Notes

ICP Class Week 7

These are some notes from watching a DVD about Henri- Cartier Bresson that were inspiration to me and my work.

This image was sourced from http://sunwalked.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/cartier-bresson-child-carrying-painting.jpg

NOTES

Henri - Cartier Bresson was a surrealist which I had never realised before. In all my experience of Bresson, I have found his method of photography fascinating. His 'decisive moment' has shaped photography forever.

Learning that he was a surrealist photographer maybe explained more to me about the way that he see's.

He was told not to call himself a surrealist photographer and instead to refer to himself as a photojournalist. And so I have understood him this way. But to learn that he was in fact a surrealist photographer posing under the title of a photojournalist helps me to understand more where his flare in shapes and form, design and lines appear in his work.

I have always been a massive fan of his work and the moments that he was able to capture. He had a sense, an intuition that allowed him to be able to pick the 'decisive moment'

He spoke of how you can overshoot and how you can want to keep pressing the shutter. 'You shoot and you have the urge to shoot again, and the photo might have been in between.' It teaches a lot about the patience in seeing and observing.

'Don't overshoot - like overeating.'

'Be yourself and forget yourself'

This quote resonated with me as I have been coming into issues related to this a lot lately. I was reading an interview with a professional photographer who claims that if you remove the emotion from a photo, you are more likely to produce a better photo - better in the sense that the representation will be more accurate to true form - as you will be recording what is there and not your experience of it.

I found this to be useful information as there have been times that I have shot something based on the sounds and feel around at the time and been disappointed when I have seen the results.

But then, when in a talk with photographer Joel Meyerowitz - who's work I admire - he claims 'If you can capture your feelings, you'll get a good photo'.

Which I would have to say I can also claim to have worked for me. I feel that when I am emotionally in tune with my process of photographing, I take photos on a much deeper level and my understanding of form and composition comes more fluidly, than when I am shooting for the sake of getting my 36 for instance.

I guess there is merit in both of these cases. Henri - Cartier Bresson's quote seems to bring a calm to this argument for me, as I feel what he is saying is that you can be you - know what you are, know what things mean to you and what you like - take notice and then take no notice. Shoot beyond yourself.

There is a quote - which I'm not sure of its reference - that says

'Once you get past I and then you, you stop reflecting on yourself and start to see what is around you.'

Since I have been shooting my 36 a day, there are days when I do struggle. They seem to be the days that all I am doing is walking repeated journeys and although I try to see the new that is around me - this city is constantly changing - there are limits to that some days.

'There are some places where the pulse beats more'

I have often thought that there were places that inspired me more than others - not necessarily the more 'tourist' places but also just some places may have a vibe or a grittiness that speaks to me. It reminds me that there will be days that I am in places where the pulse isn't beating as strong and it is my job to accept this and see what is around me anyhow.

If I could just take the places that inspire me, I could be brilliant! But I need to keep practising so I can actually be brilliant.

These are some quotes that just inspired me:

'Life is once, forever'

'You have to try and get between the skin of a person and their shirt - which is very hard'

The difference between a good photo and a mediocre one is millimeters - my joy is finding it.'

'Inspiration comes from living'

'I know too much and not enough'

'It can be a sketchbook, the camera.'

'Yes Yes, Yes. It's like an affirmation. And all the maybes should go in the bin.'

This last quote is one to live your life by.

The Art Of Seeing

Friday 13th November 09

I have had a revelation today. I was experimenting with how I see and compose and it became evident that I don't properly look when I look through the viewfinder. I feel like I struggle with trying to squint the other eye so that I see correctly through the viewfinder.

I tried covering my other eye so my 'seeing' eye could correctly see and it was a very interesting experience.

It slowed the process for me and allowed me to assess all the areas of the frame.

The Adventure of a Photographer By Italo Calvino

This is an extract from 'The Adventure of a Photographer' by Italo Calvino.

I think there are some interesting theories around photography and the way that he addresses what he feels is madness in photography. This started addressing some of the concerns that I have felt over the years and I thought it was an interesting read.

"...Because once you've begun," he would preach, "there is no reason why you should stop. The line between the reality that is photographed because it seems beautiful to us and the reality that seems beautiful because it has been photographed is very narrow. If you take a picture of Pierluca because he's building a sand castle, there is no reason not to take his picture while he's crying because the castle has collapsed, and then while the nurse consoles him by helping him find a sea shell in the sand. The minute you start saying something, 'Ah, how beautiful! We must photograph it!' you are already close to the view of the person who thinks that everything that is not photographed is lost, as if it had never existed, and that therefore, in order really to live, you must photograph as much as you can, and to photograph as much as you can you must either live in the most photographable way possible, or else consider photographable every moment of your life. The first course leads to stupidity; the second to madness."

"For the person who wants to capture everything that passes before his eyes," Antonio would explain, even if nobody was listening to him anymore, " the only coherent way to act is to snap at least one picture a minute, from the instant he opens his eyes in the morning to when he goes to sleep. This is the only way that the rolls of exposed film will represent a faithful diary of our days, with nothing left out. If I were to start taking pictures, I'd see this thing through, even if it meant losing my mind. But the rest of you still insist on making a choice. What sort of choice? A choice in the idyllic sense, apologetic, consolatory, at peace with nature, the fatherland, the family. Your choice isn't only photographic; it is a choice of life, which leads you to exclude dramatic conflicts, the knots of contradiction, the great tensions of will, passion, aversion. So you think you are saving yourselves from madness, but you are falling into mediocrity, into hebetude."

This passage has impact on me because I have a lot of issues around when I should take photos vs when I want to take photos.

When somewhere new for instance, I feel this need to document everything I see, as if should I not, then would the trip exist?

It has at times felt like a madness to have to 'capture' everything that I see.

I was recently told that at these times, it was better to take pictures of your friends as 'you can always buy the postcard'.

The word 'capture' is also another interesting debate. The concept that you would feel the need to capture what is in front of you, when in fact all you have gained is your understanding of the moment. Nothing can be captured and it is an illusion to believe that you 'own' that moment because you photographed it. It is bigger than you are.

This idea of 'madness' resonated with me as it began to make me debate the difference between being in the moment and 'living' your photos as opposed to being present as the photographer.

This section from the same text helped to express this view.

When Spring comes, the city's inhabitants, by the hundreds of thousands, go out on Sundays with leather cases over their shoulders. And they photograph one another. They come back as happy as hunters with bulging game bags; they spend days waiting, with sweet anxiety , to see the developed pictures (anxiety to which some add the subtle pleasure of alchemistic manipulations in the darkroom, forbidding any intrusion by members of the family, relishing the acid smell that is harsh to the nostrils).

It is only when they have the photos before their eyes that they seem to take tangible possession of the day they've spent, only then that the mountain stream, the movement of the child with his pail, the glint of sun on the wife's legs take on an irrevocability of what has been and can no longer be doubted. Everything else can drown in the unreliable shadow of memory.

This extract really nails for me how it feels when I photograph sometimes. It isn't until I have the solid proof of the day in all its photographic glory that I enjoy the day that was had. And there have been instances when I wanted to enjoy the moment as the moment, and have been overcome with guilt.

It is a strange process. I think that it's completely intuitive and maybe the learning is that when you are in the moment, this becomes almost a meditative state and the photos flow, and when you feel like you are part of the moment - you should be.

Martha Graham

There is a quote by Martha Graham to Agnes De Mille which has never failed to inspire

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.

And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.

You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.

Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive.

Thursday 12th November 09 Cont.

'Dave'

Thursday 12th November 09

' I walked past a homeless guy and he was soaked through and shaking.I felt for him so much - I was stuggling to deal with my wet feet and he was wet to the bone. I gave him all the change I had - which was about 3 dollars - and walked away. He was so grateful when I gave him the 3 dollars, an unworthy amount for his gratitude. I needed to give him something substantial because I knew that money couldn't give to me what it could to him.

I gave him 20 dollars and asked him his name..'

Shooting Hoops

Tuesday 10th November 09

Monday 9th November 09

Sunday 8th November 09

'I'm sorry I didn't listen to you'

Saturday 7th November 09

Friday 6th November 09

VICTOR SIRA

Victor Sira's website has inspired me. I like the format of some of his work where he shows them in sketchbooks. He has an aesthetic that I am very fond of - almost snapshot but with a much higher quality than that. I have been feeling less like taking photos and this reminded me of the possibilities of creating.

The only thing I'm doing right is taking photos

November 3rd 09

Chairs

November 1st 09

'I think I have learnt that I need to photograph alone.'

I've noticed today the impact that people have - the mark that they leave behind in a place. I noticed it with these chairs. Every time some sat in one they were left as a reminder that they had been there. And the un-used ones waited on the side.

Halloween

October 31st 09

'I felt a total release of the last few days in the rain'.

Walk it off, it doesn't always work

October 27th 09

'I guess there's some sort of learning here. It's hard though.'

D day

October 26th 09

'So I completely messed up. Not a good day. There was a lovely ride through the park though'.

A flower for you because your beautiful..

October 23rd 09