The Mindful Lens

Versace on Seeing

One of my favorite modern photographers is Vincent Versace. I love his fine art photography but, even more than the images themselves, I love his approach to photography. If you've had the chance to attend one of his classes or workshops, you know what I mean (and if not, do yourself a favor and go). He is the one photographer who's classes I make it a point to attend at every Photoshop World I go to. 

For Versace, it's not about technique, although he'd be the first to tell you that "perfect practice makes perfect." For Vincent, creating remarkable images that speak to something deeper is about "seeing" with that other eye we have. The eye we develop from careful observation, not by simply repeating a technique we've learned. To truly see and capture the essence of the scene in front of the lens and reveal its true essence, not just a documentary record of what we saw.

If this sounds at all interesting to you, and I hope it does, take some time to read and absorb an excerpt from his upcoming book, Return To Oz. You can find it here as a guest post on Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider.

To get a hint of what Versace is talking about:

"There is a revolution in photography happening. We are witnessing it now; the digital image for the first time allows anyone onto the pathway to creative greatness. A place where impossible is merely an opinion, an opinion that is held not by the viewer of the image but by the creator of that image. Which means that personal imagination is then the only limitation. It is important to not merely focus on technique for technique’s sake, but to discover what it means to see rather than merely look. It is in that direction that you will come full circle and find the voice within you that yearns to be heard and needs to be heard. Once you discover that technique is merely a detail—a consideration, nothing more—then in that moment the voice within you, the visual poet who fell in love with photography, will be free to create images that will change the world of those who view them."

The conversation is shifting...

Tapping In

I think one of the reasons we go out to shoot is the feeling we get when we're totally tuned into our subject matter. Experiencing it with more than just our eyes, we tap into things on a different level than what we perceive day-to-day with our normal level of consciousness. That sense of looking, watching, waiting, feeling, and knowing the right time to push down the shutter button- I think that experience is one of the bigger rewards of what we do. For me, it's like meditation with a lens. 

One of the better descriptions of tapping into the 'photographic now' that I've read was in last week's Guest Blog Wednesdays on Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider, this time written by Laurie Excell, DLWS Instructor and NAPP's Gear Desk authority:

"Adrenalin courses through my veins as the image in my mind comes into sharp focus. I depress the shutter and begin clicking continuously as each wave crashes against the rocks, the spray is ghostlike in the tumultuous storm. The wind and rain pummels me, nearly knocking me to the ground with its sheer force. I feel more alive than at any other time, knowing that I am capturing the power of the storm, imprinting an image forever on my memory."

Take the time to read her entire post because she touches on another idea that I think is very important- the ability to think about how you're going to get from what you see in your viewfinder to the 'finished' image, even before you take the picture. And by finished, I mean the image that represents what you felt like you saw and experienced at the time you took the shot. While I stand by the idea of getting as much of it right in the camera as possible, your tools in the digital darkroom can really help you reach your final vision. I think this is where it can be really rewarding to bring your mind's eye and the camera lens together, to help share with the world your experience, of what moved you to take the picture in the first place.

You can read her entire post here.