I just received this email from my dad this morning. Dad, I will be thinking about this all week now. It is so interesting to me. Thank you for sharing (andI hope it is ok that I share it with the blogging world)!
Email from my dad:
Subject: Creativity and Innovation - In Photography and Life
Knowing that both Audra C. and Jessie E. love photography, I have been paying special attention lately to the distinctive qualities of excellent photos. With this new found interest, I occasionally will go to internet photo galleries to admire exceptional photography. Some of the photography is amazingly unique and beautiful.
The National Geographic is my favorite magazine -- not only because of its fascinating articles about places & people, but because of its phenomenal photos of those places & people. As I read the monthly National Geographic, I spend more time studying the photos than the content of the articles.
My favorite National Geographic photographer is Dewitt Jones. I have heard him speak on the topic of what it takes to produce exceptional photography. His philosophy about photography is really a philosophy about creativity & innovation. It is a philosophy about creativity & innovation in both photography . . . and in life.
Here are some of his thoughts -- melded with my thoughts -- about photography and life:
*It is all a matter of perspective
*It is about the moment in time when you look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary
*It is about "falling in love" with the world and the people around you
*It is about reframing a problem into an opportunity
*It is about taking risks and making mistakes
*It is about continuously looking for the next right answer . . . and then the next one . . and the next one
*It is about breaking the pattern, not letting the pattern become our prison
*It is about searching continuosly through windows of opportunity for decisive and extraordinary moments
*It is about vision
*It is not only about vision, but also about technique; for vision without technique is blind
*It is about mastering technique
*It is about putting ourselves in the place of most potential, to optimally use both vision and technique
*It is about perserverance . . . making attempt after attempt after attempt . . . until the next attempt captures the right result
*It is about light. With people, it is about finding the right light from within. With objects or places, it is about finding how the light best reflects on those objects or places
There is obviously much to learn about creativity & innovation -- in photography and in life. I would be interested in hearing what each of you have learned about these topics.
Dad.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I thought these were so interesting! It makes me want to try and look at the world a different way.
NG is totally the bomb - as a kid/teenager/college student/adult I always wanted - well want - to be a photographer for them. Like even just follow one of their photographers around and learn, taking a few of my own along the way.
There are tons of things to think about in these ideas. As far as food for thought goes, this could feed you for a long long time. I will think of them too, and let you know if I come up with anything insightful.
Post a Comment