Cameras and photographic technology are more advanced than ever, but at its core, photography remains an artistic pursuit. This thoughtful video talks about the balance of creative and technical aspects.
Coming to you from Ted Forbes with The Art of Photography, this great video talks about the intersection of technical and creative photography and how new technology can actually be a hindrance by making us apathetic in our approach to creating compelling images. I definitely think Forbes is on to something here. When one is presented with seemingly boundless potential avenues of creation and nearly unlimited technological capabilities, the sheer amount of choices can be paralyzing, and often, the response is to be overwhelmed into a sort of default creative mode of operation that, despite the abilities to branch out, is actually the most conservative route. Surprisingly, one of the best creative exercises one can perform to reinvigorate their work is to place restrictions on the process. These restrictions can be totally arbitrary and even absurd; the point is that the novel problem-solving you'll have to employ to get around them is where you'll find the creativity you might have been struggling with before. Check out the video above for Forbes' full thoughts.
A wonderful topic but talking at 200mph I could barely keep up.
When I started, my friend David and I were at about the same level. He was much more technical and would get excited about things like hyperfocal distance etc. Meanwhile I was always chasing the creative side but would screw up shots because I didn't know what I was doing. Since then I now have a good technical grounding.
When I teach, the first thing I tell people is to ignore the camera and think about the image. What's the photo you want? *Then* worry about aperture, blah blah.
Love the topic and well presented. One aspect not discussed is the explosion of possibilities now available in post production. Back in my dark room days enhancing or improving a photo out of the camera was very limited. A dodge here, a burn in there and a crop or two was about it. Choice of paper could make a statement. But today with the all the Adobe software and other products an even mundane shot can be turned into a work of art. What would Ansell Adams or Yousef Karsh do with todays cameras and post production tools? When I look at these two gentlemen's work it always brings me back to simplifying my approach and readdressing the basics of photography without relying on the technology to make up for bad composition, lighting and exposure.