civilized ku # 740 ~ rainy day / on seeing
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 10:38AM 
Weber's Drive In ~ Pennsauken, NJ • click to embiggenQuite obviously, the act of seeing is employed in the act of picturing. However, it would be very erroneous to think that that same act is limited to just making pictures because it is an equally valuable asset, re: the act of viewing pictures (both your own pictures as well as those made by others).
Viewing pictures, lots and lots of them, made by picture makers other than yourself could legitimately be labeled STEP # 3 on the path to improving one's ability to see.
Assuming that one has broken free from the spell of cliched pretty pictures and that you are engaged in viewing pictures outside of that box - whatever the source - chances are good that you will be viewing pictures that point to things, noted and connoted, that other picture makers think are worthy of a viewer's attention. The curious in the viewing crowd can, in the cause of learning, approach such pictures as a kind of puzzle that tests and challenges their ability to see - often in the guise of the same question(s) posed by Larry on the civlized ku # 729 entry -
I am frequently stuck with the question of what makes a good/interesting photograph. For instance, some the the photographs that you post here (Autumn color #50) leave me wondering what is this about? why do I care? What am I missing/not seeing?
The answer to those questions, re: my pictures, is hinted at, in part, in the previously proffered words of Stephen Shore - I (The Landscapist) am primarily interested in "looking at the everyday world with clear and focused attention" because I am involved with exploring the notion of, as stated in the "About This Website" sidebar section, "photography that aims at being true, not at being beautiful because what is true is most often beautiful."
I could further state - in a well written Artist Statement - my thoughts on my notion of the meaning of the word "beautiful" and how I attempt to express those notions in both the noted and the connoted in my pictures, thus giving additional hints at what this is about ... why you should care ... and what you are missing/not seeing.
Whether anyone agrees with my thoughts and notions or appreciates them - intellectually, emotionally, and in their picture form - is entirely up to the viewer(s) of my pictures - nothing I say/write or do can convinced someone who doesn't get what I am doing that they should nevertheless, "get it".
All of that said, and back to the original point of viewing lots and lots of pictures in the cause of improving one's ability to see, even if one does not "get it" when viewing some (or many) of the pictures made by others, at the very least, one can get an idea of what others think is worthy of pointing a camera at. And, if an Artist Statement accompanies those pictures, one can also get and idea of why the picture makers think that what they have pointed their cameras at is worthy of attention.
An IMPORTANT ASIDE: One should use caution when viewing pictures made by others in that, no matter of good/interesting many of those may be, one should always keep in mind STEP # 1 - remember to forget what you have been told is a good photograph. Failure to do so could lead to, in the words of Robert Henri ...
Your pictures seem to to be made up of things seen in nature plus a memory of pictures you have liked. The percentage of the latter is often too great.
It is also very important to note that STEP # 3 must also include the act of reading about the medium of photography. Reading essays and books that have no pictures (or very few) such as The Art Spirit by Robert Henri, Why People Photograph and Beauty in Photography: Essays in Defense of Traditional Values by Robert Adams, PHOTOGRAPHY: A Very Short Introduction by Steve Edwards, The New Color by Sally Eauclaire (out of print but easy to find - and a tip of the hat to anyone who finds my name on the Acknowledgments page), to name just a few.
Reader Comments (2)
I agree, but, I am trying to learn/unlearn the ability to see beyond the obvious. I am always questioning/searching , is this a copy? is this what I have learned as a good photo? where is the Larry in this photo? I see a lot of photography in museums and galleries that is so bland I can't imagine why someone bothered to press the shutter. I want more from the picture, intrigue, questions, poetry.
I am practicing #3 by reading and looking here. Thanks for posting your interesting thoughts.
I like this image. To me it works because of the contrast of blue (car & bitumen) with the yellow (light reflected in the water). But it's so transient ... once the rain stops and the water dries there's no more picture.