For WinD, Hanson and Sunburst on “Snapshot”, Equipment” & “The Masters”.

For WinD, Hanson and Sunburst on “Snapshot”, Equipment” & “The Masters”.

All of you are asking great questions that I would love to talk about. Unfortunately, now is not the best time for me to get into these discussions. But then, how can I ignore them when my inspiration & motivation depends on it? So, I’m dropping everything and will start typing (BTW, I don’t really enjoy typing on a computer)…

But before I start, I must say that these questions are not so simple to answer. It would be similar to me asking you “What is art? Or what is love?” And for me to answer these questions in detail, I would have to write a 301 page book. But for now, I will try to keep it simple.

I must also state that, like most Asians, I believe being humble is a virtue and don’t feel so comfortable about expressing my opinion strongly. But I have adopted some western thinking and now believe there are some things that need to be said in order to share and learn from each other with an open mind. I would also like to point out that answers to these questions would be subjective and would be MY OPINION.

With that said, I will express my opinion on these issues without any reservations.

On Snapshot:

I wish you could have joined us at the “snapshot vs. formal” discussion.

We actually video taped it but never got around to transferring, editing and uploading to YouTube.

"Don't think, just shoot" do you agree with the philosophy?

YES & NO.

First of all, it’s not really possible to take a picture without thinking (unless you accidentally push the button without you being aware).

Even with what I will call “Zen Approach” (taking pictures of whatever you see- INTUITIVELY), you are still subconscious.

Snapshot is a very important and substantial tool that most people take for granted.

Basically, the way I see it, there are three kinds of snapshots.

One is to just take pictures of whatever you see that interest you so that you can show them to others. (IMO there are too many people ONLY doing this kind of snap shooting with their camera).

The other is to record something and use it as a reference.

The third one is to use it as a personal sketch book (which is I believe it to be most beneficial).

For me, my snapshots are way for me to record my life & think about IDEAS FOR A PROJECT.

IMO, the most powerful and substantial aspect of snapshot approach is shooting intuitively (taking a picture of what you see without thinking too much). Of course this is what everyone does, but the critical part is not the shooting part. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT YOU LOOK AT ALL OF THE SNAPSHOTS YOU HAVE TAKEN AND LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF. What do these pictures have in common? What were you feeling or thinking at the moment when you took these pictures? Why are you interested in these subjects? What are these images saying about yourself and the way you think? How do you feel looking at these pictures? Etc. Etc…

If you use snapshots as your personal sketch book, you should be able to understand what interests you, what is important in your life and what you care about. NO ONE CAN TEACH YOU WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU OR WHAT YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT - not even in the best schools around the world. So the snapshots are your best teachers to see within you and understand why you should pursue art.

If someone asked me to give them an assignment on creating ideas for a project, I would tell them to shoot a lot of intuitive snapshots on anything that interest them, anything that provokes them (things that questions their thinking, bothers them, or even makes them angry).

“Don’t think, just shoot” – great philosophy, if it’s applied in right manner.

Other issues we talked about at the workshop:

When photographing people, snapshot approach makes people feel more at ease about being photographed. Formal approach (using a “professional” camera with a particular idea in mind), makes people feel more important and respected. But it can also make them feel very uncomfortable and nervous.

You can use point and shoot camera to work on a formal project.

You can use “professional” camera (such as medium formal or 4x5 cameras) to take “snapshots”.

Next, on Equipment:

To be Honest, I’m bored talking about this issue again and again but seems like some people need reassurance, So, I will be blunt about the issue on equipment.

Referring to people who states that you must have HIGH QUALITY EQUIPMENT in order to take good pictures.

“Should I need to chat with these people and how should I do? Or it is not my business?”

I would start with a question “What is a good picture?”

Only correct answer he can give you that is different than from someone with a cheap camera is that the HIGH QUALITY EQUIPMENT will give you a sharper image and better detail.

If his definition of a “good” picture is about having a sharper image with more detail of the shot, then that’s his opinion.

So it comes down to what is a “good” picture?

Obviously, the answer will be subjective.

There are some special cameras and equipments (such as 4x5, shift lens, 360 degree cameras & Etc…) that “professionals” use for a specific reason that normal cameras cannot achieve (such as correcting the vertical lines of a building or changing the focus plane).

Other than that, the “EXPENSIVE” or “HIGH QUALITY EQUIPMENTS” ARE ONLY FOR BETTER SHARPNESS AND MORE DETAIL OF AN IMAGE. THAT’S IT!

It’s like comparing 1 mega pixel camera with a 15 mega pixel camera. Makes me wonder how many people really need a 15 mega pixel camera?

Reasons to have the “High quality” or “Most expensive” camera equipment:

1.You really need pictures with the finest detail and sharpness (such as, to blow it up and use it on a billboard).

2.You want to impress others.

3.You want to look “professional”.

I personally don’t carry the “High quality” or “Most expensive” camera equipment because I don’t own one. The other reason is that I don’t want the pressure of having to take “good” pictures because I have a good camera. I use a cheap camera so that if my pictures look like shit, I can always blame it on the camera.

The large format cameras such as 4x5, 8x10 or even larger ones have unique qualities that 35mm cameras cannot offer. Besides the image quality and the ability to shift and tilt the lens, it allows the photographer to slow down and pay attention to the details – especially with composition. For that reason alone, I would recommend some of you to use a 4x5 camera, but then, you can also start with your 35mm.

On “Masters”

This is a similar to defining - what is a “good” photo?

I personally don’t like the word “Master”

When I hear that word it reminds me of people like Ansel Adams, someone who have mastered the technique.

Anyways, with the statement

“I found the pictures i took are often boring, trivial, and describe nothing”

Often??? That’s not bad at all.

That’s exactly how I feel with about 95% of my photos, but then, I’m not striving to be a master.

Reasons why MY photos look boring:

1. My subject or content is not interesting enough (one of my earlier documentary photography teacher have said “You can’t go wrong by taking pictures of nuns or dogs, and if you can get both in one shot it’s even better”).

2. Lack of visual stimulation due to lack of control in lighting, composition & Etc...

3. Failed to capture the emotions I felt just before pressing the shutter (I find this to be true with 99.97% of my photos).

Reasons why MY photos look trivial:

1. When I believe I need to take “meaningful” pictures.

2. Images captured by intuition (may look trivial but can be very personal & expressive).

3. When I believe that NO ONE else will have any interest in my pictures.

Reasons why MY photos describe nothing:

1. Attempting to capture emotions rather than focusing on the subject matter (we don’t always have to describe something in our photos do we?).

2. Because I took a picture of something that doesn’t mean anything to anyone else.

3. Because I really did take a picture of nothing.

“why a masterpiece is a masterpiece?”

For many different reasons and from many different opinions.

Significance in history, technique, impact on the society by challenging our thinking/belief system, or by monetary value are just few reasons why it would be considered a master piece.

Magnum and National Geographic photographers deliver amazing photos that are visually stunning along with interesting subject matter. So it’s possible to become a “Master” if you have the right recipe along with the techniques.

"how should i read a photo?"

Reading a photo is no different to tasting wine.

To me, most wine tastes pretty much the same, Of course I can tell the difference between the whites and reds, but I HAVEN’T LEARNED TO DISTINGUISH THE SUBTLETIES.

Such as, which ones were fermented in oak barrels and which ones in stainless steel vessels. I don’t even know the difference between Sparkling wine & Champaign.

So with reading a photo, it’s all about being introduced to the ideas and seeing the issues the photos are portraying. Some may be subtle, especially if you not have thought about it due to: different interest, value, cultural differences and even conservative thinking).

It’s easier to read into a photo (or any other media of communication) and deconstruct it to demystify it, if you have a wider perspective.

One example of this would be to look at what may be a “boring” picture by Thomas Demand of a room with a messy desk.

At a glance, it’s just a picture of someone’s messy desk, but at a closer inspection you may/may not realize that it’s actually a set made up of paper construction. Even after you realize that this is a set, you may only be asking yourself “So what’s the big deal?” Well, he is not just interested in making something look real he is exploring the idea of what is real? He starts by taking a picture of an actual scene, then he constructs actual size of the scene using paper, then he photographs the set. So he has taken what is “real” into three stages, first by taking a picture of the scene, then making a set of it, and then photographing it. He brings up the question of truth in photography. Still you may find his work to be rather “trivial”, and that’s OK. Just because he is a famous contemporary photographer, that doesn’t mean you need to see him as a “Master” or his images as “good”.

To me, a great photographer/artist has AN INDIVIDUAL VOICE and contributes something to the society.

What’s important about all of the issues we are talking about here is accepting the fact that people are exploring different ideas with photography and that you need to draw your own conclusion on what is “good” and what is not. Better yet, understanding that THERE ARE NO “GOOD” OR “BAD” PHOTOS.

Just ask yourself “what does this photo mean to me and does it contribute anything to the society?

"could you share more resources (some links, books, etc) about this topic, and easy for a beginner? it'll be great if you could give us a class about it."

I would love to talk about these issues and open our minds. I know I can learn a lot from all of you as well. I’m a people person, which means I like to associate and communicate with people in person rather than through E-files, so perhaps we can get together someday in a class room setting , or gather for coffee and discuss some of these issues.

For now, the most valuable book for a beginner that I would recommend is “Art & Fear”. It’s about the process of creating and pursuing your passion in art. It’s a book that I suggested to many students and they found it to be very helpful and inspirational. It would be difficult to find a copy here in Taiwan, so in the future I will try to have someone translate some of the quotes from it and post it on the blog.

Sorry, that’s about all the typing I can handle for now.

I thank all of you for participating and giving me the opportunity to express my opinion. I hope my thoughts will be helpful in some way.

Syko