Vision is better

I wrote a draft post the other day in which I mentioned some peers whose work I highly respect - Marcie, Diane,  and Georgia, to list just a few fellow Shutter Sisters whose names were included - isn’t that odd, “fellow” Shutter Sisters?  Even though in this situation the definition for “fellow” is a male or female colleague, a companion, a comrade, an associate, a partner, a sharer, an alternative definition is man or boy.  I prefer “a sharer”, but I digress.  I was reading a post by David duChemin whose second book, Vision Mongers, was just released and whose first book, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, I’m still trying to read. Why am I still “trying” to read his book?  Because it is so dang good, I keep going back to reread the same sections over and over again.  David’s tag line is something that he always stresses - “gear is good, vision is better” and when I look at the works of the ladies mentioned above, I see works with vision. 

Now, I’m not ashamed to admit that vision is something with which I struggle.  What is vision? Do I have vision?  Do I NOT have vision?  What IS my vision, if I do have it?   DO I have it?? Tell me quick! As you can see, my inner dialogue constantly questions my vision.  Or lack thereof.  Sometimes I feel as though I finally have a grasp on what my vision is, that I’m reaching for the proverbial doorknob of that “aha” moment and about to walk through and embrace it…and then the door slams shut.  How do you know you have vision?  Is it something you find in your photos that you unconsciously keep repeating?  Is it a story you want to tell?  Is it the way in which you want to tell it?  Still with the questions…maybe if I finished the book…

One of the things I do on a regular basis, and it is something we all do or we wouldn’t be here right now at Shutter Sisters, is go blog hopping.  All of the photo blogs I visit are of photographers who inspire me in one way or another – it might be their images or their words or a combination of them both, but regardless, it is someone whom I think has vision.  Their work might be completely different than mine, but I still learn from them, I still take something away with me…and that is inspiration.

How about you?  Is vision something you feel you have or are you still trying to figure out what it is?  Is there someone’s work and vision that inspires you?  What does your inner dialogue have to say?  Share with us in the comments, won’t you please?

Photo and words courtesy of Guest Blogger / Honorary Sister Toni Johnson of Daily Vignette.

Comments

[Marcie]

Vision and voice are things I struggle with everyday. I worry that I'm not being 'real'...not being 'authentic'...and I'm always plagued by the fear of 'what others might think'. Although I don't think I've found my own single vision, voice, or personal style - I do think I'm constantly evolving..changing and growing as I practice daily.

Love your image of the glass against the wood - the color..the texture..the detail. You definitely have a vision and style that is your very own!!!

Here's one of mine..as we fly out of this year and into the next:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1002

[margie]

toni i was so excited to see your guest post here! i wrote my post today based on your question, where do you go for your vision.

http://www.soeursdujour.com/

[ELK]

Toni how wonderful to have you here, see this amazing image and what a great question.

my blog post from yesterday spoke of "vision" seen from the car on a long trip. Since becoming more interested in photography looking out the window has never been the same and the blur of movement is OK

http://www.redorgray.com/2009/11/e-n-r-o-u-t-e.html

[Debi]

I began to blog to promote my painting, to make me take it more seriously. I just happened to be in the photo business, just happened to've studied photography in school, moving on from it to painting, but feeling in my heart i was a writer. How confusing is that? But I'd always won awards for writing, it was easy, and if it's easy, it can't be real, right? One must suffer! :) So. Back to the blog. Photographs began to be my first sentences, my ideas for my story, my story-telling. I realized only last week that as I've evolved, I am so much less concerned with how the photo looks, with how perfect it is, than I am with what mood it sets, what story it begins. I am so much more a vision girl - I get crazy when people want to talk camera equipment, and I love Photoshop; it is ALL about my vision, whatever it takes to get there, even if it's a fuzzy phone camera image, which I find myself using more & more. The link below was last week - a photo that spoke to me of loneliness while surrounded by love. It fit my story perfectly. So perhaps I shouldn't be here, not really a shutter sister, not really a photographer, but a woman with a vision, with stories to tell, not always joyful and pretty. I love your site however and come back daily to see what's happening.

http://emmatree.blogspot.com/2009/11/hello-darkness-my-old-friend.html

[georgia]

toni, i am so delighted to find you here today. i stop over at shutter sisters every day. i was initially surprised to see my name, and then honored when i saw who wrote the post. thank you for what you said. it especially warms my heart, because i feel i lack vision in my photography, but i'm not too hard on myself, because i am still so new to it and still figuring that out. so to read that someone as gifted as you should respect my work is indescribable. i'm humbled.

thank you for this post in general. i actually decided to go on a bit of a hiatus from taking pictures and blogging. and feeling like i lack vision is one of the reasons. i will take this time to seek that vision out -- or rather, let it find me. {i'll also be looking into signing up for a class.} but i agree 100% with your words about bloggers and blogs. there are so many out there that push and motivate me daily as well -- which is why i will continue to visit them even while taking my own break.

lastly, this door knob photo is absolutely WOW. rich with color and layers. wonderful detail of character and symbolism.

[jakki]

You know...I guess my vision would be the whole captureing the emotion and the feelings at any given moment. That someone can look at my photo years later and see...sadness...elation....anger...melancholy...all of that. My vision is to have others see what is in my minds eye, rather it be people, places or things and the whole being it evokes. Almost like I'm begging, 'SEE WHAT SEE??? PLEASE SEE WHAT I SEE!!' LOL

[Kellee]

I have to agree. I think anyone that ever lovingly wraps their fingers around a camera and sets off to see the world through their lens must wonder about their vision. I wonder about that all the time. Am I a fraud? Am I seeing something that isn't there. Am I not seeing the important thing in this scene. Am I inauthentic for looking so hard? Is the sheer force of the effort required evidence that I do not, after all, have any sort of vision. Or talent, for that matter.

I think, ultimately, the fact that we all see things differently, and can all look at the same thing and make it appear differently or find a different details, is the beauty of this art. I'd like to think that if you have eyes and are using them to examine the world, then you have vision.

[Michele]

I often wonder what my vision is. I try to tell a story with my photos and most photographers would call most my work "snap shotty" (is that even a word)??? I was told not too long ago that I was a great snap shot photographer, ha ha. I'm not out to create the perfect photo - perfect exposure, perfect color, blah blah blah! I think there is more emotion in a photo that tells a story and more to look at, examine, and even sometime relate to... I don't know. Obviously my vision isn't very clear either! I do have a photographer that I someday strive to be just like. Check her out! Her work is amazing!

http://www.julieblackmon.com/

[misti]

I always enjoy seeing photos that aren't overly processed and textured, seeing how the image was really taken and how the photographer used what he or she had at the time to accomplish the task. I like to see those people who can take a bare bones cameara without anything fancy and just take a beautiful photograph. Sometimes it is seeing the moment and suroundings for what they are, not what you can do to them afterward.

[Claudia@ DipityRoad]

I love this wondering question. I have always felt blessed in the artists way... I feel I have vision -- especially when I am photoshoping my work -- but I often feel like that I LACK horribly in the honest original creative part of any project.

I need inspiration -- then I can give my own take... but just looking at an object and seeing what it might transition into -- nope that is not me.

I highlight my sister often on my blog where she is VERY very much her own creative person-- so she give me things to blog about and heck isnt that what sisters are for?? to support one another... :) Thanks for being MY sisters too.

Stop by and see her yard in its Christmas glory! http://www.dipityroad.com

[beth]

funny....my photo today is a door and doorknob, too.....

anyhow....the vision question.....I know I am a very visual person and yes, for the most part, I do have the ability to have a vision pretty much all the time. and just about the time I think I don't, someone reminds me that I do with a little pat on the back and a compliment and that fuels me to continue doing what I love to do....

and my camera man... at the store I visit too frequently......he always says, it's never the camera that makes for a wonderful photo....it's always the photographer :)

[Linda Steider]

Toni, YOU inspire me! How thrilled I am that my friend Chris sent me here tonight to see your searching words. I don't know that I have a vision, but I am constantly moving forward and rarely look back to see from whence I came. And yes, I know that many would scorn this attitude. I don't grapple with 'voice' I just say what's on my mind. It may not be what anyone wants to hear (or in my case 'buy'), but I'm compelled and can't stop. Free-form play every day...well, except when it's work or I have to wear a marketing, collections, shipping/receiving hat.

Seriously, I think repetition - doing what you love everyday - pulls out the core of your 'vision' whether you realize what that vision is or not. You may not see it until you put a body of work together in front of your own eyes. Some people have the gift of knowing where they're going. I tend to meander.

[bree]

So, I just placed a hold for that book at my local library. Can't wait to get my hands on it!!

I think vision is something I struggle with a lot. I see all sorts of different photos that touch me and inspire me (Shutter Sisters is one of them FOR SURE, but so many more too. Tina Louise, Rachel Devine, Jasmine Star, Gabriel Ryan, Phyllis Stafford, I could go on and on.), but when I have my own photos in front of me, well, only a couple really stand out to me. I'm finding my vision.

[Sarah - Ji]

Toni, so nice to see you post here!

In searching for my personal "vision" or approach, I learned a big lesson this past year; namely, that I need to have an emotional connection to what and whom I'm shooting or else I don't enjoy it. It's the main reason I've started turning down paid gigs. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I'm grateful for the knowing.

[Diane]

Toni, I am honoured you mentioned me and your feeling that I have vision. I must say I definitely have always felt you have vision. I particularly admire the stories that many of your photographs tell -- photos such as those taken of potatoes being harvested, farmers working into the night, or children at play in the fields. What I see are stories in those images -- a great feat indeed.
Warmly,
Diane
www.dianeschuller.com

[Sue Henry]

"Vision" is a topic I struggle with on a regular basis. I often wonder if my images are "deep" enough; if they express any emotion or evoke feeling. Perhaps by pairing the image with "Voice," the emotion or feeling surfaces.

I love your doorknob image and your accompanying sentiment -- "Sometimes I feel as though I finally have a grasp on what my vision is, that I’m reaching for the proverbial doorknob of that “aha” moment and about to walk through and embrace it…and then the door slams shut. "

I'm off to check out the book you mentioned......

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