What's your natural vision?

Last night I finished a great little book, "Letting Go of the Camera: Essays on Photography and the Creative Life" by Brooks Jensen, Editor of LensWork.  While most of my favorite photography books are filled with rich images, this one is exclusively comprised of words. Insight. Lessons learned. Random thoughts. It's not about aperture settings, exposure tips nor digital image manipulation. It's a collection of essays that stretched my thinking and prompted self-exploration about my recent choice to follow the path of photography into a professional space.

In chapter 26, Brooks Jensens encourages you to "discover your natural vision," suggesting that photographers might "...(come) to recognize that we (are) naturally predisposed to see in some ways more strongly than in others. By knowing this, we could more easily know when it might be best to work intuitively and when it might be best to work intellectually or carefully."

I immediately thought about a conversation I had with a friend the other night. "So how would you characterize what you like to shoot?" she asked. I paused for a moment. I've been pushing and stretching myself beyond my "natural vision" for the past few months in an effort to get the most from my Project 365 experience. I'm purposefully trying to shoot what does not come naturally for me, yet intrigues me. And I'm enjoying this challenge. But I must say, I feel most comfortable within close range of my subjects and when I'm contorting my body around a subject to discover and share a small detail in a simple composition. I suppose this would be my natural vision.

How would you define your natural vision at this moment in time? Can you articulate it? Show us an image that best represents it.

Comments

[leaca]

You vision certainly works for you. You are one of my favorites.

http://www.simplyblogged.com/2008/10/natural-vision.html

[nickythomas]

Good morning shuttersisters

My kids were up at silly O'Clock this morning (it's not quite 6am here and we've been up for a while!).

You made me think about my viewpoint. Hmmm. I like to look for something a little different. I mean, i take loads of 'normal' shots of people and things but, like you, i find a little contortion goes a long way.
Here's one that made me laugh. I had to lie on the floor to get it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickythomasphotography/2964154457/

I often see something that makes me stop and ponder. My family knows that i will either have to stop and fumble around the pushchair for the camera or make my excuses later to run out and try to catch it. This one was taken when i was coming home from exercise class. I'd take a few photos there for the church magazine so i happened to have my camera on me. As i saw it down the road a song came into my head. It circled round there while it took the shot and didnt go away until i had uploaded the photo and finished fiddling with it. It summed up how i was feeling at the time (and still am to an extent) and it helped to get it out of my system.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickythomasphotography/2938709107/

I guess my natural vision changes partly with how i am feeling. I'm sure i'm not the only one here who finds taking photographs good for my soul. Certainly some of the photos on here help to lift mine when i'm having a bad day. So thanks for that ladies.

Have a lovely day

Nicky x

[Elizabeth Harper]

Self-exploration is an interesting choice of words.

Whether I'm documenting someone's life event, like a wedding, or a last family portrait after a terminal diagnosis, including a single reflection of me, for my eyes only, to view later when I'm alone, is a gentle reminder that I must stay connected to what I feel and not just what I see in order to do my best work.


http://www.giftsofthejourney.com/Elizabeth_Harper-Gifts_of_the_Journey/Daily_View/Entries/2008/10/27_Reflections_Of_Other_Lives.html

[ELK]

stephanie wonderful post with thoughtful question...

so many parts of a photograph but the light and shadows that appear inside and outside of everyday life:

http://www.redorgray.com/2008/10/monday-leaves.html

oh and clouds ...but that is another post ...

[Marcie]

This sounds like a book that is right up my alley. Your chosen quotation really speaks to me:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=567

[cindy k]

thank you for the book recommendation! i've only had my slr for about a month, but i love macro shots - yours is gorgeous. my strong focus right now is on the light. how do i want to capture the light. hope that makes sense. here's a photo i like - http://flickr.com/photos/71443419@N00/2947950874/

[shelli]

You've given me something to think about. I believe my vision is limited right now as I live the life of a stay-at-home-mother. That is, I don't get out much beyond my own yard to take photos. I, too, love getting down low in odd positions to get a shot of some small thing or either to capture a new expression on my child's face:

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy/Pages/Nikon_D60.html#37

[JeanaMarie]

i'm still at the beginning of discovering these sorts of things about myself in relation to photography, but with two willing subjects and remembering not to freak out about the small stuff, it is definitely adding some fun to my life. documenting the mess:

http://flickr.com/photos/jeanamarie31/2977277709/in/photostream/
http://flickr.com/photos/jeanamarie31/2977275421/in/photostream/

[kristin]

yes i too am most comfortable up close, catching the bits and pieces so to speak. and the light, the magical light.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2957475960/

[abbey]

thats easy.... i love shooting kids!!!
http://www.photoblog.com/abbeyh13/

[Kathleen O.]

What a fabulous question to ponder. My natural vision (at this particular moment) includes close-cropping, patterns, color and light in nature (mostly).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2939431919/

[Kimberly G.]

My natural vision is sunlight - the colors it creates, shadows, shapes - and the texture of life. Yesterday I had been pondering what is my creative vision. Your post and my heart are tuned to the same radio station. (my very first post to ss)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11497502@N05/2977436371/

[Cartwheels At Midnight/Paige]

At this moment, I find a treasure when I review my shots to find a Real glimpse of one of my children - when I have the camera aimed in the right place at the right time and catch their personality in a completely unposed moment:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cartwheelsatmidnight/1357842546/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cartwheelsatmidnight/2647720059/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cartwheelsatmidnight/2769907466/

[jag]

I'm going to look up that book - thanks!

I find that I am naturally drawn to lines, shapes & patterns...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2320395950/in/set-72157606772577757/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2769634310/in/set-72157606772577757/

...as well as beauty in ordinary things.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2608585282/in/set-72157604073023608/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2729891663/in/set-72157606064294651/

My horizons are broadening though! I'm finding that the urban scene, especially quirky signs and sights, are grabbing my attention...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2729891663/in/set-72157606064294651/

C'est tout... c'est assez! :-)
xox

[anita]

Great post Stephanie! I will have to get a copy of that book.

I too love the up-close, odd-bent, type of shot. My natural vision for my fine art photograph has been - "finding the extraordinary in the ordinary"...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thrivestyle/1133623871/in/set-72157603973293395/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thrivestyle/2275192959/in/set-72157603973293395/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thrivestyle/2256258829/in/set-72157603973293395/

Working on what that will be as I venture into portraiture...certainly don't want a parent feeling I don't think their child is extraordinary from the get go.

[spread your wings]

thank you for this post. it's something important to think about. but as usual i'm at work when i read your blog and rarely am able to post in response until later. it will give me something to think about during the day and i look forward to checking out that book as well.

it is something i want to share with my daughter who is an aspiring photographer. i appreciate this site as a source of inspiration and motivation for her. i hope she finds encouragement by reading your posts.

[Eren]

Right now I can't help but being drawn to my boys and their exploration of the natural world. So, I guess that tends to my my natural vision right now. But I would love to try my hand at playing with light and shadow.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagechica/2957442277/

[~ kristina ~]

This is a topic I think about a lot. I've articulated it here:

http://meadowlarkdays.blogspot.com/2008/10/vision.html

Thanks for bringing it up!

[Diane Schuller]

my natural vision actually varies -- must be the temperamental artist in me :)

Primarily though, I tend to gravitate towards photos that tell a story: some include people, though others don't include them. Here's one depicting my natural vision:

http://albertaphotography.wordpress.com/2008/10/23/when-you-least-expect-it/

[Jody]

Hmmm very insightful and thoughtstirring post today. I was thinking about this yesterday. I was trying to think about what I love to photograph the most. And I could'nt really come up with a short answer to myself. I'm new at photography and keep finding just wonderful things I want to capture. I might be walking with my hubby down the sidewalk or driving to work. I might be sitting in my house just looking around at the things I love the most. I do know that I love great photo's of the people I love but find them the hardest to get sometimes. I point and they put their hands up in front of their faces or babys move. Gosh they move so much =)

But I was driving home from work yesterday after working all night. I took my camera in my backpack because I wanted to take some pictures of the darkened hallway and maybe some empty labor rooms. I still will but that night there was no time. On the way home it was very foggy. I had to pull over to take this shot...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/2975110515/

But def. capturing my life as it IS right now is something I love to do..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/2956765714/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/2952517660/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/2927030964/

..and this is my newest fav subject =)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodyangel/2910640008/

Have a wonderful Monday guys!!

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

I suppose that I have found that I like to cut out the crap, and get right down to the subject at hand.

http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2008/10/weekend-winter.html

[donna]

I am drawn to the minutae of life.....

http://lemondingo.blogspot.com/

My goal this winter is to improve my portraiture photography. I am taking a trip to Australia over Christmas and I am going to try and stretch my photographic wings there. And work on my landscape shots too perhaps!

[maz]

This really got me thinking. I guess I'm still working out what my natural vision is, so this was kind of therapeutic. An invaluable reminder about why I do what I do!

http://divingforpearls.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/a-natural-visio.html

[Jamie]

My vision is focused on the face...

http://umbrellablog.com/photography/face-it/

[Robin]

I try not to think too much and just let the shots find me.

http://www.accidentalbeauty.net/index.php?showimage=418

[trupeach]

i find that i naturally want to photo interesting angles, or create photos that are off-balance, with the subject to the side.
i very rarely photo people, but this one, taken recently, couldn't be denied:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13818098@N00/2911477933/

[laura - dolcepics]

Great food for thought!

I was completely absorbed in shooting portraits (namely kids) up close and personal... and that was my style. But now I'm learning to discover a different eye... a different vision.

I think this shot that I took yesterday shows a bit of it:

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/blackbird/

[Jenny Rebecca]

Hmmmm....I seem to have less of an artistic vision and more of a Wayne & Garth vision - extreme close-ups!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fanglord2/2924258157/in/set-72157606913837942/

[Emma]

Right now I'm still inspired by trying to catch a moment just before it ends.
I guess my eye is drawn to the stillness before the scene changes.

http://flickr.com/photos/26239056@N05/2880045661/
or
http://flickr.com/photos/26239056@N05/2937638484/

Emma

[Jeanine]

I struggle with this. I still haven't found my photo voice - I'm all over the map, clumsily exploring everything, looking for a style that fits me. But I do seem to be drawn to close-ups, small worlds, flowers and nature, the silly, flares and everything vintage.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15607464@N03/2969305004/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15607464@N03/2977246491/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15607464@N03/2978061962/

[Kristy]

My vision is to try to find the quirky, unique things in the ordinary.

http://lifecaptured.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/reflection/

[spread your wings]

good or bad - i guess this is my "natural" vision. it's something to ponder.
http://autumnsun08.blogspot.com/

[m]

great book ! highly recommend it

Doors ! more doors !

[m]

http://www.creativevoyage.co.uk/node/53

forgot to link to a picture of one of my doors !

[Puna]

As a fitness instructor, I'm very interested in natural foods. As a photographer, I try to capture the essence food in it's natural state. So, my vision of the world right now is food, food, food. But all natural food.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifesignatures/2980601829/
http://lifesignatures.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/food-and-color/

[mary]

My vision encompasses both large and small, but always looking for the beauty in nature. The outdoors is definitely my cathedral:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/2965352486/

[m. heart]

i'm drawn to shooting life's wabi sabi...rust, broken flowers, discarded things and abandoned places. i often find myself in the garden to shoot.

http://secretnotebookswildpages.blogspot.com/2008/10/collapse-of-cosmos.html

[jfrancis]

The leaf
refreshed by rain
within its purpose.

[Rachel/justmakeit]

Over the months of Project 365, I've been learning a lot about photography and a lot about myself. I've discovered that it's all about the light, for me. When I'm out, with or without a camera, what I mostly see is how the light is, and how it's interacting with the world. A little bit of backlight, a little bit of reflecting, a little bit of glow -- these things really get me. The challenge is finding the light on days when it seems to be hiding from me: flat gray days, rainy days, days when I don't get around to taking a photo until the sun's gone down. Thanks for the topic. I've been thinking about it a lot lately.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelpasch/2879865662/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelpasch/2892350937/

[alicia]

I feel most comfortable when I am near the waters edge. It is nature at it's finest to me. There are no bad photographs at the beach.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloomgrowlove/2981970436/