Colour Play • part 1
Magic Colour #1
What happens when you let go of the idea that you have control?
Magic and/or Tragic?
I am not saying that if I were driving a big ole van down a windy road that it would be a good idea let go of the wheel! Magic-0 vs Tragic-1. I’m talking art here folks. I am always looking for ways to loosen up the rules of photography/art that have ingrained themselves in me over the years. Those rules built on “supposed to” do’s. I know what I am “supposed to” do and I am sure that forms the base from which I work. However, breaking these beliefs can lead to Magic.
So, here are some of the first things we learn as a photographer just starting out: (these “rules” are ingrained the deepest I would say)
Take the lens cap off.
Load the camera with film.
Point said camera in the general direction of your subject.
Focus on said subject.
Somehow figure out what the “proper exposure” is going to be.
Hold really still.
Push the button that makes the clicky sound.
Cross your fingers that you got it “right”.
Some of the above are more of a “Have To” than a “Supposed To” I recon. Its real hare to make a picture with no film and your lens cap on! But when the “Have To’s” start sounding like:
You have to use an 85mm or longer for a portrait.
You have to rate your film at iso200.
You have to use medium format to be taken seriously.
You have to have all detail in shadows and highlights.
You have to represent the “true” color tone of your subject.
You have to spend $$$ to get good lights.
You have to have the latest camera…
This would be a good time to step back and ask why. For example:
Why can’t I use a shorter lens for a portrait. Instead of asking someone this question, go find out why for yourself. Go make a portrait with a wide angle lens. You may like it. You may LOVE it! Art is subjective.
For this session, I went in with a small point and shoot fixed 28mm lens camera, a red paper backdrop, a piece of mylar and a $30 ring light. I set the camera to make exposures that would be no faster than 1/4 second to give the photographs a sense of motion. I used my feet to give constant movement to enhance said motion. I then asked my subject (Sadie the great) to move a bunch. I turned the LED ring light to different colors.
All of these things are on the most important thing to NOT DO list. There was hardly ANY control. However, this session yielded some of my very favorite photos of the year.
What are we really in control of anyway? Go play!
Keep on clickin’ & Giddy up
PJ
