civilized ku # 763-5 ~ late fall rain / on seeing

Late autumn rain ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenSven W and, I suppose, others wonder why it is that I "seem to take a dim view of applying 'the rules of composition'?"

First and foremost, for those who need the 'rules of composition during the act of picturing, I do not take a dim view of applying them. You do the best you can with the tools / talents you have and you move on - read yesterday's civilized ku # 763.

Second, for my way of seeing and my way of making pictures of what I see, "rules of composition" simply do not exist. Therefore, I do not apply them. I compose entirely by "feel" and intuition and, when it looks and feels right, I make the picture. For me, it's as simple / easy as that.

Third, all of that said, there is a distinct danger in applying 'the rules of composition' and I am in complete agreement with Edward Weston's opinion ...

... Recording unfelt facts, acquired by rule, results in sterile inventory. To see the Thing Itself is essential ... [W]hen subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches.

Now, does that mean that there is no such thing as 'composition'? IMO, it absolutely does not, but consciously recognizing any form of composition in a picture and converting that observation into 'rules' is an after-the-picture-making perception. As E. Weston opined ...

... to consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk. Such rules and laws are deduced from the accomplished fact; they are the products of reflection and after-examination, and are in no way a part of the creative impetus.

'Good', 'interesting', or 'creative' composition may come to be recognized and appreciated while viewing a picture and in that process be dissected and broken down into individual compositional components. However, doing so, even in one's own pictures, helps very little (if at all) in the making of one's next picture - unless one's desire is to make the same picture over and over again.

In my picture making experience, virtually every picture I make requires a new approach to composition. If you need to think of it in terms of 'rules', in my case, each new picturing opportunity demands a new set of 'rules'.

I simply can not see things any other way.

And here's the thing, IMO, that is the hallmark of exemplary composition - when looking at a picture, the viewer doesn't even see the composition. All he/she sees is a good / interesting picture.