That is one reason I am going to Cuba for three weeks where I am hoping to
see enough clear sky to throw some interesting light onto things.
It was as I was preparing for the upcoming trip and
realizing I had to alert students that two things fell together to give me some
substance for this post: travel and the blue guitar.
One thing I always do to prepare for a photographic
adventure is write out – longhand – Wallace Stevens’s poem, The Man with theBlue Guitar in the front page of the journal I will be taking with me.
I have a whole lesson — a self-indulgent essay, really — on
this topic, but in brief the notion is that there is no more “realistic”
rendition of a visual composition by a photographer than there is a “realistic”
rendition of a musical composition by a musician on a guitar.
The only thing really interesting about listening to a
virtuoso musician is to hear how he or she renders the composition. The same applies to the photographer:
how does he or she compose an image incorporating the elements of design. It is my hope that by keeping this in
mind, I can bend my mind to creativity with the camera.
Again, here is Wallace Steven’s poem. Maybe it can provide you with the same photographic
inspiration.
BTW:
This will take some of the pressure off you students who
feel the need to wrap up quickly.
As usual, I will take a small netbook with me, but I have been warned
that internet connections in Cuba are few, far-between, slow and
unreliable. So feedback might
wait. Go ahead. Submit work. Just know that it might be a few weeks before you hear from
me.
A few photographic thoughts:
Texture:
Another thing you can do to keep yourself visually
interested in subtle light is look for texture. Here Reiny Dusdal combines a variety of visual design
tools – texture, pattern and a golden monochromatic colour – with a sensitivity
to light itself to capture a fleeting moment of nature’s beauty.
Remembering that the subject is not as important as
composition and keeping the elements of design in mind can turn dull days into opportunities
for creativity.
What is chimping:
 |
| Not an actual chimp, but an orangutan |
Chimping is looking down at your camera display as soon as
you take a photo.
I have long wondered where “chimping” got its name from.
Here is a short youtube explaining the origin of the word as well as encouraging your to stop doing it!
Rule of Thirds:
I have a lesson on this “rule” (or as Captain Jack Sparrow
would say, “It’s more like a guideline.”) in the course. But for an oddly disturbing reinforcement of the notion
here is a video example from the Iraq War accompanied by a bouncy rap. More sophisticated viewers might hear social commentary about the way media frames our understanding of historical events.
Here is a slightly more “standard” tutorial using Las Vegas gives
some more technical ideas for you:
