One of the things I like to do is to play visual games. I have several to share with you, but this one is one that anyone can do. Anywhere, any time.
First; I believe that if we are to call ourselves photographers, we must photograph. Make pictures. Make images. SHOOT. I have written about this belief before; here, here, and here. If you are new here, you may find those entries interesting.
This game forces vision, and it makes it very imperative for you to find an image no matter where you are. It doesn’t have to be a world-class image, it has to be a good image. Your image.
(Note: I got the idea from this game from a story that Jay Maisel tells about shooting an image in a place where his assistant insisted there was nothing to shoot. The challenge was for Jay to shoot an image while the assistant ran inside and dropped off some film at the lab. Duration: one minute. The resulting image ended up being one of Maisel’s signature image. Image: New York skyline reflected in a parking meter.)
GAME ONE: “Moving On”
These are not hard and fast rules games. No one is going to be there to penalize you, or call foul. You just make it work for you because it is FOR you.
When you are casually exploring some area (zoo, park, mall, whatever) and stop for any reason, you cannot move on till you find a photograph to make. Stop to let a bus go by – find and take a photo. Stop to look at something – find and take a photo. Simple rules actually.
But they force us to look deeper, look harder, think about things differently than when we stand somewhere incredibly lovely. Making a beautiful shot of an old church in Milan is probably easier than standing on Main Street in bad light on a crowded sidewalk. Or not… depending on what a “beautiful shot” means to you.
And that is the point of course. That we find OUR images in the world around us.
I believe images exist all around us and are waiting to reveal themselves when we look hard enough to find them.
Here is my take on a recent journey to Balboa Park. Each of the images were taken at various places in the park where I had to stop for a minute to wait for someone, or if we were changing a location. I made myself shoot each and every spot before moving on.
(A variation of this is to set your timer to ring each half hour or hour and that is the trigger to stop and make a shot. Remember, you may not move on till you make a photograph… as good a photograph as you can make.)
Waiting at the park after a rainy morning, I found this reflection in a pool of water. Manual focus was used since the camera kept focusing on the surface of the water, and I needed the streetlamp to be the subject.
This image allowed me to move on from the public restroom area of the park.
I got a message that the folks I had been waiting for had arrived, but before I could leave the spot I had been standing, I had to find an image. A messy clutter at my feet provided a found still life.
After ending up at a dead end on a rainy sidewalk, I had to turn around. I found this image hanging right in front of me.
Lunch provided a stopping point. Image of these trees and the subtle texture of the building allowed me to move on.
My friends were shooting in this location, so as we left I had to make a shot of the old, twisted roots.
Before leaving the park for the day, I found a few leaves and an impromptu still life took shape.
These are not my greatest work – that is not the point. The point is to find what is right in front of you, to find the images waiting to be made and make them.
Try this game “Moving On” the next time you find yourself thinking “there’s nothing to photograph here”. It may surprise you.
And yes, I have done this game for decades, and in places far less photogenic than Balboa Park. I may post one of those days as well soon.
All images shot on a Canon 6D, 24mm – 105mm lens. Post production includes use of NIK and RNI Film presets. Lots more to come on the RNI stuff soon. Absolutely LOVING those film simulations.
