After Photo Safari XXXVI there are lessons to be learned. Here are the things I learned this year.
It’s not a road, but people drive there. If there’s a gap in the fence and we see tire tracks, we’re taking it. Getting inside the fence to see what’s beyond the edge of the road can lead to something great. Remember, when the pavement ends the photography begins.
To separate out what I want it to be from what it looks like takes a lot of skill. One day at the Grand Canyon it was very hazy. We figured out how to use the dehaze tool and life got better. The final images (after a bunch of manipulation in LightRoom) looked far different (and much better) that what was captured by our cameras.
Photography changes every time you go out the door. It’s about figuring out which gear and which skills you need to bring to bear so when you go out the door you can figure out how best to capture the images. It is never the same set of circumstances. Ever. What worked yesterday may not work today. Very few people ever consider the improvisational nature of photography.
Planning, execution, and attention to detail are not just for newbies. Paying attention eliminates stupid errors that can limit the end use of the photograph. Especially things like making sure your lenses don’t have thumbprints on them and your camera' settings are what you want them to be for the day's photographic assignment.
Cui Bono - Not like a murder investigation by Harry Bosch, but the thought relates to the sale of artwork. Successfully selling artwork depends on fulfilling the need of the ultimate purchaser as well as the gallery owner or other third party that would benefit from the sale of artwork. It is the third party that is the real key to making photographs well known. If the third party doesn’t want to sell your work, it probably won’t get sold.
Tourist destinations do not mean tourist photographs. We may have to stand at the same spot behind the same fence but that does not mean we need to see the same way. We photograph the same things. The differentiation between artist and tourist is how we interpret the scene in front of us and what deeper meaning we can bring to the image through the addition of ideas and text.
If your camera doesn’t have a GPS function, make sure you photograph a sign or something at the location so you know where you made that photograph. Yes, I know there are apps that will coordinate your smartphone GPS with an image file, but what’s the fun in that? You are making art. Who else will have a project of all the signs of the places you have been? If you remember to do it when you are “on location,” you have a “free” project!
And remember, no matter how carefully you pack, about one third of the clothes you bring will not be a good match for the weather. You will leave at home something that is on your list and very necessary. You will find another use for something you brought that will "save the day." Life is like that.
On the last Photo Safari I brought my full size carbon fiber tripod. I think I might have used it one time. To save room on this Safari, I decided to bring a much smaller carbon fiber "travel" tripod. I didn’t use it one time. Next Safari, I don’t think I will bring a tripod. For a guy that spent thirty plus years under the dark cloth of a view camera, letting go of a tripod is truly a monumental change in making photographs. Thanks to the folks at Panasonic that figured out image stabilization for cameras and lenses.
It should be known that trailer hitches stick out much farther than you think they should. My shins reminded me to add this to the list of lessons learned on the latest Photo Safari.
It's a new month so that means there is a new issue of The Lipka Journal over at my website. Click on the link at the top of the page and download the free PDF Journal for this month.
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