I was recently asked to contribute to another article on mobile photography. This time it was for smartertravel.com. The article can be found here. The other contributors were the people of Photojojo, Chuck DeLaney, the director of the New York Institute of Photography, and Kirsten Alana. Some excellent contributors to be sure.
Go check out the article for some tips on improving your travel photography with your mobile phone.
Before I talk about today’s image, I’d like to spend some time talking about something that Karen brought up in the comments of yesterdays post. She wrote:
I have a pet peeve and the quote you used only reinforces it for me: photography is a creative process, one in which your mind is engaged. For me, saying you’re going to “snap” a few pictures degrades that process. The quickie “snaps” are thoughtless motions, done without engaging your brain. You, my friend, do more than snap photos. You make pictures. I’d love to see you drop the word “snap” from your vocabulary when you talk about your photography.
I was waiting for someone to bring up the terms we all use to describe the process of photography. Its not something you ever think about, but the terms we use are pretty militaristic: take, shoot, capture, snap. They don’t even really describe what the photographer is doing. How should we describe the process? I’ll let the master clarify things a bit.
You don’t take a photograph, you make it.
- Ansel Adams
I have to agree with Karen that terms like those above tend to take away from what the photographer is actually doing. I don’t go out, point my camera at something, and snap away. I have an image in my head before I even point the lens at whats in front of me.
A photograph is not an accident – it is a concept. ~Ansel Adams
When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.
-Ansel Adams
Photography is an act of creation. Instead of those military terms, we should use more accurate words to describe what we’re doing with the camera. Ansel liked to say he made photographs. Kenneth Morgan, an awesome photographer and mentor, likes to use the word “create.” Instead of telling a client he can’t wait to shoot them, he would say “I can’t wait to get together to create some beautiful images together.” Which sounds better to you?
What other words do you think more accurately describe what you’re doing with a camera? I’d love to hear any other ideas.
Ok, now on to today’s image. I did some more water drop macro shots yesterday. I’ve always been intrigued by macro photography in the past. The only thing stopping me from really getting into it is the cost of the lenses. This free technique finally allows me to explore the macro world a little bit until I get a real macro lens for my phone or camera. I’ve been a little uninspired lately, partly because I’m bored of the central coast and can’t wait to move to Oregon and begin exploring there. This macro photography opens up a whole new world and I find myself actually having fun again because of the ability to explore the world on a new level.
Created with Camera+ and edited with Snapseed. Then I blended two versions together in ImageBlender with soft light as the blending mode.
