Software Artisan

How often do you see something cool, and take a picture of it? How often does it resurface 60 years later? Yep, this picture is another from the set of pictures my grandparents took around 1949. I think it is quite telling how no one thought it strange to take a camera to a pool back in the day, but now it’s an international crime.

No doubt this gentleman was showing off for the ladies. No matter how strong you are, you can only hold a pose like that for so long. Without all the modern gadgetry of today, my grandma was able to take this picture quickly enough. When photographing people you do have to be ready. The camera was loaded, and probably set for a reasonable exposure given the time of day. All that was needed was to cock the shutter (if it wasn’t a press type shutter that was self cocking) and release it. Advance the film and be ready for the next one.

Is there anything that could have done better? Absolutely, but what’s done is done. I think in this instant age where everything is done for you, the effort to retry is so little that people tend not to be as critical as they should be before pulling the trigger. The really good picture is lost in a sea of mediocre pictures, and will likely never see the light of paper.

Quite frankly, quantity is the enemy of excellence. I’ve taken literally thousands of pictures, and more than half of them are really good—some excellent. However, the pain of going through them all will likely cause them to never really get any special treatment. Wall space is more precious than album space, which is in turn more precious than hard drive space or negative storage space. While I publish far fewer pictures and take far fewer pictures now, the ones I do take are on average better than when I took several at a time. This fact doesn’t change whether I shoot digital or film.

Don’t be afraid not to take a picture if you can’t make it special. Have you ever taken a picture of something you thought was amazing, but after you took the picture it looked so-so? I know I have. Have you ever taken a step to either side or gotten lower or higher to reveal on film (or digital frame) what you were experiencing? Do your walkabout quickly to get in position if you can. A mediocre picture of a spectacular event is is more frustrating to me than not having the right picture of the event. I’ve not taken pictures because the moment passed before I found the right position—but I’ve also learned from that experience. I can better anticipate the right perspective now.

Don’t be afraid to make your own decisions about what you like and don’t like. There’s lots of opinions and guidelines about what makes a good picture. However, if you don’t like a picture that follows the rules then you don’t like it. Break the rules and make something you do like. That’s when you develop your own style.

Don’t be afraid to try something different. Whether it’s going old school or new school, you can only grow by incorporating new tools or processes. Just make sure you don’t try too much too quickly. Introduce yourself one bit at a time to the new stuff. Build on what you’ve learned so far and go a step further. Don’t spend thousands of dollars on equipment you’ll never get around to using. As you add to your equipment, learn to use the new stuff properly before you get the next thing.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to enjoy what you do. If all you are doing is worrying about how to make your equipment pay for itself with jobs then it’s only a matter of time before you get burned out. Find something that you enjoy, that relaxes you, and don’t worry about trying to make it pay for itself. Just have fun.

Wabi Sabi is a style that reflects impermanence and naturalness. It’s the natural beauty that simply is . It is found, not created. It is the aesthetic in decay that is attractive to us. It’s one of the reasons that ruins are so attractive. The concept is hard to put into practical words, and I probably don’t even have a good grip on it myself. It’s an aesthetic concept that Japanese potters have used to let the natural patterns of the earthenware simply emerge. Even when the pot has aged and broken, they are still beautiful in their own rights.

Zen art is very different in the sense that there is a definite order that is imposed. Concepts of naturalness are desired, but it is not necessarily prominent. For example, a Zen garden provides a definite place for all the plants and sculptures used. You can have a place setting work with the Zen concepts and you’ll have something with definite order. Order can mean straight lines, or it can have a more organic feel in the complex art. The overarching principle is simplicity. Nothing more than is needed.

The two pictures I included in today’s article represent the two concepts in different ways. I found the stones scattered naturally on the icy beach, and took their picture. I got in as closely as I could to remove other distracting elements. In the second picture, I gathered the stones and created a sense of order and simplicity by stacking them in a tower. The tower is almost cliché, but I wanted to do it myself. I could have also rearranged the stones on the ground.

Both approaches have their own beauty, but very different feels. Both have their fans. I personally like the look and feel of impermanence. I like natural beauty that emerges rather than being engineered. However, I can’t deny the calming feel of the Zen order.