Photography is more than just the pictures we take
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- Опубликовано: 23 фев 2024
- We conduct photography to get nice pictures. Right? But is that all? Is that even important? What else does photography give to use besides pictures, fame and money ;-)
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Shocked to hear you’ve only been into photography for only a handful of years; you speak with such authority. I enjoy your videos and particularly your focus on vintage cameras and techniques.
I'm a fast learner. -- or just a cocky individual? ;-)
I like really like that: "Photography has carved out a space for me that didn't exist before ..." Perfect!
😊
a space and a time
I don't know what type of photography I do. I just look at things that catch my interest, and maybe take a picture of them too. Getting back to photography in the past few years has made me realize how I had not allowed myself to stop and look at things such as a red leaf, very round stone, or a tree that has a humorous amount of pinecones growing on it. I don't have to even take the pictures to enjoy these small things, but I look at them and look for them more again now and appreciate them. Just like back when I was a child. For many years now my wife and I go on hikes in national parks, and while it's normal on a hike to stop and look at a grand vista or a lake, we now take time to stop and look at the smaller things too. Sometimes I come back with only a picture of a berry bush or an icicle, which might sound preposterous. But it is what I saw. I am glad I had not lost the ability to enjoy these things and totally become a "boring adult" who can not see them anymore.
I find it interesting how often I see subjects in square fitting my unknown Olympic TLR.
I can relate. I’m now shooting with a 2:3 aspect ratio camera and it simply feels a bit twisted. 😊. My world is square and I see compositions as squares.
The artist sees what no one can see ...then everyone sees it!
Well said.
Photography is an outlet for creativity. Like any artistic endeavor, it can become a passionate driving force. Passion can turn into love. Once we are in love with it, it can become a consuming focus. You mentioned education about photography. This made me think of my sister Suzanne and her friend Zita. When they were teenage girls, they loved horses. They had statues of horses, they rode horses. But they also learned about horses. All about them. History of horses, types of horses, anatomy of horses, care of horses, biology of horses. Both of them are still passionate about horses today. I think the education part is a natural part of the process. My sister rode bareback and she could steer her horse Lady with her knees. She would make clicking sounds with her mouth to tell her horse what gate she wanted. Not just the backup, walk, trot, canter/lope and gallop but also the running walk, pace and rack (there may be some others I am forgetting). So what am I trying to say? True love is consuming and lasts a lifetime. True love fills our life with joy. I guess that's why all of my hobbies turn into compulsions. Because I get so much back.
So well said. And I know what you mean. My daughter rides and as a teenager horses we’re everything for her. She even got me riding 😅
@@ShootOnFilm I rode with my sister some, but I am the very definition of a dude: "bounces at the trot." I have herded cows on foot and with my motorcycle (worked in the hayfields plenty too, even the old fashioned way with pitchfork into shocks and haystacks because they couldn't get the bailer to the back forty). Despite being country through and through (I can yodel with the best if them) I'm no horseman, even though I do know my way around the tack room.
Hey. Great observations. I've always said it's all about the process, but the past few years I've noticed the observational element as well. We become flaneurs even when we don't have cameras at the ready. But let's not forget about the images themselves. When I look at my old photos I can often relive the moment, and that's wonderful. Maybe I live too much in the past but I feel sorry for people that don't photograph.
Good points. Photographs, at their best, are very personal. And they can take us to different times and places.
Greetings from Denmark! I'm so glad I stumbled across your channel. I think this is the first photography channel that has addressed things other than cameras, films, etc. I got my first film camera about 8 months ago at the age of 56, and it has really brought something out in me that is way more than just taking pretty pictures. I can't really explain it but I like the way you tried to explain it. lol Subscribed to your channel!
Awesome, thank you!
I, too, started late in life, and it does change the way you look at everything. I'm seeing so much all the time that I have to be careful when driving. (12000+ pictures on my phone can attest to seeing things differently, ha!). Fixing dad's Canon A1 gave me the bug, and I think I like tinkering with them as much as taking photos.
Stay safe.Peace
Seeing through the lens. I know! 😊
As always, very thought provoking. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Many people have criticized my intense drive to photograph during my travel and work, saying that making images decreases my ability to enjoy and appreciate the places and people... My response is, that the intense drive to capture the "sense" of what I see, forces me to study more, and think more, about what is "in front of me"...not just "oh, ain't that pretty", but trying to distill, somehow, the beauty (or not!!), the effects that you feel,... Ah, most of you-all seeing this video, likely "get it"!
We were yesterday discussing this exact thing with my friends as I told them that our walks in a new city are far too fast for me. I cannot see anything! 😅
I understand this video completely! Photography has taught how to see things differently that I never thought of before and seeing other people’s photographs also helps me see things that I would not have seen. Since I don’t develop my own film for me one of the satisfying moments for me is not just going out and exploring and being outside and enjoying life, but the shutter sound and then the film rewind when I am done with a roll or feeling the tension ease when winding the roll of 120 film. Today seems like a good day to go out and shoot. Thank you for another great video! Have a good weekend!
That’s a good point. I now also enjoy pictures of others more!! And you too, have an excellent weekend!
I have to use a wheelchair most of the time. My perspective is already different. Photography accentuates that difference.
Thanks Ari!
Unique perspectives are what photography and the entire world needs now!! The only reason to create is to create something unique!
Wonderful. I was looking at something the other day and realizing how much you have impacted my view of photography and how much that has impacted how I take in the world around me. Trying to make photographs is great but appreciating everything around you is such an underappreciated side effect. Thanks Ari!
Great to hear! Thank you for your kind words!
Always a joy. Thank you
Thanks for watching!!
It's always a pleasure to watch one of your videos. I know you have a large audience but many times, I think you are simoly speaking to me! Such insignt and philosophy! I enjoy sitting on a bench with my camera, watching the World pass me by. With camera in hand, I take my photographs. P.S. What are the titles of some of those books on top of your piano?
Oh thanks thanks. Very happy to hear!!
Those books - I’m not at home now so I gotta check them when I get I’m back. 1001 photographs to see before you die is probably one of them :-)
I will agree with every word you said Ari, with every one....although I have been shooting since I was 10 years old but I also look at the world not as an ordinary man but as a photographer....and that's good in my opinion...and it definitely adds the meaning of our life. Thanks for the video.
Thanks thanks. 🙏
Yes, it's all true. Photography helps us understand the world and life. I started taking photos as a child, then I took photos while studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, and then in my professional work and family life... But only as a mature person did I return to photography for its own sake, as a way of life and self-expression. You said something like Zen... As it happens, I practiced Zen Buddhism quite intensively at a Zen center for several years. Only a small part of a photographer's activity is zen-like - focusing on one activity without using the discursive mind, that is, without thoughts directed at that activity or anything else. Practical Zen is total focus on what we are doing at a given moment. In a zen center we undergo hard training to learn this - many days, hours of meditation sitting in front of a wall with short breaks for walking meditation, working with concentration on the work and ordinary activities focusing only on them... Photography can be a practice zen, but only when we devote ourselves to it completely and with full concentration, on every moment of life. Happy are those who can do it without painful practice in the center... Best regards!
Interesting. And in this world of many distractions such focus is ever more important.
I am completely there with you! Thank you!!
Thank you for watching!
Thank you! It was very inspiring. Please, keep up your great work.
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching!!
Watching a print reveal itself in a bath of developer, is akin to my childhood memories of Christmas morning.
Anticipation and excitement, slowly unwrapping, waiting for each item to reveal itself.
"You put a camera in my hand, I want to get close to people. Not physically close, emotionally close, all of it. It’s part of the process. It’s a very weird thing being a photographer." - Danny Lyon
Very well said!
At least here in the United States it is sometimes difficult to be a photographer without also being a camera collector. When you are known as a photographer your friends and family automatically assume that you need. another. camera. They go to flea markets and yard sales and return with any photographically related oddment they discovered (which didn't cost very much.) You can't refuse the gift -- they might stop and you never know what interesting things they may find next. Best to just smile and thank them.
That is an excellent point. And those cameras are also great conversation pieces.
Photography is a way for me to see, and pay attention, and interact with the world. It is a very pleasant thing to do.
Me too!!
Like you, I started only 7 or so years ago. I also started to see things differently. Plan trips differently, etc. Where we differ is that I focus too much on the end result. I need to pull myself back some and enjoy the process more. Hard for me at times, but when I do, I enjoy it so much more.
Very interesting to hear. I believe thinking about your process and analyzing it a bit makes it even more enjoyable. And then you can concentrate on elements you fine most fulfilling.
I used to go out and take some photos mainly as a way to, like you said, have some me time. Now for the last 7 years I have been living alone and I now enjoy having a darkroom and developing and making prints is my escape....albeit only a few feet to the bathroom. I shoot both medium 6x6 and 6x4.5, Holga and Mamiya, and 35mm so 'seeing in square' is a bit wonky for me....still learning! Thanks for your videos, as always, Ari. You always give me inspiration. Oh btw, my two granddaughters are officially adopted....new last name is Buranen....nice Finnish name. 🙂
😊 all Finnish influence is good.
I got my first "real" camera in 2016. Before that it was a point and shoot, and then an iPhone. Since then I've learned to see the world differently. Part of it is thinking what might make a good photograph; sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm not. But just the process of taking one (usually just one) of the cameras for a walk or drive gives me some quiet time to myself. Sometimes it's good to go with another photo buddy and I usually learn something by paying attention to what they think is interesting.
True true. And it is the concentration and dedication that rewards!
Very nice. And very nice outro.
Thanks thanks
For me, the zen-like aspects of the process are as important as the final product. With film you’re not constantly checking a screen. Sometimes I don’t even develop the film for months.
True. It really purifies the process.
Thought provoking.
:-)
I totally agree with you 🙂
😊
It's the journey you take, not the destination that counts!
So true!
developing film for me is a ritual, more and more rituals are disappearin in our daily life. And the processes in film photography has a lot do with rhythm for me...
So much the same here. It is a purifying ritual.
100% agree.
😊
I cant take photographs if Im not in love. I want to show her that feelings, emotions, nature, ocean exist only for her.
That's a strong statement. I need to think about this a bit ... :-)
Nailed it!
Thanks!!
good video
Thanks thanks
The Journey Is The Reward, Steve Jobs and Buddha? 😎
So true!
To me, the camera is not very important. What at a camera is the most important to me is its viewfinder, what is actually the interface between me as the photographer and the technology in my hands or on the tripod. When I'm asked what is my preferred camera, my answer always names the camera with the largest and brightest viewfinder. That's the reason, why I like medium format waistlevel viewfinder cameras and large format cameras that much. However, when I take photographs, I still insist on quality pictures, so no pinhole, free-lensing or Holgas for me.
Also, I'm not a photographer per default, albeit I was an apprentice in that trade some 40 years ago, after that apprenticeship I never worked as a photographer. I don't travers the world with a photographic eye, but as a curious human being. Only when I decide that I want to take photographs at that particular day and location, I switch into photographer mode and change my perception of the surroundings to a photographer's eye and assessment. To me, photography is not a lifestyle, but a tool to achieve a goal: documenting what I see, creating art, being of service to someone who needs a picture, etc.
I still collect cameras, though.
Very nice. It is also good to know who you are yourself!
Shoot on film. Ok, if you insist. Been there, done that. It was great, but digitizing negatives? I don’t get it. Sorry. To each their own.
Or posting on instagram or commenting on RUclips ;-)