by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
Today turned into a lazy Sunday with a little turn-over for a nap before getting out of bed. Then it was off to get some breakfast and the restaurant was a bit crowded with a waiting line. Fortunately, the grocery was next door making it convenient to gather the fixin’s for Eggs Florentine and Champagne Mimosas to have brunch at home prepared by my wonderful wife Holly. That was followed by a couple movies on Netflix and the purchase of the New Your Times Sunday newspaper which I will retire too for the rest of this day after I finish this post.
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes in the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” John Lubbock
John was not an artist per but a very intelligent naturalist, banker, statesman and member of the British Parliament. He let no grass grow under his feet but knew enough when it was time to relax and recharge. As photographers and business people we can tend to let the business take complete control and forget to chill every now and then. Believe me when you take some time for yourself you come back rejuvenated and refreshed. Guess what? You also come back more creative.
Take some time.
Sit back.
Relax.
Come back refreshed.
I believe it’s time for me and the New York Times now, and then maybe a nap…. Bonus quote below.
“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” Ralph Marston
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
I’m not sure if I’ve addressed this quote before or not… But if I did it bears another look. Often new photographers are told to look for the light. May I suggest you look for the shadows instead? Shadows create form, depth and dimension. John Loengard, born in New York City in 1934 and Harvard class of 1956, was a staff photographer on LIFE magazine from 1961 to 1972, as well as LIFE’s picture editor from 1973 to 1987 and picture editor of People Magazine at its launch in 1974, is the author of eight books. John puts it another way…
“If you want something to look interesting don’t light all of it.” John Loengard
So I suggest looking into the shadows. See how a little light or a lack of light can help define and shape your subject.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
???????
Questions. Questions are a wonderful tool to enhance your photography skills.
Questions of yourself. How can I make this image better? What if I move the light over there? Add a flag here? Make shadows more apparent here? Wait. If I change the camera angle will it be stronger?
Questions for others. Hey! How did you do that?
Questions for viewers of your work. What do you think of this photograph?
Questions for viewing others work. Let’s see if I can figure out how the lighting on this was accomplished… Why do I like this?
“No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions.” Charles Proteus Steinmetz (inventor/engineer)
What questions are you going to ask today?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
Great works of Art.
What do most of them have in common? I posit that Michelangelo has it nailed.
“Genius is eternal patience.” Michelangelo Buonarroti
The patience and perseverance to complete the task would be very high on the list. Even works of art that were completed in a very short period of time had in their basis a long time learning and practicing the skills necessary to make that happen. Think of the great photographers and artists that come to mind immediately. All devoted their lives or a major portion of it to learning, practice, perfecting, practicing some more. It’s apparent in the depth of their work.
An artist goes through stages of learning. A child attempting art often starts with stick figures and very rudimentary shapes. As growth and practice occur perspective is added. Shadows create more dimension. Color begins to play a part with mixing, under-painting and differing colors laid side by side to give unusual effects. Final touches of opaque paint give the illusion of highlights and deeper shadows.
A musician starts with basic notes. Chopsticks on the piano. A slightly more advanced simple song. Then scales to train the brain and fingers in motor memory. Study. More in-depth practice until it’s possible to play notes at a speed and clarity for advanced intricate pieces.
Just as the other artists go through their paces as photographers we need to ‘learn the scales’ and add perspective and depth to our work as we advance our craft. There seems to be a tendency to think we are pretty good at making images before we even understand what makes a great image. I know I went through this at various stages of my photography career thinking I was pretty good at this or that. Now when I begin to think I am good at some area of my photography I go out and find those that really are and aspire to learn more.
We can take bits and pieces from other arts to make us better photographers.
As the musician practices scales to create motor memory we can sit with our cameras and make changes to settings without looking at the camera. Confirm it’s the setting we were trying for and repeat until all the controls become automatic.
Learning the vocabulary of our profession is important. You can’t create what you can’t think about or visualize in your brain and you can’t do that without knowing words for all kinds of light, shadow and form.
I guess the long story short is how much are you willing to work, to make mistakes, to study, to practice, to play in order to be able to create better images?
How much patience do you have??
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
Мікеланджело; Michelangelo – власне фото (by Qypchak)
PS – Michelangelo made an appearance here last week in the Photo/Art Quote…. and that’s just coincidence.
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
I was wandering around the web last night and early this morning searching for a photo/art quote that would work for and found myself uninspired with the quotes I was encountering.
So I gave it a break and decided to check in at a Mastermind Forum I belong to and Lo and Behold!, there it was. Edward Zemba of Robert Charles Photography had posted this little gem from one of my favorite artists with the comment “Michelangelo had it right!”
“The greater danger for most of us is not that we aim too high & we miss it but that it’s too low and we reach it.” Michelangelo Bounarotti
How do you decide what your artistic photographic goals are?
Are you willing to stretch?
To go beyond what you really think is possible?
Or are you safe?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Push it!
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
WOW!
Had a chance to experience this quote by Henri in action at the North Central District Professional Photographers of America imaging competition.
“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” Henri Cartier-Bresson
Two full days working with Thirteen other people viewing print images and digital files. Talk about being immersed in photography. Here’s the way it works. Six people are on a panel and along with a jury chair are working to see that each image gets a fair shake at be judged as impartially as possible. And therein lies my tie-in with the quote.
Being exposed to the shear number of images created and seeing what makers can envision makes me proud to be part of this industry. Moments in time preserved for families. Stories crafted. Fantasies brought to life. Emotions captured and far-off vistas shared. All of these images passed in front of my eyes and were created by photographers sharing their vision captured through the lens.
I salute those who put their images out there for review and to learn how to become better image makers and show what might never have been seen.
What are you creating right now>
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
