by tmoffett | Mar 19, 2012 | Black and White, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy, Photographic Technique
Grape Leaves
One of the most frequently asked questions by students in my classroom while working on photographs in Photoshop is, “What should I do to this image?” Nearly always my reply is the same. “What did you see and feel when you photographed it?” This concept of visualizing the end result before pressing the shutter button on the camera is becoming a lost art, yet is so important to achieving consistent, meaningful and powerful results.
I began to understand the idea of previsualization while studying Ansel Adams zone system under the tutelage of Craig Law at Utah State University. When making exposures using the zone system, a photographer must first know what he/she wants because the exposure settings (aperture and shutter speed) and film development process is determined by what the finished print is to look like. The whole process is very calculated. One must slow down and think about the image that is about to be created. Some may claim that this attention paid to the technical details takes away from the spontaneous art of photography. I differ with this way of thinking. Slowing down, really looking and taking in a scene allows me the opportunity to feel my surroundings. I am able to focus on my emotions. What is it that caught my attention in the first place? Why do I feel I need to make a photograph? What do I really see? What emotion do I want to elicit in the viewer of the image I am about to make? These are just some of the questions that I ask myself while setting up to photograph a particular scene. Only after I have taken the time to experience the scene that I am about to photograph am I able to determine how best to replicate those emotions in a photograph. Once those decisions are made, there is no question as to how to process the image upon returning home. I have already experienced it!
Even though I now use advanced digital equipment instead of film for my photography, the principle of previsualization learned years ago is still prevalent in my methods of working. When out photographing, I first pay close attention to my emotional response to the scene in front of me. If I have no emotional response, the photograph will have no power. This determines whether or not I even take the camera out of the bag. After deciding that a scene is indeed worth photographing and what emotional response I want to evoke, I can then successfully determine the correct exposure settings, lens selection, white balance, ISO, etc. are necessary to convey my message. At the same time, processing and editing methods are determined as well.
All of this takes time and effort. By slowing down and thinking, even meditating while photographing, you too can learn to create more powerful images while actually making fewer exposures.
by tmoffett | Mar 14, 2012 | Color, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Midnight Blues, an image from Silent Solitude
My silence has been long enough. I have decided to return to the world of blogging after a longer than expected absence. It seemed as though my life was beginning to revolve around my daily blogging. I was losing touch with the things of most importance. My family was suffering. My photography was suffering. Most importantly, I was suffering. Trying to keep up with a daily blog entry that had content that would benefit my followers was too much, so I am returning with a different format. I will be writing content on a regular, but less frequent basis. Two to three times a week new content will be added in a way that, hopefully, you will find beneficial, interesting and fun to read. I will continue to add new photographs with each post as well.
During my absence I have been busy. I just finished my first book, Silent Solitude. I have been photographing at our local lake, Lake Lowell, over the past several years, and have compiled my favorite images as well some of my ramblings about my photographic and artistic philosophies into a coffee table book. The book contains more than 60 images made during all seasons of the year and shows the quiet side of the lake. Even though there is much recreational activity at the lake, a quiet, serene setting can be found. I work in the very early and late hours of the day, many times after everyone else, including other photographers have packed up and gone home. I find inspiration while working on a moonlit summer evening or in the early hours before the sun rises. The colors are rich and the water is calm. While walking the shoreline I can meditate, uninterupted by the chaotic sounds that fill the daytime hours. It is my way of maintaining sanity in an insanely busy world.
The photographs in this volume are an extension of my innermost feelings. They are more than just pictures, they are me. They are what and how I see, how I visualize the environment in which I live and work and play. By channeling my feelings and my emotions into my photographs, I attempt to allow the viewer to experience a bit of what I feel when I am making the image. When successful, the images become more than photographs, they become art.
To purchase Silent Solitude, click on the button in the sidebar. A full preview of the book can be found at blurb.com.
by tmoffett | Feb 17, 2011 | Color, Photographic Philosophy
Evening at the Lake
It is amazing to me how the same place can look so different nearly every day. I have photographed from Gotts Point on Lake Lowell numerous times, yet different result every time. Sometimes it is the light and atmosphere, other times it is me and my attitude. How we think affects our vision, and when shooting from our hearts, that will affect the images we make. Finding my vision has been a lifelong quest for me, and I find that even though I may have developed a consistent style, my vision changes daily. What I am feeling is what my photographs become.
by tmoffett | Feb 1, 2011 | Color, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Fall on Sweet Creek
A short hike up Sweet Creek in the Fall is a wonderful sight. Even with the lower water levels, the water cascading down the mountain is incredible. I walked about a one mile stretch and lost count of how many little waterfalls I found. If you ever get the chance, this is definitely one hike you must take. I have made this same trek in the late Spring, and oh, how different it is. Water levels high and running so fast that it is nearly impossible to photograph well. It is just a mass of whitewater from top to bottom. In the Fall I was able to get right down to the waters edge and really explore. I like to photograph from within the image, using wide angle lenses instead of from a distance. When I can really feel the image I am better able to photograph it with emotion. It is not just about framing up a pretty picture, for me it is about experiencing the scene and then reproducing what I feel. Sometimes it is a small detail, others the grand vista. But always it includes my feelings.
by tmoffett | Jan 26, 2011 | Color, Landscape, Photographic Philosophy
Reflections, Little Redfish Lake
What is style in photography? Is it important to have a style? How do you develop a style?
These are questions that I am frequently asked when teaching and mentoring, so I thought it would be a good topic to discuss here. Style is the unique characteristics of an artists work that differentiates them from other artists. It is very important to have your own style in order to succeed as an artist. Style is what makes you identifiable. Without it, why would anyone want to own one of your photographs? That identifiable style is what will make your images valuable.
I have found that consciously developing a style is difficult. A style will develop on its own as you learn to shoot from the heart. You can practice technique, and, as you do you will begin to find your own style. You will be drawn to certain subject mater or certain lighting conditions. The more you photograph the more defined a style will become. While studying other photographers images and identifying with others work that you enjoy will assist you in identifying your own style, I don’t believe that style development can be pushed. It will just happen as you study and practice. The more you photograph the faster it will develop.
I remember the first time I realized that I had a recognizable style. I had been working tirelessly on a set of images to be displayed in a gallery early on in my career. After delivering the images to the gallery and getting them hung I stepped back to look at the work as a whole. I was taken aback as I could see similarities that tied the individual images together into one work. I could see myself in the photographs in a way I never before had. It was inspiring to see. I had seen it in other artists work, but never before in my own. Since that day years ago, I have noticed my style evolve and become more refined. It continues to change in a way that defines who I am as an artist. My life, my thoughts, by beliefs. My style is who I am.
by tmoffett | Jan 20, 2011 | Black and White, Photographic Philosophy, Ramblings
Iced Up
Trees and water. A landscape photographers favorite subjects. Even though many photographers shoot these subjects, they are always different. This happens due to our individual vision. I see things completely different than others and they from me. It doesn’t necessarily make one better than the other, just different. The key to creating great images is not to photograph like someone else, but to be consistent in creating images that capture your own vision. When that happens, you’ll begin to make images with feeling. Then you learn to see better. The subtleties of light and texture become not so subtle. You will see them all around you. The world becomes more beautiful as you learn to see.
This process of learning to see takes time and effort. It will not happen overnight. Study master artists. Study light. Look at the simple things in life. Photograph and analyze images. Photograph some more. As you do these things your style and vision will become evident over time. You will start to be drawn to certain subject matter and certain light qualities. Your work will mature and improve. As you evolve as an artist, listen to your heart as it will usually be right. Don’t try to be someone else, create your own style. Continue to study the masters and let their work influence you as you push your work in your own direction. Most of all, have fun.
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