I attended an excellent Cambridge Camera Club zoom event with Mieke Boynton. Mieke is an Australian photographer of landscapes and aerials and she gave an excellent presentation in which she didn’t just show photographs, which many are inclined to do, but also talked about their context and the motivations behind them.
Check out Mieke’s website, Some of her photographs are exceptional.
Mieke listed her motivations (see the screenshot above) and it got me thinking about mine. What prompts me to take a photograph?
Colour: I don’t mean a Disneyland colour fest, although you can’t avoid it if it’s there, but a strong colour or colours which stand out. It might be just a small feature or a stronger theme throughout the shot but I do like colour.
This photograph was taken at the Gay Pride event in Peterborough and the colours show up nicely on an otherwise gloomy day. The photograph also raises all sorts of questions (see below)
Geometry: I like shapes and lines and symmetry. I do my best to stand straight in front of what I’m photographing so that there’s no lateral distortion and I try to make sure that my camera is horizontal. And if there’s a centre to my subject I make sure it’s in the centre!
The photo above is typical and it ticks several of my boxes: colour, geometry and ‘it’s my life’. I enjoyed an excellent brunch there this morning.
People: There was a time that I’d patiently wait for a shot to be free of people, but now I’m much more relaxed. People add scale and soften the shot. They sometimes add meaning. I like that. But I don’t like to chop off their feet, they should be whole people.
This photograph was taken from Port Merion looking towards Abersoch. It would be pretty dead without the couple who seem to have a long walk home.
Sometimes of course it’s the people who are the subject of the photograph but even then all the other rules, above and below, are still relevant.
A special subject: I travel a lot and I live close to an interesting city and have lots of opportunity to photograph ‘special subjects’ so I do but there’s an important qualification. I take the photograph because I’m there, I don’t go there just to take the photograph. Hence the next point.
This photograph is typical. I was on a tour. The guide had us up at 0600 to be first in to see the Taj Mahal at dawn and to be at the front of the queue going in. The experience was amazing and because I was there and had my camera with me I took the photograph. Sadly I wasn’t quite dead centre.
It’s my life: I’ve carried a camera of some sort with me for 50 years or so and I’ve used it to chronicle my life. I still do, although I think my photography is better now than it was, and I feel that it’s a part of making me more aware of my life, my surroundings and the experiences which I encounter. I photograph meals that I enjoy, much of the coffee, beer and wine that I drink and the people I meet. And much more besides. It’s my life!
We visit Italy most years and we always enjoy good food. I forgot to photograph these king prawns before I ate them but the empty plate tells the story of a good experience at the Ristorante le Grazie in Sorrento.
Finally, it’s good if the photograph asks a question (or tells a story): that’s why simple (but technically expert) shots of ‘special subjects’ or specific genres can leave me cold. I want my photography to prompt people to think and a question is as good a way as any to do that. Having said this many of my photographs which I nonetheless like don’t do this.
The one of the Taj Mahal is classic. Technically good but it will leave most people cold because they have no emotional link to it whereas I do.
By contrast this one is not so good technically, it was taken quickly with my phone, but asks all sorts of questions starting with ‘doesn’t she know it’s bitterly cold outside?’.
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