This week I took my family to the ballet in the park and made
pictures
that I felt transcend the experience of the performance.
What makes
photography so unique is its ability to transcend
moments in time and
space. There is an ethereal quality to
ballet that challenges the
photographer to think beyond the
literal movement of performance and dance.
To work with the qualities of light, shape and form, it is necessary
to take a few risks in the process. To be moved by what we see so
that we can interpret these feelings for others is key to capturing
something more than just a visual record. To be honest, I find
myself less interested in making pictures of record. There is
nothing
wrong with this approach, but every situation speaks
to me differently.
What is important to me in a photograph is to
catch the little surprises
that I may have missed as the event
drifted by me. For example, one
surprise of watching the ballet
was simply in the ability to translate
the transitory beauty of dance
into something more tangible, yet
somewhat surreal. I think now I can understand what poets must see
in the world when pen is put to paper.
I think one of the issues that makes photography appear so
trivial
these days is that much of the mystery has gone out of it.
What I mean
here is that back in the day when a photographer
took chances and
experimented with techniques such as soft focus
or motion, they
literally took a chance. They would pack up the gear
and hope
that something interesting came out. Second chances
were far and few
between. Today, with digital photography there
is absolutely no reason
why a photographer shouldn't take every
creative opportunity possible
in using their imagination to the
fullest potential. Sure, there are a lot
more people with high quality
digital cameras making pictures, but it
doesn't mean they are
using the device to its capacity. Experimentation
is the essence of
digital photography today. It is for this reason that I
have become
excited about what I think is a photographic renaissance.
Making
pictures and seeing them immediately invites the photographer
to
take chances and to dream. What makes this time so interesting for
photography is that we now hold in our hands the technology to come
as close to perfecting our individual vision of the world then any
other time.