You will learn photography
Photography shares and shapes our life views
Choosing a motif
“Anyone can snap a picture — even a machine. But not everyone can observe. Observing is a fundamentally poetic process. Reality must be shaped too if one wishes to make it speak.” Friedrich Durrenmatt said: “The frame sets boundaries for our image, extracts it from reality composed of countless visual details. What story do we want to tell?”
The story
I encountered that message on my latest trip through Germany. Thinking of a place I wanted to add to my journey, I chose Leica Park and its photography museum. This message connected to me subconsciously. It set how I would perceive everything that followed: a philosophical concept of an idea and its implementation. The museum shared a story that started with a decision to make the first pocket-size camera that could fit a pocket to the idea of the image you want to capture, followed by the different tools available to express it.
Every aspect of that story was focused on the same principle: freeze time and focus on the right things to express your views and beliefs, choosing what should stay and what should be left out of your frame. You start with logic and analyze different perspectives but finish with emotion, defeating the fear of the unknown and taking the risk. This simple message translated into every little aspect of the museum, which immensely impacted me.
Simple principles enable so many fantastic ideas to flourish. Even though ideas are put laconically, they brilliantly summarize many thrilling experiences I had taking photos. Here are some of them.
Alex Webb transformed how I see things around me: “I feel the space, the light, the color, the form and scene simultaneously. I’m not thinking. I’m sensing the street. For me, color isn’t about the color, and light isn’t just about the light; space isn’t just about space, and form isn’t just about form. I’m intrigued with the emotional and sensory tenor of these elements.”
Ralph Gibson changed how I would want to tell a story: “When I make a photograph, I take away until I get everything out of the frame except what I want. Part of this subtraction has to do with casting things into deep shadow. I eliminate a lot of unwanted material, activity into the shadow area. And in so doing, create a shape. Instead of just being a variation on light, for me shadows become cut forms, they become shapes.”
This Leica story resonated with me on many levels and inspired me. We live in a complex world filled with distractions, unfair situations, and a lot of pressure. It leaves no time for us to be who we are destined to be. Giving in to all the challenges that leave us choosing a miserable existence is so easy. Our ideas, visions, and aspirations bring us back to life. Practicing photography became an environment where I practice and refine my perspective, helping me see life challenges differently. This brought a whole new meaning to photography.
I had the pleasure of chatting with an interesting fellow, Sebastian, at the museum. He was a person of a few words. “If you remove distractions and focus on what you want to create, you will learn photography,” he said. As an experienced photographer who has pleased so many people with images, I feel like a beginner again, ready to learn and reimagine.
