The "Graces" of Photography: Discovering a Passion

Up until a year and a half ago, I wasn't very interested in photography.  In fact, I thought it was cheating.  To me, it seemed like all someone had to do was point their camera at a pretty scene, push a button, and viola!  A photograph, a piece of art that look less than a minute to create was made.  So what changed for me? Why is photography all of sudden a passion of mine?  Two key factors-- getting a digital camera for Chanukah two years ago and admiring and becoming inspired by my friend Grace's photography.  Both of these have led me toward the graces of photography and admiring it as an art form.

From a very young age, I loved the visual arts-- drawing, painting, sketching, doodling, etc.  When I was young, I began keeping drawing journals of sketches and black and white designs.  I also taught myself how to write in calligraphy and in fancy lettering, including 3-D bubble letters.

Above:   A black and white design

To the right:  Black and white trees

In high school, I took full advantage of the art program, taking almost all of the visual art classes that my school had to offer  (Drawing, Painting, Advertising Design, Fabric Design, Jewelry Making, Printmaking, etc.)   As the Co Editor-in-Chief of my high school's art-literary magazine, I helped run layout workshops (and this was pre-computers!) so we used layout boards.

In college, I went on to explore my interest in art-- photography never entered the picture.  As the art editor of the art-literary magazine, Prism, I scanned pieces of art into the computer and the extent that I used Photoshop was to fine-tune and touch-up pictures.  Of the two art classes I took-- Figure Drawing and Oil Painting-- I particularly enjoyed sitting on the floor with charcoal, smudging it with my fingers to create lines and shadows.  

All of the art forms that I enjoyed engaging in took time to complete-- whereas photography only took a click of a button.  What I loved about the visual arts was being able to create as I worked on it and seeing the evolution of a piece.  I could change the composition as I went along.   Even if I was drawing a still life or a landscape, I could add or take out elements that worked for my piece.

With photography, (pre-digital cameras), everything felt so permanent.  Once a picture was taken, that was it.  There was no way to work on it, to make it better.  There was no view screen to assess how a picture had turned out to determine if more should be taken.  Photography was also an expensive art form with which to experiment-- having to pay for rolls of film and their development.  One year, in summer camp, I learned how to develop my own pictures.  Although it was neat to see the pictures slowly appear before my eyes, I felt removed from the experience of actually taking the pictures.  If I didn't like how the photographs turned out, there was little I could do about it.  It was difficult to figure out what to do differently next time, when I was so far removed from the scene.

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That all changed when I received a digital camera for Chanukah two years ago.  The whole art of picture taking was completely transformed for me.  Inspiration struck one morning at school upon seeing beams of sunlight pouring through the branches and leaves of several trees.  Captivated by the sight, I felt compelled to capture it on film.  The immediacy of the experience gave me an adrenaline rush.  As soon as I clicked a button, an image appeared on the view screen.  I could assess whether I had captured what I had intended to.  If not, I could change my angle, position, location to attempt a different effect.  Playing around with multiple variables, I could experiment with how the picture came out and check each time on the view screen, instant feedback.  

This experience sparked my interested in nature photography.  I started to become more mindful of scenes outdoors that would lend themselves to good pictures.  

I began paying more attention to the nature photography that my friends posted on Facebook, especially Grace's.  Grace's pictures, and her photographic techniques, transformed the way I thought about photography.  In the past, I always thought of it as you take your camera, capture a picture of a pretty scene or you wait for a picture worthy scene to unfold and you take a picture.  Grace's photography taught me that there is much more skill, technique, and artistic eye involved than that.  It's about thinking, "What do you want the viewer to see?"  Depending on the answer, zoom in or zoom out to highlight different aspects.  

Her photography showed me that zooming in on one subject, without much else in the composition, can make for an interesting picture.   So I began taking some close-ups.

One of the most eye-opening features of photography that her pictures showed me is how creative the experience can be.  With digital photography, the picture can be transformed long after the button is clicked (unlike developing your own photos).  Techniques that she uses in iphoto, such as cropping and rotating, opened up possibilities to me-- the idea that the picture does not need to be perfect when you first take it.  You can have an idea, an image, a feeling, a pattern that you want to capture and then manipulate it into the shape or the direction that you want afterward.  

Grace's series of shots capturing the reflection of images in water have particularly intrigued me-- especially the ways that she crops and rotates images to focus in on patterns, details, and colors.  Viewing her pictures inspired me to experiment with the same techniques.  

The following is a picture that was a reflection in water and I cropped and rotated it to make it the focus.

Through paying close attention to Grace's pictures and conversations with her about photography, I have learned some of the graces of photography-- ways to think about pictures and the picture taking experience, both during and afterward.  

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Another grace of photography is incorporating the picture taking into the experience itself so as not to disrupt the scene.  My friend, Brenda, introduced me to two highly contrasting views of photography.  Some people feel that taking pictures removes the photographer from the experience, erecting the lens as a barrier between herself and the experience.  Other people feel that cameras enhance the experience-- allowing the photographer to relive it again and again long after it has ended.  

For me, photography is a very mindful experience.  While trying to capture a particular scene, mood, color, pattern, I often find that I am more attentive to details than I would have been otherwise, such as the patterns on the frog below.

 

Another grace of photography is learning how to be so quiet that you can let nature unfold before you, without disrupting the scene.

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The last but certainly not final grace for a photographer is being attuned to her own particular interests.  For the last few years, I've been wondering why I am so interested in certain aspects of pictures (shadows and patterns).  Over the past week it has finally occurred to me that these are the same features in the visual arts that have always intrigued me.  

My fascination with patterns originates from the black and white pattern designs I started drawing in middle school. My interest in shadows comes from the intense focus on them while sitting on the floor, smudging charcoal across the paper while doing life drawings in college.  My work with 3-D bubble letters is also all about shadows. 

I was fascinated by the patterns of the shadows on my porch this summer.

Although photography is a new passion that I've developed within the past year and a half, my interest in many of its visual aspects originated from older well-established artistic interests of mine.  

Thanks to my digital camera and Grace in helping me to learn and develop many of the graces of photography.  Through viewing Grace's pictures and talking with her about photography, I have come to appreciate the skill, technique, and artistic eye involved in this art form.  I'm excited to continue to develop my craft and my passion.

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To readers of this blog:  I'm interested in hearing about a passion that you developed when you were older and how you became interested in it.