On Photographic Expression

     A while ago, a good friend and fellow photographer asked me an interesting question. "Do you consider yourself an artist?" It's a question that I've been asked before and so I gave her my stock flip answer. "Nah. I'm just handy with a camera."

     I don't know why, but I've always shied away from the idea of considering myself an artist. To consider myself an artist in any field of creative  endeavour seems to me to be taking on a mantle that I haven't earned.  At different periods in my life I have participated in various forms of the arts. Music, (I played in a couple of blues bands.)  Writing, (This blog as well as having a few small pieces published in local press.) and, of course, photography. In any of those creative fields I have generally considered myself a student of the craft. 

     A fairly long time ago, I wrote a blog post about my definition of art. https://multifarious-musings.blogspot.com/2012/08/on-artistic-expression-in-interest-of.html   To me, art is the communication of concepts. Fundamentally that definition  comes down to two things, communication and concept. 

    For photography it works this way. It doesn't matter how beautiful or interesting the subject matter is if I don't have the skills required to make a good photograph of it. Conversely, It doesn't matter how skilled I am as a photographer if I portray the subject in a boring manner. Or as the great Ansel Adams is quoted as saying, '' There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.'' 

    So old gray bearded photofreak, how does one avoid the dreaded ''fuzzy concept''? For me, it primarily comes down to asking a few simple questions before making the image. ''Why am I taking this picture?''  ''What aspect of the scene or subject  do I really want to emphasize?'' ''What skills and tools do I have available to make that happen?'' 

     Those of you who follow me on Facebook have probably seen the above picture already. It was taken on a dreary rainy day. Apart from a quick trip downtown, I had spent most of the day indoors editing pictures from my old laptop and saving them to an external hard drive. When I stepped outside for a break, there was a brief break in the cloud cover and this blast of golden light shone through. The light was amazing! I had to capture it! I quickly grabbed a camera. (my little Fuji X70  https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2018/10/fuji-x70-little-camera-that-can.html ) Okay, I had a camera, gorgeous light, I needed a subject. Fortunately, I live very close to the William St. bridge and quickly went over and managed to get the shot. I was lucky to get it. Within a few minutes, the break in the overcast closed up and it was back to being a dull dreary day again. 

    Okay, enough of the backstory of the picture. What did I actually photograph here? The obvious answer is the bridge since it is the object that takes up the most space in the shot. A visually astute person might suggest that it's the buildings downtown as almost all of the leading lines in the shot direct your eye to them. Remember, that at the outset, my intent was to capture the beauty of the golden light. To my mind, that's what the picture is all about. The bridge and the distant buildings provide nothing more than a means to showcase that beautiful blast of light. Don't believe me? Here's a shot of pretty much the same scene taken under more mundane conditions. Don't tell me it's not about the light!

  

 The problem that plagues most of us visually, is that in our day to day lives, we see things just long enough to identify them. It's not just a traffic light, it's a study of three distinct colours of light. The plastic lawn chair in the backyard can be a study of shape, contrasting lines and monochromatic colour. If I am photographing things just to identify them I might as well be working for the police dept. 

     
I think that if ''Art is the communication of concepts.'' (my definition) it would serve us well if we were to think in terms of abstract concepts when attempting to make art with a camera. Here are some examples.

This isn't just a bunch of flowers.
It"s a blast of colour!

This isn't just a frozen mud puddle.
It's an abstract pattern of frozen ice crystals.

 

       

    

  

This isn't just a picture of orange leaves. What makes the picture work is the contrast 
of warm tones (the leaves) verses cool tones. (the background)

   

     So, in answer to the question posed at the beginning of this post. Am I an artist? No. But I will grudgingly admit to being a student of the arts. What can I say? It's a process. And I'm in  love with the process.                                                                                                               

            

   

            ...more later

    If you like what you see here, feel free to hit ''like'' and share to the media platform of your choice. Leave a comment if you like. The deal is, ''If you keep reading  'em, I'll keep crankin' 'em out!