The Creative Processes Within:
I take photos of whatever moves me. Sometimes they are good, sometimes not so good, but very rarely are they bad. No, no, no, ... I'm not trying to say that I never fail. I certainly have had my own fair share of bad photographs if the "accepted" norms of what makes good and bad photographs are used. What I mean by "I rarely have bad photographs" is that no matter what a judge in a photography contest or the viewing public would have said about my photographs, I would still feel good about them if I feel some sort of satisfaction when I took those photos. And that kind of satisfaction comes from the good feeling I feel about following my "instict," following what "moves me from within".
I can't always name or explain what that is that makes my visual instinct tickles when that is happening. But the photos usually speak for themselves, after they were created. Quoting them (the photos), sometimes it is the convergence of lines and geometrical elements that make a pleasing or curious composition. At other times, it's a fleeting moment that begged to be frozen in a frame, or the appealing plays of light and shadows, or colors striking the visual cords within. Whatever happens, I don't usually have an overt consciousness about what the pictures will "speak" about.
Having said all that, however, I must also admit that things have not always been like that. There were times in my love affairs with photography when my visual intincts were mixed or confused with my conciousness of who the audience of my photographs would be. I tried hard to make "good" photographs that would somehow please my audience (imagined or real) by conforming to the accepted norms about what a good photograph should be - in the choice of subjects, the rule of composition, and other technical tids and bits. But did I feel happy? Successful?
Sometimes, I did. But the constraints the conscioiusness I had about my audience placed upon my "creative shoulders" felt too heavy and made me feel disoriented about where I wanted to go with my photography. So, I had to let it go. It (losing my audience and audience's approval) was not easy, but I'm glad I did it. Now I feel freer to pursue whatever moves me from within.
October 13, 2008
Eki Qushay Akhwan
Monday, October 13, 2008
Photo Exploration # 16: Whatever Moves Me ...
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4 comments:
That acronymic french guy said it best, "Think about the photo before and after (shooting), never during."
Funny thing is that I often find photographs which I snap casually to actually have a lot more subtle things going on in them than the ones in which I carefully frame and give much thought about... I wonder why is that.
Then it always gets awkward when someone starts to ask about such frames... "what made you take this picture?" honestly, to this day I'm still not sure how I should respond to such questions cause often times I only find what I really like about my pictures after I check them at home. :D
excellent street candid!
Are they going towards the boy or are they turning left?
I like people's shoulders, sometimes they speak much clearly than a face!
I was trying to say this myself and could not express it. You did it so well. Even a photograph that might not please anyone except me does please me and I have decided that that is the most important thing...I didn't know about this blog...
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