Thoughts on Photography | #8 – Seeing (2)

I recently decided that I would like to start another very short column in addition to the book reviews – and I’m calling it ‘Thoughts on Photography’. Here, I will share a few personal thoughts on photographic topics from time to time – with as little text as possible (max. 3 minutes reading time) and few example images – perhaps just one. There will be no logical or strictly sequential order to the topics. But perhaps some inspiring or even controversial thoughts over the time… we will see. Feel free to share your thoughts with me…

#8 – Seeing (2)

In the comments on my last post in this series (#7 – Drama (2)), I had an interesting brief discussion with a reader. Put very simply, it was about what is obvious and what might be boring as a photo. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. However, the topic is so broad that I would like to subdivide it even further within this already divided category – one part today, another part next week.

In this part, I will start with two fundamental questions: what do I see and what do others see? And what role does this play in photography? And by that, I don’t mean interpretation, subtlety or something special. I mean it in a very simple sense. What does a person actively see when walking through the streets and what do they not see? Let’s start with the cover photo…

I’m not really concerned here with cute goslings per se, but rather with walking through the streets with your eyes open. With seeing things, even if they don’t fall at your feet… and appear somewhere 30 metres away on the other side of the street. Like these geese in the middle of a city.

Or let’s take small details and funny coincidences… like a strangely colourful elephant in the middle of a shopping street in a large Greek city. When people suddenly appear who are beautifully dressed to match… you either see it or you don’t.

As a third example, I will take the beauty of everyday life around us. A dilapidated house or any intersection in the city can radiate a great deal of beauty for me – at least when magical light sets the scene.

Is it important or special to see something like this? Perhaps not (necessarily) for the world, but it is for me. Because here, the photographic eye trains and opens my inner view at the world. I am convinced that I would not have this vision without the camera—and I observe this in my daily life as well. Maybe some of you feel the same way… and maybe this view is even interesting for others.

It’s important to see what’s invisible to others.

Robert Frank

To be continued…

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There is always light somewhere – go out and shoot!