First thing – WITHOUT memory card.
Second thing – WITHOUT CAMERA
THIRD THING TO TRY
Ok… this time you can take your camera and memory card… yeh! Yes, I know you are photographers and it is a good thing to be able to use your equipment, but sometimes the driver of the equipment needs a bit fine tuning… and this time you can use your equipment and go to a scene and ONLY TAKE ONE IMAGE.
Yep… Just ONE photograph. …and again..NO, I am not crazy! Please stay with me here! 🙂
I know you are thinking “But I have all this equipment, and I have more chance of getting THE shot if I take more…and I will have so many more to choose from and play with when I get back to my computer so ‘SEE’ what I have taken.”
My question to you is… “Why couldn’t you have SEEN what you have taken at the scene???” – instead of a lottery when you look at your computer later?
Give yourself a good time frame of say 1-2 hours…. and limit yourself to ONE photograph. Start to really teach and train yourself to be an OBSERVER. Start to connect with your INTUITION so that you learn to know when you FEEL there is the possiblity of a wonderful photograph. Give yourself time to ask yourself and answer – “What am I actually feeling here? “…”What is the quality of the light?”… “How will this light change?”….”How would I like the light/composition/narrative/mood to be?”…. “What do I really want to say?” “How can I imagine to process this image so that it transmits and expresses the idea I have in my mind of it?”
Take your notebook and pencil and do as you did in the second step…. pretend you have a camera and sketch the scene and write some words about how you feel, and the feeling of the scene, and ideas for processing.
Give it go! You really have nothing to lose! You will be amazed at what you learn about yourself…. and how you will start to develop you observation skills and your ability to intuit when to click the shutter…..and in no time you will be producing images which are more powerful and speak more clearly of your own personal voice.
