I don’t have time for that
I get a lot of e-mails from people who like to find ways to become a better photographer. When I tell them that lots of practice is the key to improvement, many say “yeah, but I don’t have time for that”.
Bad news for those who seek an excuse for not improving , good news for someone who wants to grow as a photographer: EVERYONE HAS TIME TO PHOTOGRAPH !!! It may be hard to plan that shoot with Naomi Campbell and you may not see a giraffe every day. But everything is better than not shooting at all.
Yesterday I got into a huge rainstorm on the highway. The traffic slowed down to a very slow pace. That allowed me to take some pictures. These are the kind of situations why I (almost) always carry at least my compact camera.
You won’t hear me say that these pics are masterpieces. I probably wouldn’t have posted them if they weren’t the trigger for this post. These pictures don’t stand on their own but many of them have an influence on my ‘real’ work.
Don’t panic if you don’t carry a camera or the situation doesn’t allow for photographing. Enter the concept of (what I call) ‘mental photography’, taking pictures in your head. When you see some nice light, a cool background or an exciting composition, try to imagine how to photograph it. It may sound like a silly idea but I just know that a lot of ‘mental photography’ allow me to develop some good reflexes. I have been doing certain actions, settings and technical solutions so many times in my fantasy that I don’t have to think about them anymore when actually shooting. It has become second nature.
Last but not least: I’m improving your quality of life by promoting shooting everywhere and doing mental photography. Because someone who practices these ways of photographing will get rid of a huge chunk of the daily annoyance. In stead of getting angry when you are stranded in a traffic jam, you use the unique opportunity to get a shot of the guy next to you, picking his nose. Or you can find cool locations while looking around. While you are waiting in a line, you think of a good way to light that sexy babe / hunk in front of you. The possibilities are endless. Try it!!!
I totally agree! You get inspirations from everyday life, the places you go and the things you see. When I don’t have my camera with me, I will either use my cell phone camera or take a mental picture like you said. It really allows you to see life from different perspectives.
Yes. I like that phrase “doing mental photography” too.
Excellente réflexion! tout à fait d’accord. J’ai connu plus ou moins la même situtation aux 4 bras de tervuren => http://www.webab.be/wp/bouchons-files/
Just wondering what the difference is, in your mind, between these ‘practice’ images and the ‘real’ work you cite in your post. Is it a kind of purpose, like being for sale, or what? I ask this seriously because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why we do this. Does our effort have to have an ‘end’? Or is it just the joy of the process? If the latter, then the images you post here are indeed your ‘real’ work. But …
Great post Bert. I’m living in a oilfield in the Abu Dhabi desert, where cameras are forbiden. I had to leave my Nikon in London, and i won’t be shooting it for almost a year (except in R&R).
As you imagine, living in the desert and working on a mega oilfield construction, i have loads of photo oportunities, and not having my camera around, i take loads of those photos with my eyes. Sometimes i even frame them with my thumb and index fingers!
Cheers
TC
Which compact camera do you carry?
Wise words!
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Found your blog recently (through some link through strobist, I think), and I think it is great what you are doing. I have read the whole blog in the last couple of days and love your candid attitude, and am very impressed with the techniques you showed, and of course the great photographs.
I now have the blog bookmarked, and will be visiting it regularly.
Thanks for your comments
@Bertrand: belles images!
@Howard: The difference between practice and real stuff is just like when I played basketball. In practice I want to get better, try new things, throw crazy passes, … But in the game I want to win. In some games you get the chance to takes some risks and practice during the game but in other games you need to use what you know to win.
To be honest I don’t ask myself that kind of questions very often. I just know that I feel the need to capture stuff with my camera and I’m happy just knowing that.
@Tito: ok, Abu Dabi is just erased from my ‘countries to visit before I die list’.
@Lars: Ixus 860 IS, love it
@ Akif: welcome
Ah, but have you found that you’re using your compact camera more and more, rather than that big DSLR? It’s surprising just how accessible these small cameras are.. nice shots by the way..
@Peter: Nowadays I rarely take a dslr with me for a day with the family.
If only you could put a CF card in your head, I would have some truely amazing shots. A lot of times I bookmark shots, and go back and take them later on when I have a camera with me. I was up at my camp last summer and I saw a neat shot which should still hopefully be there this year that I have to take.
I love the site by the way.
Jake
thx Jake
I could not agree more. I recently came off of some medications that made it difficult for me to be creative,and I have been trying to get my “photographic eye” back, and the best thing by far has been to just shoot, shoot, shoot. It is working, slowly at first, but lately, I have been “seeing” pictures, and running to get my camera, whereas before, I would not even have seen them.
Glad you got off the medications Ron, good luck!
I do mental photography all the time. In fact I was stood at a crossroads visualising how I was gonna shoot my friend riding his bike (he’s a courier), how I would compose it, what would I include in the frame and what would I exclude, what focal length I was gonna use, where I was gonna position my lights, where the sun would be at what time of day, etc. It’s not a weird concept at all but I think the people walking past must have thought I was a bit weird as I walked backwards and forwards, then sideways, then backwwards and forwards again, and so on.