This is a blog on my mindset when I approach a scene. How I mentally organize my visual universe with the aspiration directing my visual perception down to a piece of paper.
For years I struggled with the frustrating fact, that the scenes i tried to depict came out as a disappointment. As time went by, my photos became technically better and better, but the disappointment remained, it was still the same problem, what I depicted, was different from the scene as I saw and remembered it.
One day a memory from my drawing lessons came back to me. The technique I learned back then involved drawing a portrait from a picture which was upside down. You might ask yourself why is that relevant, why is that helpful, the point is we draw our interpretation of what we see, not what is really there. By turning the picture upside down, we break away from pre established ideas about lines, composition, contrasts. Upside down drawing gives insight to the way an artist sees, while not actually identifying what he is depicting or seeing. We do not see things as they are! we see the impression as our minds comprehend it, apprehend it and grasp it and the fact about this illusion is that it is all a lie, a very subjective lie, but lie all the same.
To capture the illusion with the camera, is very similar to capturing picture with pen and paper, it is essential to break away from how you perceive it, break it down, and build it up again within your own visual universe, first then will it become unique . That involves challenging a lot of preconceived notions regarding expressions, perspective and even scale. I find it easier to break away from a preconceived idea of a scene, by simply moving. it involves moving with my camera, opposed to zooming in. It involves getting up on a ladder at times, or down on the belly. For the very same reason is primes much prefered, they force the laziness out of you, and brings you into new perspectives. It is not an easy journey to take, to be honest it might be a longer trip that any of us can travel, but does that matter? is it the goal of a perfect photo that is so intriguing in photography, or is it the road towards that unreachable goal.
Happy travelling
Photographer
The Golden Hour 