A minor epiphany – a clarification

This is a short note to clarify something about the Minor Epiphany of posts made over the last few weeks. I received a couple of emails and a few comments asking for my thoughts about the need for a photographer to learn technique and theory.

The answer is a simple one and that is that both are absolutely essential for anyone that wants to keep developing as a photographer and wants to get beyond the simple record keeping or snapshot approach.

The main thing to come out of the four essays was the need to see, things anew, as if for the first time, when taking a photograph, to go back to first principles, to question. For example just because a soft light is usually used in a given situation that doesn’t mean that the case is closed, that an unfiltered tungsten construction lamp would not provide a really powerful photograph. In fact the latter may give a better shot at a memorable photograph as it stands a chance of showing the viewer something new.

The writing assumed a good grasp of theory and technique and I did not make that explicit which I should have done. It is only when those have reached a certain level that the art side of the equation can really be explored as they provide the tools. These pieces were an exploration of seeing and the art of photography.

A Minor Epiphany I – IV