By John Siskin
 Clapping Hands © John H. Siskin All rights reserved |
I think that photography is a language and I am helping people to learn a way to write in that language. I hope that they will learn how to write both creatively and technically. To say one is better than the other is to say that a poem is better than an instruction book. In my experience both can be incomprehensible! Just like English has rules that are essential for it to make sense: “Bob hit Bill” is not the same as “Bill hit Bob.” Similarly there are rules that can be broken but the style of the sentence is poor: “Bill hited bob.” In photography the syntax is based on the physics of light and the reactions of film or sensors to that light. You can make a camera with out a lens, but you can’t record an image without controlling exposure; at least you need a lens cap as a shutter. The lens and the shutter and a way to hold the sensor or film are essential aspects of communication. You can’t really break these rules and make an image that will function to communicate information intelligibly. The meter and the auto color settings are only tools; what they say is sometimes wrong or not the best choice. You should be willing to override these tools: they should be the slaves of your vision rather than enslaving your vision.
 Adverb © John H. Siskin All rights reserved |
In order for me to be able to use a new technique I need to adopt an attitude of play. I also think that creative play is more important to image making than study. People need to be able to make mistakes with out feeling as though they did something wrong. One of the great things about digital photography is that there is no per image cost. With digital the voice in the back of your mind that blames you for making a mistake because you have wasted materials can go to sleep. I find that when I want to learn a new technique I have to play around with it, before I start trying to take control. This reduces frustration and builds creativity.
Have fun!
John
Comments