Looking for the Unseen

Occasionally I will have someone comment about an image I’ve taken and say something like this,

“How did you see that?”

Most of the time I struggle with an explanation and stammer through with a lot of… ‘uhs’ and ‘wells’ and ‘you see it’s sort of…blah blah blah.’ But that got me to thinking about that question. Just how do you see the unseen when it comes to photography? The more I think about it, it is more about how to look for the unseen than actually seeing it.

Looking for the unseen, as it pertains to photography, is first understanding the nature of light and how it affects your subject, and then understanding how your camera will react to that light.  Many times it is not a matter of actually seeing anything, it is a matter of knowing how the camera and lens combination will capture that moment and then taking advantage of those characteristics.

John Shaw who is an accomplished professional landscape and nature photographer and author made a comment one time about an image he took. The image involved one of those layered distant rolling hills scenes with fog separating the various hill layers. What he did was to meter off one of the distant hills to allow his camera’s metering to assign a middle tone value to that layer. Then, he simply let the rest of the image exposure fall where it would. His comment went like this. 

“Was that the way the scene actually looked? Probably not…but it was the way I wanted to capture it.”

What he captured was not what he saw visually. That concept is difficult for novice photographers to grab hold of. For some reason they have been indoctrinated into believing that they must capture what they see exactly the way they see it when in reality, photography involves as much artistic expression as it does technical prowess. Artistic expression is where most novice photographers drop the ball. They tend to spend too much time just trying to understand the whistles and bells on their camera and not nearly enough time…learning how to see. Artistic expression is all about looking for the unseen. In other words, looking beyond what is routinely visual and recognizing how light becomes the paint you as the artist will use to complete your work of art.

This concept is difficult to teach, but one of the best ways to learn about ‘looking for the unseen’ is to study art. Take an art class, draw a scene on paper no matter how crude, learn about color and texture….texture is what manipulates light…it bounces it around…softens it, hardens it, applies ridges and rolls, warm and subtle or cold and strong. These are 'light' events that are not so much seen, but are experienced visually. 

Photography is creating a visual experience for your viewer. When you are able to capture what they would not ordinarily see and bring it to life…then you will have finally arrived at understanding how to see photographically. There is an instinctive nature to accomplishing this, but it requires a subtle yet significant shift in the way you look at the world. When you watch the world from an ordinary viewpoint, your images will reflect the ordinary. When you watch the world expecting to discover extraordinary moments of light, well...you'll better understand what I mean when it happens.

Keith

Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine is not Enough

I once heard Barry Switzer, the former University of Oklahoma head football coach, in an interview tell how he answered this question from one of his players....

"How come we have to do this over and over a thousand times coach?"

His answer was classic..."Because 999 is not enough."

Photography is a lot like that. It is a simple fact that you get better with practice...the more the better. But, practice must be of a high quality production before it contributes to getting better. Practicing the wrong things over and over will make you very good at doing the...well, wrong things.

Always doing the same old thing the same old way more often than not makes you very stale as a photographer and limits your ability to grow. That is why I challenge those who attend workshops that I have taught to break away from the ordinary. Only concentrating on one type of photography may make you reasonably proficient in that endeavor, but not unlike physical fitness where cross training  provides a better overall fitness level, cross training in photography will also make you a better photographer.

I tend to concentrate mostly on landscape and scenic photography, but I also do location portraits, nature/wildlife, occasionally some action/sports, night photography, astrophotography, events, floral, classic cars, video productions, Black and White, and a lot of just plain old fun snapshots. I actually enjoy all of them and as a result, I believe that kind of diversity has improved my ability to see photographically. I've learned a great deal from each of them.

From location portraits I've learned the importance of expression, light, and timing. Landscapes and scenics have taught me about how to simplify...to identify what is really important. From nature and wildlife I've learned to be more patient and exacting. Night photography has helped me read drama and story into a composition. From astrophotography I've learned to anticipate the extraordinary and to look for what is not always seen. From working events I've learned how to operate at a fast pace and make quick instinctive adjustments. Black and white has shown me the importance of shape, form, and texture. Floral's have helped me discover subtle details and how to apply light to enhance those details. Video has taught me about angles, steadiness of hand, and continuity.

There is a great deal to gain by trying a diverse approach to your photography. To become accomplished at all of those types of photographic requirements, requires a lot of practice. If for no other reason, variety helps keep your interest level higher. You know, coach Switzer was right...999 is not enough...I'm not so sure 1000 is either...when it comes to photography.