Saturday, February 22, 2014

Approaches to Photographic Originality

In this oversaturated world of images,  how can I bring back photographs with some originality, with my personal stamp? After all, the images of each destination on Google are pretty damned good. Any calendar maker would be proud to include them.
Here are some answers:
1. Super Wide Angle. I love this lens. It's especially provocative in small spaces, since it takes in more than a single glance can. It also adds edge distortion, which can be stimulating when used correctly. And it shines in asymmetrical uses—views from extreme angles, which present familiar subjects in new ways, or bring an immediate foreground into play with a sweeping background.

2. Panoramic camera. This is the film camera I'm bringing along. Its perspective is very different from that of the super wide angle, presenting a scene across a wide horizon with equal immediacy.

3. Timed series of exposures. I have a device called a TriggerTrap which connects an app on my smart phone to my camera and can trip the shutter at pre-determined intervals. Thus I can set it up to take photos throughout the night and into the dawn every 15 minutes, capturing whatever city I'm in as it wakes up. Then I can make composites of these for even more startling effects. (No samples yet.)

4. Provocative Juxtapositions. We street photographers are always looking for these. Alex Webb is a master at them. The super wide angle helps, but is not essential. I've had some successes here, and I'll be looking for more:
There will be more, such as long exposures on the street at night, so that people are blurs (or with flash, so they're fixed plus a blur), with a sharp background. In any case, my goal is always to come back with unfamiliar images, even images no one has seen before, even of familiar, overly photographed places. Stay tuned.

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