro spans of attention oscillating up and down the radio dial of life?

An art director once remarked to me that all photographers have ADD. She said it in a way that implied if I didn’t know this already….well, I must not be paying attention. Maybe she had something. Individual photographs are graphic representations of a moment in time….or span of attention. And we have been dividing reality into 1/60th of a second increments since Henry Bresson’s decisive moment.

Seeing the whole and its parts at the same time is a helpful skill for story-tellers (visual or not). Plucking significant moments out of time requires a thought process that’s part multi-tasking and part short attention span. Thoughts move laterally rather linearly.

keith

Home-made lights

I ran across an interesting link describing several lighting hacks for photographers. I’ve spent more than a few hours browsing the hardware lighting section and fantasizing about DIY photo light kits. I’ve re-purposed a space blanket or two but beyond that I’ve not been too successful rolling my own photographic lighting systems.

Part of the problem is I have no patience when building something. I tend to rush which results in a cobbled project at best. Also, when you figure the amount of tinker time and runs to the hardware store I’m not sure you actually save anything. The other factor is I’m a location shooter, not a studio guy. Studios tend to foster innovation when it comes to lighting gear because the studio itself is often built around lighting systems.

Having said all of this, I do believe that equipment hacks in general are an extension of the creative process. The ones I like tend to be serendipitous rather than strategic. One example that comes to mind is former National Geographic editor Wilbur Garrett’s photo of a human skull in Cambodia. To make the shot he bounced his Vivitar 283’s light off of an orange camera bag he’d set on the ground next to the skull. The resulting warm, candle-light side lighting on the skull was in perfect contrast to the blueish, deep-shade ambient light.

It’s the kind of unplanned, MacGyverish solution that I live for.

kp

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/

diy-flash-and-lighting-hacks-for-digital-photographers/

Portable lighting

I have a thing for LED light panels (see links) The first time I saw one in the wild was the lobby of the Times Square W Hotel. A film crew was setting up an interview shot with one video camera and one 12 inch square LED light panel. I was immediately filled with equipment lust. I’ve searched the web and trolled a few blogs but have not heard of any still photographers using the constant source LED panels.

It looks like an excellent lighting solution for the traveling photographer. I could see this as a simple, off camera light with no sync cords to worry about. Without actually using one it’s hard to know exactly how much light the units can produce but the cool running LEDs fixes a major complaint with constant source quartz light….heat.

keith

Shopping for ideas

One thing I’ve observed about myself is that the best photos from a given assignment often come at the end of the take. For lack of a better term I’ll call this the “boutique effect”. Like when you walk around one of those cute little stores and on the fifth orbit you discover something completely missed…completely unexpected.

This same orbit often happens when I’m shooting. The more times I circle an idea the more likely I’ll discover something completely missed…completely unexpected. I think this is because once I’ve worked through the obvious things I have to look harder to see something new. During the first orbit I’m usually working through my inventory of past successes (some people might call this style). The magic happens on those final trips around the idea.

I’m not alone in this observation. Many authors of books on creativity suggest tossing out the first half dozen solutions you come up when problem solving. I’m not ready to throw them out yet but I’ve learned to pay special attention to those last few that trickle out.

keith

More D3 after dark

This view of lower Manhattan (through a dirty hotel window) showcases one of the great virtues of Nikon’s new D3 body…low light captures. Nikon has tweaked metering and white balance to the extent that low light, auto exposure captures come out of the camera looking near perfect. Although I don’t have a D2x comparison for this scene, I have plenty of other situations with side-by-side captures (with different lenses)

I would eventually like to post some comparisons but I want to shoot with the same lens on both bodies. Unfortunately, I’m extremely reluctant to change lenses unless I’m in a dust free environment.

Stay tuned.

Keith