How well do you see what you’re photographing?

January 5, 2012

1–2 minutes

With the new year we thought we would add “mini” blog posts and share some of our current activities, insights, and epiphanies.

I am currently reading a book by Nancy Rotenberg focused on creativity. In an essay she presents a challenge to help you see – take 30 frames of your subject. I decided to add the qualifier “different’ when I gave it a try. It’s not easy. I love Gerber Daisies – but until this activity I had never really noticed the interesting yellow buds that rim the center, or how just focusing on the petals looks like feathers on a bird, or what interesting abstracts I can create by defocusing the yellow buds against the red petals. I found this challenge to be an eye-opener and something I will start to incorporate regularly into my photography.

2 responses to “How well do you see what you’re photographing?”

Jack Graham

January 5, 2012 at 4:28 am

Mary,
Learning to see is ( as I now you know) quite difficult and something I have been stressing in my workshops in the past years or 2 just as much as how to technically make a good image. I have written about “seeing” in my new e book and am constantly thinking on how to attune my senses more to improve this important step in making images and teaching this to others.
I would suggest that Nancy’s challenge is certainly viable and helps one to become aware that there’s more to a subject than perhaps the obvious.(Nancy was a good friend and master thinker, one who I learned much from)..
I would also suggest doing this exercise with larger subjects as well. After time you will get to the point that certainly 30 are not necessary, but maybe 2,3 o4 perhaps 4 will suffice. Experiment can be a lot of fun and ake you think…. one of the components of good image making—
You’ll get to the point that you’ll know how to use those yeallow buds, and petals straight away…. …it’s all development and we should never stop developing our vision..JG

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