Harvest time
“He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.” — Ecclesiastes, 11:4.
The citation above relates directly to photography. It warns that indecision and fear will cheat the harvest.
The iconic French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson captured this concept in his book, The Decisive Moment. It had more relevance when photographers shot one frame at a time on film. Nowadays, digital mirrorless cameras can shoot streams of 30 frames a second or more, a process known derisively as spray and pray. Some photographers spend less time “observing the wind,” figuring that the camera will drop the shutter in and around the once elusive decisive moment. To some degree, this works. Yet many great dance photographers I admire eschew this process. They say if you shoot rat-a-tat-tat you will rarely get the optimum moment, as it will fall between the frames. So great photographers make a practice of thorough preparation, keen observation, and standing at the ready to strike at the decisive moment.
Luck, it is said, favors the prepared.
As my friend Richard Tsong-Taatarii once cautioned, “Do you know what we photojournalists call lens caps? Too-late filters.”
In relationships, it is often said, timing is everything. And photography is all about relationship. The artistry of the photographer doesn’t start with the framing nor does it stop when the shutter drops. It contains the life history of the photographer and the subject, continues through the preparation for the shoot and afterward, through the processing, when an image might be “adjusted” to emphasize an aesthetic. This can involve cropping, color balance changes, sharpening or softening, retouching, removing distracting elements (unless the shooter is a photojournalist), converting to black and white or sepia or split-tone images, etc.
I have been shooting a variety of subjects lately: Two post-wedding parties for the daughters of some friends. A short visit with my eldest sister and her children. Four days of a dance production at Cinema Ballroom in St. Paul, Minnesota. A handful of “street” photos, shot in and around my favorite coffee houses, and a portion of an Argentine tango workshop.
Soon, I will be taking a step back. I am having cataract surgery and a total knee replacement in December, with a likely second total knee replacement 4-6 weeks later. But that doesn’t mean I will set aside photography. I will be reflecting on lessons learned and preparing the soil for the bounty still to come.
