Photography is an art of observation, Elliott Erwitt

Every second of our day we are seeing things. There is a lot of visual information entering our heads all the time and our minds keep very busy processing that information. Indeed our minds never stop processing; it is active all day and all night.

With photography however, you are only seeing when you slow or stop the mind from processing and allow the image before you speak. Its like going out for a beer with friends and one of those friends cannot stop talking. You might say something, and then a second later this friend has taken your thought and is running with it and talking all sorts of gibberish. Thankfully, perhaps unlike the friend, we can stop our minds and allow the image to speak. I think that is when we develop a connection with what we see and the photograph that we take of that image fully expresses that connection.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt

Love!

Street photography and quotes – Edward Weston on Time

 

“Very often people looking at my pictures say, ‘You must have had to wait a long time to get that cloud just right (or that shadow, or the light).’ As a matter of fact, I almost never wait, that is, unless I can see that the thing will be right in a few minutes. But if I must wait an hour for the shadow to move, or the light to change, or the cow to graze in the other direction, then I put up my camera and go on, knowing that I am likely to find three subjects just as good in the same hour.” -Edward Weston

Halifax Pride Parade 2012

 

Light

During the past week the light has been rather magical and it has led to me standing on the spot, gasping and then grabbing my camera. As Cartier-Bresson describes below, seeing and capturing these fleeting moments is a way of life, and just another way of expressing yourself.

As far as I am concerned, taking photographs is a means of understanding which cannot be separated from other means of visual expression. It is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one’s own originality. It is a way of life.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

THE ART OF MEDITATIVE EXPERIENCE

Contemplative photography can lead one to a deeper experience of everyday life, one that you may share with others or not. The late Shambhala buddhist teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, explain this well.

THE ART OF MEDITATIVE EXPERIENCE

“The art of meditative experience might be called genuine art. Such art is not designed for exhibition or broadcast. Instead, it is a perpetually growing process in which we begin to appreciate our surroundings in life, whatever they may be. It doesn’t necessarily have to be good, beautiful, and pleasurable at all. The definition of art, from this point of view, is to be able to see the uniqueness of everyday experience.”

Chogyam Trungpa “Art in Everyday Life,” in True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art, page 27.

 

Visually rich

These images were taken over a 10 day period. Some were taken while enjoying the outdoors (canoeing) and others while walking the dog or cooking at home. Essentially, they represent perceptions that occurred during a typical day and when I had my camera with me.

They are nothing particularly special but exemplify the basic truth that our world is visually rich.

Street Photography week Fifty-Two

This is the fifty-second and final ‘Instruction’ for the Street Photography Now Project, written to inspire fresh ways of looking at and documenting the world we all live in.

After spending 52 weeks posting images from my library to meet the requirements of the instruction, I should have lots of drive to post images that I see during my week. So keep checking in! So here is the last street photography instruction:

“If you have talent, find your own way” – Cristóbal Hara

Street photography: week fifty-one

This is the fifty-first ‘Instruction’ for the Street Photography Now Project, written to inspire fresh ways of looking at and documenting the world we all live in.

“Buildings are like humans and have their own character” – Alexey Titarenko

 

Street photography: week fifty

This is the fiftieth ‘Instruction’ for the Street Photography Now Project, written to inspire fresh ways of looking at and documenting the world we all live in.

“Say it with flowers” – Johanna Neurath

Walk in the park

I recently purchased a Canon S100 point and shoot, and absolutely love it. I was uncertain as to whether I would since I am so use to using a DSLR but I wanted a camera that I could carry anywhere, anytime. This little pocket camera does the trick and comes with me on my morning and evening dog walks.

So, as the spring arrives and memories of snow fade, I thought I would post a few shots from my morning dog walks, courtesy of the Canon S100.

Street photography: week fourty-eight

This is the forty-eighth ‘Instruction’ for the Street Photography Now Project, written to inspire fresh ways of looking at and documenting the world we all live in.

“Things are what they seem to be, or maybe something else.” – Richard Kalvar