One of the things that I often accuse myself of, and for the most part it’s true, is not taking enough time with a subject to fully explore it. I am one of the most patient people I know, and when I get behind the camera I usually do a pretty good job of focusing myself so that I take as much time as I need. But sometimes I get to a point where I start to lose interest, or I see something else that I want to work with “next” and I move on before I should. That’s one of the reasons why I seldom bother with macro work. It’s just too fussy for me, although on the occasions where I have taken the time the results have been pretty good. But it’s a good example of what I mean. When I am taking very close-up photos of something like a flower, I see a flaw or something that I know will detract from it being a good photograph, then I just give up and move on to something else.
One of the advantages of working with a subject that is already “flawed” is that it then becomes an exercise of simply representing it from an interesting angle, or emphasizing a certain quality or exploring how the light shapes the subject or brings out form and character. That is one of the reasons why I love shooting what I refer to as “peeling paint and rust.” I tend to give up if a beetle has been chewing on a flower petal, but if I come across an old boat or a rusted car, that is something I can work with!
We live in what I call a “hurry up society.” This is an age that encourages moving along. We now have text messages that go away in 24 hours whether we read them or not, museums who give us a time limit for how long we can view a piece or prevent us from re-entering a room we have already visited. And heck knows we have no shortage of distractions. This all affects our photography in many ways, most of them negative, I think.
It’s far too easy in our always-connected age to take a photo and upload it instantly, so you can share, brag, complain or whatever. Then sit there and wait for all the Likes, Plusses, OMGs and LOLs to come pouring back on you. But that’s not what I’m about. For the most part my connectedness tends to be one-way. And only when it suits me. I’m just not an “always on” kind of guy! So this idea of taking all the time I need really appeals to me and is something I need to push myself to do more.
This group of photos comes from 2011 at a place called Stumpy Point, North Carolina. It’s an “unincorporated community” which means that it isn’t actual town, but it does have a fire department, and there is a boat ramp at the end of the road where several old boats have been hauled up on shore and abandoned, just like the hopes and dreams of the owners, I suppose.
I’ve been there a number times, but this particular visit was during my Road Ends project that I did for that year’s SoFoBoMo (so glad to hear that it’s been resurrected!). Look it up on a map – it’s a place where all the locals wave because they know that for one reason or another you are there on purpose. It’s not really on the way to anywhere and it is a long way from everywhere. I like it because it is quiet – we were there on July 3 and there wasn’t another soul around. I think during my handful of visits there I’ve only seen three people there, and that was the first time.
That’s one of the things I like about going there. It’s quiet, I don’t need to worry about “rent-a-cops” and their imaginary paranoia telling me it’s illegal to shoot there. I’ve never seen anyone to ask, but I suppose if I did they would say something like “ain’t nothin’ else to do out here, have at it.” I probably give them something different to look at for a while.
According to my metadata I probably spent about 30 minutes shooting on that day. I don’t remember but it was probably hot and humid, and if there was any kind of breeze it would have helped keep the mosquitos away, but in July it’s not a cooling breeze. But I got what I went there for and came across a nice little series of photos. And I have some nice photos of the same boat that I made on previous visits. She’s not going anywhere. I suppose at some point a storm will come along and wash her to her final resting place, or someone will finally accept her fate and haul the remains off to a trash heap somewhere. But for a few visits she was a great subject for photography. I wish I knew her name, but there hasn’t been anyone around to ask!
I can relate to needing to slow down when working a subject or location. I wrote a post just after I bought the X-E1 because it helped me to slow down due to its slower response then my DSLRS. I must say I enjoy how you work with subjects and the results you get. You have again reminded me of my need to slow down In many areas of life, not just photography.
Thank you, Monte. I love that we all have something to share and are always open to learning.
Tom, these photos are an interesting study of this “mysterious” boat and I enjoyed reading your views about your approach. I have a different perspective.
I don’t believe perfection exist…even tho in some cases it may appear so on the surface. The universe seems to like uniqueness in it’s creations and the imperfections that go alone with it. If perfection in nature was the goal we’d have a lot of perfect things just alike. There there’s the question of what is perfection, I won’t even go there. 🙂
As far as investing time, I think it depends upon where it’s invested. I certainly could stand to invest more time on the front end but on the back end I’ve found my first impressions of a photo usually gets me 90+% there and in some cases investing time beyond that can result in second guessing. It’s been hard to train myself to trust my inner voice/vision. An exception is letting photos sit for a long while, coming back to them with a fresh perspective — I’ve sometimes had good results doing that.
If you have the right audience it’s also can be good to share your “uncertainties” in order to get some valuable feedback. But finding that right audience is difficult as most people will be too polite to actually say what they think.
…The point I was trying to make about perfection is that it’s the flaws that are often the real photographic story and I often challenge myself on how to interpret those flaws.
Rereading my comment I realized I never made that connection — one of my own flaws. 🙂
I got the point, Brooks, although I wasn’t thinking of perfection so much terms of something I seek as much as the lack of perfection with certain subjects often makes me “move on” to something less frustrating. Photographing things that I don’t “expect” to be perfect is more appealing to me because removing that expectation gives me the freedom to enjoy something for what it is.
Regarding first impressions being the best, I agree that quite often the very first photograph of something is often my favorite. But I tend to see these subjects as an opportunity for study. Taking the time allows me to connect in a way that making a quick snap and moving on does not.
I think you made quite an interesting observation, maybe directly or indirectly. Why is it that we seek man-made objects that have quite a bit of age to them, cracks, wrinkles, so-called ‘character’ – but when it comes to nature – we want it to be picture perfect, fresh and new? I know bird photographers that will delete a picture if the feathers aren’t all completely perfect. I suppose it isn’t much different than the portrayal of some human models, but I think it would be more interesting with someone with messy hair. 🙂
I know for me, sometimes I really need time to warm up my vision in looking at something. I’ll take a few initial photos and work it a bit. Sometimes I think I never get warmed up to some subjects at all, and then I need to make the call whether I should put in more effort, or try to move on to the next.
That’s a good point, Mark. Maybe I just haven’t figured out how to embrace the imperfection in certain things. I do like to stick with something long enough to really evaluate whether it is worth staying with, and often find that the more I look the more I find something I like.