Decisive Moment:  For every photo you will take there is a precise time when all the compositional elements come together.  This is the time when the shutter should be released.  It is a temporal thing.  It is a moment in time.

 Photography Grace Note:  The grace note is a physical compositional element, something special that gives the composition of a photograph more impact.  It is paying attention to the details of composition.

The decisive moment is when the grace note “shows up”!!

 1)  A well-composed picture with a decisive moment, but without a grace note could be art, but usually it is:  Picture>>>>Photograph

 2)  When a well-composed picture with a decisive moment also has an important grace note, the photograph becomes a work of art.  Examples from great photographers of the past were given in the previous posts.  These photographs went beyond being a photograph, they were works of art because of an added compositional touch.  They paid attention to important details: Picture>>>>Photograph>>>>Art

Speaking of paying attention to important details in a composition, I refer you to an article in Luminous Landscape by Mark Dubovoy entitled “It’s All About The Small Details”.  In this well-written article, Mark discusses, with examples, exactly what these blog posts have been discussing.  It is an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/everything_matters_part_2.shtml

In the previous posts I featured well-known photographers and asked for any readers of this blog to send me a photograph showing an important grace note.  Below is a photograph from Mark Baldwin along with his comments:

Moonrise and sunrise light over Lake Michigan; Door County, WI----Mark Baldwin

”I’ve been reading your recent series of blog entries with great interest.  The concept of a photography grace note makes for a very interesting topic.  An emotional trigger is an important part of any photograph.  Sometimes that trigger is as immense as an entire sky lit up by a setting sun.  But it almost seems that the smaller the element is in the composition that triggers that emotional response, the more powerful it is.  I think that is the reason the attached photo is a favorite of mine.  It was taken at Cave Point County Park on a Door County in January of 2011.  It was before sunrise and there was fresh snow on the ground.  I was able to find a small group of rocks and birch trees on the shoreline that made a pleasing composition.  The soft light on the sides of the trunks would have been reason enough for me to make this photograph, but it was the crescent moon just above the horizon over Lake Michigan that was, for me, the grace note in this photograph.”—-Mark Baldwin

Quote:  ”Art is not to be found by touring to Egypt, China, or Peru; if you cannot find it at your own door, you will never find it.”—-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Comments?  Want to contribute a photo?   willardclay@att.net

The first example is a photo taken by the legendary photojournalist, Walker Evans, who took many memorable photos that captured the despair of the Great Depression.  Below is a photo of a woman from the Depression whose blank stare in her eyes shows the desperation of the times.  However, there is something about the way her upper lip curls over the bottom lip that shows she is resolute, as if she is clenching her teeth in desperate determination.  “I comb my hair, I have clean clothes, I will not be beaten!”  That grace note triggered an additional emotional response in this viewer.  Walker Evans aware of that little detail?  He was one of the greatest.

Allie Mae Burroughs; Walker Evans, 1936

 Consider the cityscape below by one of the wonderful contemporary photographers, Jay Maisel.  A nice moody, foggy, photograph of city buildings at night.  Nice photo, but the decorative lights on the roof of the foreground building on the right, and perhaps the lights in the windows of the building in the left foreground, create a grace note that elevates this photograph to art.

New York at night; Jay Maisel

 The photographer who established color nature photography as an art form was Eliot Porter.  After an exhibit in Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery, An American Place, the success of the show convinced Porter to forsake his research career at Harvard and pursue photography.  His mantra was, “I shoot only form and color”.  A typical example of one of his “Intimate Landscapes” is the photo below entitled “Waterslide”.  What is the grace note?  The pool of blue water in the upper right.  Without it?   A photograph of interesting shapes.  With it?  Art.

Waterslide From Above, Long Canyon; Eliot Porter, 1965

 Now for a very recent landscape photograph with a grace note that was the stimulus for the photograph.  What initially caught my attention as I hiked up and down the shoreline of Lake Michigan, looking for a good composition, were the two circular ice “pancakes” in the foreground, but it is the cake directly behind the foreground that makes it stand out.  Why?  Because it has a distinctly darker tonality than all the rest of the ice pancakes.  That “something extra” that is special.  It serves the same purpose as Eliot Porter’s blue pool, Jay Maisel’s holiday lights, and Walker Evans’ upper lip over the bottom lip.  The sunrise color is the decisive moment, the dark ice cake the grace note.

Sunrise light over Lake Michigan; Door County, WI

 In the next post we will show an example from one of the readers and lay out a functional definition for the concept of “photography grace note”.  What it means and why it is so critical to art photography, a concept all the great photographers are (were) aware of.

Quote:  “Time goes by at the speed of Life”—-Singer/ songwriter Jude Cole

Quote:   “Why is it called ‘after dark’ when it really is ‘after light’?”—-George Carlin

Comments or a photo to share?   willardclay@att.net

But the concept of grace note goes a bit further to include some element, usually a compositional element, that is unexpected.  It adds something special to trigger an emotional response and elevate the photograph to a work of art.  I know, I know, even then there is a decisive moment to release the shutter and you are nit-picking!  I want to concentrate on that special compositional element, not an action moment which I have already touched on, that makes a viewer look twice.  That special DETAIL in a composition that triggers an emotion because it is there.  Makes the photo a work of art!

Below is an Edward Weston print of Oceana Dunes that is a case in point.  It is not a great reproduction, but it demonstrates a compositional grace note….as I interpret it.  What is the grace note in this magnificent photograph that triggered an emotion in me, the viewer?  I believe it is the S-shaped small dune in the upper right that contrasts in juxtaposition the darkest tone in the print with the brightest tone in the print.  Decisive moment?  Sure, but it is not fleeting and is an “unexpected” compositional detail that adds an emotional touch.

Oceana Dunes; Edward Weston, 1936

Consider this famous photograph below by fashion photographer Helmut Newton.  He accentuated the black tones covering the model’s eyes, a technique popularized by cinematographer Gregg Toland in Citizen Kane.  What then is the added touch grace note?  The small white points in the eyes is the compositional detail that triggers an emotional response….in this viewer.

Helmut Newton

 You want a photograph that triggers an emotion?  Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother, 1936″ of a destitute family of pea pickers during the Depression rips your heart out with emotion.  The entire composition, facial expression, and body languages are extremely emotional, but it is what she did with the hands of the mother and the child on her left shoulder that is the grace note that adds emotional punch to this iconic image and makes it a work of art.

Migrant Mother; Dorothea Lange, 1936

 Finally, a landscape photograph.  From a recent shoot in Starved Rock State Park, IL, the combination of late light reflected from the cliff face above the river in combination with the ice patterns was outstanding.  But I could not find the compositional grace note to create that emotional trigger in me….the photographer.  I moved a few feet to my right to make room for another photographer and there it was!  The grace note!  It was the reflection of bare branches in the lower right.  Now the photo was balanced.  Tree reflections in lower right to balance those in the upper left and snow patterns in the upper right to balance the snow in the lower left.  Details!  Grace note!

Evening light and reflections; Starved Rock State Park, IL

 We are now closing in on understanding the concept of Photography Grace Note?  It is paying close attention to some unexpected detail that makes a photograph a work of art.  Without it, nice picture, with it….a photograph, a work of art.

Quote:  “What counts are the little differences.  ‘General ideas’ mean nothing.  Long live the details!  A millimeter makes the difference!”—-Henri Cartier-Bresson

Quote:  “I can see the fate of all mankind rests in the hands of fools”—-lyric from King Crimson

Comments?  Want to share a photograph?   willardclay@att.net

“Will, we were talking about this concept (Photography Grace Note) at our outing today and it intrigued me so much that I had to read what you wrote. The concept, while interesting to a music junkie, really doesn’t sound that much different from the decisive moment. Was not Cartier-Bresson’s “proper expression” related to the emotion of the moment?”

Photography Grace Note, as I am trying to define it, can indeed be Cartier-Bresson’s “Decisive Moment”, and in many photographs it is.  Without a doubt!  The examples in the previous posts were examples of the decisive moment as defined by Cartier-Bresson, a fleeting moment that made the photograph that was the emotional trigger.  Point conceded.  Before we continue, as a disclaimer, nothing has influenced my personal photography more than the concept of the decisive moment as Bresson defined it.  Point established?

But there is more to the Photography Grace Note than the decisive moment, as powerful as it is.  It can be extraordinary light, but the “devil’s advocate” could argue that great light is a decisive moment, though it may not be a momentary phenomenon as defined by Bresson.  It may last for much longer than a fleeting moment.  This is nit-picking?  I think it is.  Let’s move on.

But there are some photography grace notes that are not time dependent, namely, a special something extra that is compositional.  It may be a special structure or shape a viewer did not expect that is the emotional trigger.  Case in point is Edward Weston’s Pepper #30.  We all know what a bell pepper looks like, but what he photographed had an extraordinary shape the viewer would never expect, almost human model-like, and THAT is the photography grace note.  The unexpected shape!

Pepper #30; Edward Weston

Now consider the Weston photograph of artist Jose Clemente Orozco.  I believe the decisive moment is the expression on Orozco’s  face captured at that moment, but it is the light reflected in his glasses that becomes the special grace note.  Fleeting decisive moment?  Perhaps, but this is a studio shot and my guess is Weston moved Orozco, or the lights, to capture the highlights and create the special composition he wanted.   A composition grace note, that “something extra” that triggers an emotion and is NOT time dependent.

Jose Clemente Orozco; Edward Weston

 Now, let’s take a look at a landscape example.  Saguaro cacti silhouetted at sunset in Saguaro National Park are not rare and that is an understatement.  Consider the sunset photograph below taken at sunset in the West Unit of Saguaro National Park in Arizona.  What is the compositional grace note that made this photograph special and triggered an emotional response in me when I found this scene?   The two large cacti in the foreground are shapely, but not rare.  The color of the sunset?  Beautiful, but not uncommon in Arizona.  The third “small” cactus in the background!  That was the grace note that made this photograph!  That unexpected little something extra.

Sunset; Saguaro National Park, AZ

 I think we are finally getting a grip on defining “photography grace note”.  It is that extra “something special”, and maybe that something special is very small, that triggers an emotion that makes the photograph a photograph that sets it apart.

More comments to make the Professor think?  willardclay@att.net

Quote:  “The term accessories has come to include a host of photographic gadgets of questionable value.”—-Ansel Adams

Below is a photograph taken by the great photojournalist and war photographer, W. Eugene Smith.  The image depicts the stress of WWII.  The soldier in the back stands guard with his rifle ready while the fatigued soldier in the foreground takes a break for a drink of water from his canteen.  What is the photography grace note in this image that triggers an emotional response?  The image is well-composed, the soldier has his helmet kicked back, he is sweating profusely, and is covered with grime. 

The grace note that triggers the emotional response?  The shape of his mouth receiving the water and the blank stare in his eyes looking off into the distance?  At what?  That is the grace note W. Eugene Smith captured that makes this photograph so emotional.  That blank look on his face looking at what, or just staring because of fatigue.  Whatever, this photo is emotional.

W. Eugene Smith Photograph

 Now for a landscape photograph with a photography grace note.  The scene is Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore at sunset.  The sun is going down over the Hurricane River emptying into Lake Superior.  Nice scene, but when the sun was at just the right angle relative to the water in the foreground, there was a pool of reflected pink light that lasted for such a painfully short period of time.  Cartier-Bresson’s  decisive moment!

Oh, the value of patience and being ready for that special moment….if it happens!   Without the pool of pink light, a photo worth taking for sure.  I would have shot it.  With it however, an image that triggered an emotional response (at least in this photographer) that made the scene special.  Because of the photography grace note!

Hurricane River and Lake Superior at sunset; Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI

 What can we take away from these examples?  I believe the vast majority of photographs that fall into the category of, “Oh, that is a nice photograph”, are just that, nice photographs.  And I have taken my share for sure, nice photographs.  But when that special something happens, the photography grace note, an emotional trigger occurs that makes the picture a memorable photograph that makes a viewer stop, look, and look again because they feel something.  What is felt is difficult to define, but the heart (soul?) knows.  Something special, and probably unexpected, triggered an emotion.  Aaaahhh, that is what great photography is all about!  Now define it so the mind can understand!

In a future post, I would like to discuss my thoughts on Ansel Adams and whether his images incorporate photography grace notes as I am trying to define them.  But that is a thought for another time.

Quote:  “Expect nothing, be ready for anything”—-Joel Meyerowitz

Quote:  “Don’t let your days be blinded by darkness”—-Pink Floyd (lyric edited)  Yes, I did mean Pink Floyd!

Comments?  Pictures to share?  willardclay@att.net

The term “grace note” in music composition was also introduced and as was defined as “a note not essential to the harmony or melody, but added as an embellishment, especially an appoggiatura”.  That embellishment creating an emotion in photography I am going to term, “photography grace note” and leave the term “appoggiatura” to other posts to be argued over.  And photography grace note will be our guideline for discussing why some photographs create an emotional response in a viewer.  Of course, I concede what triggers an emotional response in me may not do so in you.  Such is the way with emotions.

If we are going to apply our “photography grace note” to photography and define that embellishment, what are the photographic factors that would create our emotion-generating grace note?  It would be a dramatic composition, or dramatic light, or that elusive concept to define, the “decisive moment”, a term coined by Henri Cartier-Bresson.  Or the grace note might include one or more of the above and it might possibly be something quite small in the photograph.  There is not one hard and fast definition to this concept.  Let’s take a look at some photography examples that triggered a subjective emotion in this viewer and state why.

Photography examples:

Below is the famous photograph Barbara Mullen, Blowing Kiss shot for Harper’s Bazaar by the great fashion photographer, Lillian Bassman.  Straight out of the Film Noir lighting of stark blacks against whites reminiscent of the film Citizen Kane, it is beautifully composed, and it certainly captures the decisive moment of blowing the kiss.  Having said that, the “photography grace note” has to be the shape of the face in profile accentuating the shape and the dark outline of the lips.  Exquisite!  It might be noted this photograph was taken just a few years after Citizen Kane.  Did Gregg Toland’s cinematography techniques influence Lillian Bassman?

Barbara Mullen, Blowing Kiss; Lillian Bassman (1950)

 If the shape of the model’s mouth and outline of the lips is not easily seen in this blog photo, here is a link that will allow you to see the lips more clearly.  Without the outline of the mouth, and it occupies less than 1% of the total area of the photograph, it is a strong image.  With it however, it is the “photography grace note” that makes the image emotional.  It makes the photograph!

http://www.artnet.com/artwork/426066135/3276168/lillian-bassman-barbara-mullen-blowing-kiss-variant-harpers-bazaar.html

What about applying this line of “emotional reasoning” to a landscape photograph that might have a grace note that triggers an emotion in the viewer?  Below is a photograph of a winter pre-sunrise light on the Teton Range as viewed from the Snake River Overlook in Grand Teton National Park.  It is a very nice photograph, and a popular image with calendar editors, but does it have that “something a little different that generates an emotion”?  I am not convinced it does, as we have defined photography grace note.  The fog?  The color of the clouds?  Maybe.

Pre-sunrise light on the Teton Range and the Snake River; Grand Teton National Park, WY

 Now, let’s take a look at what happened right at sunrise.  I assumed the entire range would illuminate at sunrise, but what happened was the first warm sunrise light fell on Teton Peak, the tallest peak in the range at that point.  It was this small pool of light on Teton Peak that created an emotional response in this viewer.  (Stop shaking and think about the mechanics of accurately capturing this fleeting image!)  Like the lips in Barbara Mullen, Blowing Kiss, the lighted Teton Peak perhaps occupies less than 1% of the total image area, but it did exactly what the face profile and lips did in Lillian Bassman’s photograph!  Same effect!  Small in area, but huge at creating an emotional response?

Winter sunrise light on Teton Peak; Grand Teton National Park, WY

 So I think we are starting to more definitively define the concept of a “photography grace note” in photographs that create an emotional response in a viewer.  Some photographs are great because of the emotions they bring out in viewers and some are technically good photographs, but they perhaps do not create the same level of emotional response.  Why?  And yes, this is subjective, a point I must concede, but the basic premise is valid. 

I am so interested in this idea, and my sincere thanks to the reader who suggested the idea, I would like to present some more photos in upcoming posts that support this concept of “photography grace note”.  Perhaps thinking about this will elevate your own photography?

Quote:   “Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.”—-Peter Adams

Comments?  Want to share a photo?  willardclay@att.net

“The news in music currently is the success of the singer Adele.  They speak of her song Someone Like You.  Using a musical technique called appoggiatura. Basically it seems to trigger a strong emotional response in the listener. Photographs instantly came to mind and I started to wonder if there is a similar occurrence when viewing a photograph.”

Now that is going to be a great topic I hope readers participate in.  In music, “appoggiatura” refers to “a note of embellishment preceding another note and taking a portion of its time.”—-Dictionary.  It turns out that many people on blog posts, when the term appoggiatura was introduced to describe why Adele’s song is so emotional, chose to argue over the definition of the word, rather than looking at the passion!  The dictionary gives a good definition in musical terms, but I like what Professor John Sloboda had to say about the Adele song, a definition we can work with:

“….that little vocal dip in there on the word “you” — that’s the key to triggering an emotional response in a listener.  The music taps into this very primitive system that we have which identifies emotion on the basis of a violation of expectancy.  It’s like a ‘little upset’ which then gets resolved or made better in the chord that follows.”—-John Sloboda, Music Professor.  Here is a link to the complete discussion on  Someone Like You entitled, “The Ballad Of The Tearful”:

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/13/146818461/the-ballad-of-the-tearful-why-some-songs-make-you-cry?ps=mh_frhdl4

Something a little different that catches us “off guard” and generates an emotion?  I like that.  So I tried to apply his definition to two pieces of music that produce that reaction in me.  Why I get a knot in my throat when I hear them.  One is Such A Woman from the album “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young.  Nobody will ever accuse Neil Young of having a great voice, but he sings like he means it.

Harvest Moon--Neil Young

 The other song is Faithfully sung by Steve Perry and the band Journey.  Steve Perry was arguably the greatest rock voice ever, though a good case could be presented for Freddie Mercury (Queen), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Paul Rodgers (Bad Company), & Greg Lake (ELP)….among others.

The Essential Journey

 After carefully listening to both songs, I felt they both had something in common that always puts a knot in my throat, something that caught me off guard.  Of course, both bands are virtuoso, but both used something that creates an emotion because they “violated” our primitive human expectancy to use Professor Sloboda’s words.   Oh, and we will eventually apply what we discuss here to “emotional” photography….or try to.  But the music is going to lay the foundation for the photography discussion.

What they have in common is holding certain words or notes longer than expected and they both used pauses that create an emotional tension that needs to be resolved.  The “unexpected”, which we will now define as “appoggiatura”, or “photography grace note” (defined as “a note not essential to the harmony or melody, but added as an embellishment, especially an appoggiatura”) that adds that embellishment creating an emotion will be our guideline for emotional photographs.  But let’s finish the music foundation leading us to that point.

Neil Young–He first lays an emotional groundwork with an intro piano playing the same notes over and over accompanied by strings slowly stretching out their passages.  This slowly stretching a passage is emotionally emphasized at around 47 seconds when he sings “I love you”.  Not just I love you using a single note, but he stretches it into “IIIIII looooove yooooou” in descending notes followed by a pause, accompanied by that repeating piano.  Tears!  But it is also how he uses a pause to create a potent appoggiatura.  Forward to about 3:10.  “No one else can fill me like you do….powerful pause….No one else can kill me like you do”….powerful pause….”And IIIIIIIII (stretched)….”  Get tears just thinking about it.

Steve Perry (Journey)–Of course Steve Perry’s voice is emotional in and of  itself, but what is it that makes this song a “throat knotter”?  First, the intro piano lays the emotional groundwork, BUT it is the powerful pauses that rip out the tears.  Forward to about 1:08, “Oh girl you stand by me….pause….I’m forever (stretched) yours (a dip in yours)….powerful pause….faithfully (appoggiatura)”,  followed by a nerve tingling guitar and a touch of powerful drumming.  This is repeated at around 2:35, even more powerfully.  If you are feeling no emotion at this point, check your pulse!

 Were composers Dan Wilson and Adele, or Neil Young, or Jonathan Cain (Faithfully) aware of these “appoggiatura” or “grace note” details to generate a strong emotion?  Pay close attention to all these details?  Only if they composed like they meant it.  Oooooh, and they meant it!

Now I will attempt to apply what we shall call “photography grace notes” to define what makes a photograph emotional.  Of course, emotion is subjective.  What moves me may not move you and trying to quantify or articulate in words what is emotion generating ”ain’t easy”.  That is because the heart is the source of emotion and the mind is the source for being rational and analytical (hopefully) and we articulate our thoughts with words through the mind.  What the heart knoweth, the mind knoweth not!

Comments?   willardclay@att.net

Sunset; Grand Haven State Park, MI

 Okay, why not a snapshot?  As a composition, there is just enough sky to contain the lighthouse and the sun.  More sky would be too much.  The sun and lighthouse are composed near a 1/3 line.  NOW, that was done because it worked in this case, NOT because I was adhering to a rule!  The reflection on the beach has just enough room at the bottom (right amount of “porridge” for my students).  The shutter was tripped when the sun was in the right position and the ephemeral reflection on the wet sand was caught with the reflection all the way across the wet reflective sand.  (Decisive moment!) 

But, a couple walked out on the walkway, held hands, and turned to watch the sunset.  When they were perfectly framed by the walkway stanchion, the photo was taken.  The ultimate decisive moment was the fishing boat appearing at the same time and the photo was taken when it had enough “breathing” space between it and the lighthouse and the couple did not move!  When you put that much thought into the details of your compositions, that is photographing like you mean it and separates your work from a snapshot.  That is the point of this thread of posts.

Speaking of performing like you mean it, did you get to see Adele singing at the Grammy Awards?  That is an artist performing like she meant it.  It does not get any better than that!

Shifting gears, Hank and I led a day shoot tour to Starved Rock State Park Sunday.  The snow was gone of course; however, the ice formations in the creeks in Illinois and Kaskaskia Canyons were superb.  It was a sunny day, so light late in the day bouncing off of the surrounding cliffs reflected warm light into the ice and open water.  Gorgeous!  Again, someone pointed a point-and-shoot at what we were doing and walked on.  Snapshot?  Below is an example of the day’s shoot that is hopefully composed to separate it from being a snapshot:

Want to join us for such a shoot?  Lake Effect

Quote:  “I just got this new camera. It’s so advanced you don’t even need it.”—-Stephen Wright

Quote:  “The ultimate meaning of Life is we are all here to help one another!”—Not sure where I heard this, but I love it.

Comments?    willardclay@att.net

“I do think there is a difference between a snapshot and a well made photograph, because the more detail-oriented approach helps the photographer capture the little things that, as you say, elevate a picture to a photograph.  The idea of paying attention to details also has a lot to do with experience. A serious photographer studies the places he or she photographs and learns to anticipate what will happen or how different elements will come together at the moment they want to trip the shutter. When making a snapshot, it is taking a picture of what you are “given”; however, making a thoughtful image seems to require more of an understanding of what is in front of you, and also having the ability to “control” the final outcome by knowing how to use the equipment.  I think those details are what draw people to an image and make them feel something.”

Paying close attention to all details in a photograph is a characteristic of good photographers.  Greats like Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter, Richard Avedon, Annie Liebovitz, you name it, all paid close attention to compositional and lighting details before tripping the shutter.  The same applies to the great cinematographers.  Case in point, consider Gregg Toland, the legendary cinematographer who filmed the revolutionary film Citizen Kane with Orson Welles.  Here is a link that shows some stills from the film and notice the meticulous attention paid to compositional details.  When you read interviews with Toland, no detail was not thought about before filming.  It was an extraordinary filming accomplishment:

http://movieimages.tripod.com/citizenkane/

For tomorrow’s post, is this image a photograph or a snapshot?  Someone walked up behind me and asked what I was photographing, took out a point and shoot, snapped a picture and walked on.  I waited.  For what?

Sunset on Lake Michigan; Grand Haven Pierhead Lighthouse, MI

 To change gears and add a little levity, I am still amused by what most photographers talk about when they are discussing “photography”.  Rarely is it an image or a scene that might be magnificent.  It is some sort of technology, digital technology or equipment.  Remember the amusing video, Shit Photographers Say, I used a few posts back?  Worth reviewing for a chuckle, but more than an element of truth?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a-dR2V1-0Y&feature=email

And related to this topic, how about this cartoon that was sent to me?

The type is hard to read, so here is the “translation”.    Panel one–”Attention please- Here is a photo of my car as of two weeks ago”.    Panel two–”And this is my car as I found it this  morning.  Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this picture?”    Panel three–(they are thinking).    Panel four–”The white balance for one.  The focus is a bit too close.  The chromatic aberration suggests you bought your camera because it had the most megapixels”.    Panel five–”THE CAR IS ON FIRE!!  Maybe you should use the insurance money to get a better camera.  Yeah!”

Finally, again changing gears, here is a video of recording engineers listening to a digital recording of The Beatles great song Here Comes The Sun.  There is a passage of some beautiful guitar work in the music that was not included in the final version.  Lost in the “digital morass”, McCartney and Lennon missed it?  Who knows, it is an interesting “digital divergence” from the current blog topics we have been covering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1RxdeqxF-U&feature=youtu.be

Quote:  “Consulting the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravity before going for a walk.”—-Edward Weston

Comments?  willardclay@att.net

“Flickr is definitely yesterday’s news for photographers.  It will go the way of Myspace.  But that’s digital for you, trends come and go so much faster as digital technology evolves.  Personally, I use it as a cheap off-line backup system now.  At $25/year, it can’t be beat for storing unlimited full-res jpegs.  Any photography I’m interested in receiving feedback on, I put on 500px now (http://500px.com/).  There isn’t much in Tom’s post that I haven’t been complaining about for ages.”

Okay, now on to the subject at hand.  I showed the following photograph to a camera club in northern Illinois and I described all the details I had paid attention to in the creation of the photograph.  (A photo I use in my Arb classes)  Someone in the audience said, “Aw c’mon, do you really pay attention to all those minute details to take just one photograph?  This is the digital age dude, you don’t just take one photograph.  You start firing and pick the best one after they are downloaded on the computer!  That’s what I do.”   Remember the video from a previous post on the army of photographers armed with digital cameras? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PovspE6IVg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

A good friend teaches in a university and told his photography students a story about my photographing a scene (Grand Canyon photo on my home page) and waiting for just the right moment to take one photograph, one trip of the shutter, when everything came together at the “decisive moment”.  The class (college age kids) broke into laughter because that is not how it is done in their digital world.  Let’r rip!  Of course, he did not mention I was shooting with a 4×5 view camera, the film is expensive, and they are slow to operate. You have to be patient and wait for the right time to trip the shutter.

Paying attention to all the details in a composition?  Waiting to take only one photograph, a photograph that sets itself off from all the others one could take of a scene?  Only if you photograph like you mean it!  Of course, with the ease and the lack of expense shooting digital, shooting many copies when conditions are constantly changing is always a good idea, a point I will concede because I do that now with my digital camera…..but only if there is a reason for doing so!

The photo that elicited the response about paying attention to all those details to take one shot:

Shore of Lake Superior at Sand Point; Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI

 So what were the details that made the person say, “C’mon do you really pay attention……..?”  Let’s look at this scene with the “1/3 lines” superimposed on the scene:

The details?

1)  The scene was divided into thirds, the lake and shore (bottom 2/3) with a color and structure distinct from the the sky and clouds (top 1/3)

2)  The small wave broke on a 1/3 line

3)  The main body of the lake ends on close to a 1/3 line

4)  The right edge of the shore has just enough space to “breathe”.  Too little space between shore and water would have been uncomfortable.  Too much shore would have been wasted space not needed.

5)  And finally, when the two major clouds at the top of the composition were positioned on or near 1/3 lines and the little wave broke on the 1/3 line, then the shutter was released (the decisive moment).  Did I take more than one exposure since film is cheap when you shoot digital?  Of course, but this version was the best, so all other exposures were deleted because they will  not be marketed.

Could a passerby with a point and shoot have taken that picture?  Of course.  Would they have thought of all those minute details?  Only if they were photographing like they meant it!  Snapshot?  Not if all that thought went into the photograph before tripping the shutter.  Thought!  Paying attention to the details in a composition, selecting the best light, what is the decisive moment?  Would a viewer of a photograph consciously think of all those details?  Probably not, but the serious photographer should. 

Paying close attention to a photograph, or a musical composition, looks (or sounds) good when it is done right.  When done right, a viewer of a photograph or listener to a piece of music does not consciously think why it looks or sounds good.  HOWEVER, if it is not done right, the “error” in a photo or piece of music will be noticed by a viewer or a listener.  Guaranteed!  That separates a “photograph” from a snapshot.

Quote:   “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”—-Ansel Adams

Want to post one of your photographs taken like you meant it?  willardclay@att.net