Vision Isn’t Everything. It’s Often Not Even the First Thing.
Those of you who have been with me a while probably never thought you’d see the day when I’d write those words. I’ve built much of my teaching around the idea that “vision is better'” and, specifically, have placed a priority on vision being better than relying on endless gear upgrades where more creative, authentic, or compelling photographs are concerned.
Over the last few years, I’ve used the word “intent” rather than “vision” because I think it’s clearer. It’s easier to act on.
Asking, “What do I want to say with this photograph, and how?'” is an intentional start to making images that say those things more powerfully.
But it assumes you know what your vision is, doesn’t it?
When I talk about photographing with vision, I get this feeling that people imagine me walking around places like Venice with a very clear idea in my mind of what I want to create. That is, I walk around, camera in hand, with a vision that is clear and developed and only needs some button-pushing to make it a reality. And I worry that those same people are wondering what the heck they are doing wrong because, more often than not, they wander around in a fog, with no idea what their intent or vision is. And I thought it might be a good time to tell you this: so do I.
Vision matters. Intent matters. Having some idea what your photograph is about makes it so much more likely that you’ll make a photograph that expresses that. What’s it about? What’s it not about? What needs to be in or out of the frame? Which choices about composition or perspective, shutter speed or focal length would best express that intent? So, so important.
But (again), it assumes you already know what your vision is. I typically do not. Not immediately. I’m usually wandering around in the same thick fog as you, muttering to myself in the hours or minutes before I stumble upon it. But I’m not wandering lost, not really. I’m exploring! (Which, I admit, most of the time feels like I’m wandering around lost.)
Exploration usually has to happen before expression.
When I arrive at a place or sit with a portrait subject, it takes time to discover what that place or person is all about. Even on the smallest scale, what is it in this specific moment that I want to express? I often don’t know. You might not, either.
I recently gave a virtual lecture to a camera club in St. Louis and was asked to explain my concept of sketch images. In doing so, it occurred to me that the idea that we all show up to make our photographs with a clear vision—rather than one that is slowly arrived at or discovered, usually after some bumping around in the dark—might be a harmful one. It’s certainly not realistic for most of us.
This is why I use sketch images. It’s why I make a lot of photographs, seeing what things look like when photographed, exploring different angles, different shutter speeds, focal lengths, and compositions. Because my process usually looks more like this:
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Hmmm…
(click) Interesting, what if I…
(click) Nope. But…
(click) Nope. Drat. Oh, but…
(click) Ooooh, hang on a…
(click) This gives me an idea.
(click) Closer
(click) OMG. I love that.
(click, click, click)
With each phase of that process (which I have here compressed for you by many, many frames and omitted the cussing), I get closer to discovering my vision or what I want to say, and what I want my image to be about. Whether the camera is to my face or at my waist with the LCD screen flipped down, the process is not one of shoehorning my scene into the confines of my existing expectations. Rather, it is the exploration of that scene. It’s a process of discovery; I know when I’ve gotten there when the internal dialogue stops and it’s just click, click, click. When I’m caught up in the flow of it, that’s the sweet spot.
I rarely start at the sweet spot; I’m digging for treasure, and my camera is the shovel.
Dig, dig, dig. Click, click, click. But at some point, you hit the wooden top of the chest with a thunk—and you know you’re there.
The freedom to make sketch images is the freedom to dig in different places, not expecting to hear that thunk until you’ve done a little shoveling. It’s the freedom not to get discouraged that you don’t know exactly what you’ll find in the box once you get there. It could be astonishing riches (the vision for a body of work—hurray!). It could be one single gold coin (the vision for one photograph that you love!). It could be a map that leads you elsewhere: maybe not the treasure you hoped for, but the discovery of a bigger idea—or even hints of an idea—that take you elsewhere to dig.
Dig, dig, dig.
Click, click, click.
The longer I photograph, the more the exploration itself means to me. The more I’m content to let the expression of an idea—the thing my photographs are about—come at the end of a process that is not only necessary but beautiful and rewarding all on its own. The freedom to enjoy the search and the hope of discovery and to dig wherever I please leads me to make photographs that are not only stronger (and yes, more closely align with my vision once I unearth it), but I also enjoy the process more.
That’s why I make sketch images. Because X almost never marks the spot. Because it’s rare that I show up and discover that my first impressions of a place or a subject are my best impressions of it, or even my final impression of it. I seldom arrive to find my vision sitting there on the surface, polished and waiting for me. But if I do a little digging, it’s usually there if I’m paying attention and willing to get my hands dirty.
Vision matters. But sometimes you have to dig for a while with no sense of what you’re looking for so that you’ll know it when you see it.
If you’re not there yet, keep digging. Keep sifting through the soil.
Dig, dig, dig.
Click, click, click.
Keep digging, my friend. There’s gold there, I promise.
For the Love of the Photograph,
David
PS – If you’re here for the chance to win the Fuji X100F, you’re in the right place but the wrong time. This giveaway is now closed and the winners are Tiffany Luong and Daniel Bienvenue. Congrats to you, I’ll be sending these two beautiful cameras off to you this week! Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments!
Comments
Pingback: Why You Need To Do Photo Assignments - Morning Trails
Great read! I loved the digging analogy, I find myself ‘digging for images’ in a similar way that you do. It’s so cool how flipping 2 settings can change the entire feel of an image. Definitely gave me some things to consider when shooting!
Exploration is so important. There is so much we can learn from observation. Taking time to explore the environment around me always helps me find something that I enjoy capturing with my camera. Observing is also a wonderful way to pass the time.
I needed to read this today I think. I’ve been in a funk with photography and have barely picked up the camera of late. Remembering it’s never the first image that is the “winner” and reminding myself that, for me, photography has always been about exploring and finding might just be the impetus I need. I also need to catch up with the podcast!
Love learning from you! I am in the middle of the Image course. I use an iPhone and been looking to get a camera. 🙂
David, I do get your point on Vision isn”t every but your book ” Within the Frame- the journey of photography vision” saved my photography and helped me lens with purpose. After Hurricane Harvey in Texas it inspired me to focus on not just taking pictures of the ruin but specifically taking pictures of pianos that were left drenched in the mud and flood waters and I began engaging with people through the loss of the heirloom pianos. So I want to thank you for that book that I found by chance! Since Harvey I do not feel my camera has been the same (too much humidity?) none the less I still take pictures and enjoyed your compelling frame series as well as the current one you’re giving. Although Im not really sure what to do with all the pictures I take, they at least mean something to me. I only wish that I could have taken more pictures (or rather meaningful pictures) in the Texas snow storm this week in Houston. Thank you for your vision and intent that will always be a part of me!
Thanks David! Your articles and videos are always inspiring and helpful! I really appreciate all that you share.
Please put my name in the Fuji X100F draw… thank you.
Hi David, I listen to your podcasts A Beautiful Anarchy and read your newsletters and I appreciate very much that, most of the time, you coach us much more than camera techniques. And sometimes, like in this post, you demistify what it is to be a photographer and what it takes to make a beautiful or meaningful picture. It’s easy for an amateur like me to believe that pro photographer just click once and get the perfect picture; and now I know it’s not the case. And it makes photography that much more enjoyable for me, knowing that I also have to take a 1,000 pictures to get one great one. Thanks.
Exatamente, muito bom!
Just came across a quote from Fan Ho:
‘I must wait until there is something that touches my heart.
There must be humanity in art.
If you feel nothing when you click the shutter, you give the viewer nothing to respond to.”
If this means we have to click until it touches our hearts, then we must keep on clicking.
Have a good day, and please put my name in the hat.
Hello Davis. Do we have the right to speak French here? Come on, I’ll make an effort …
I met you thanks to the training in collaboration with Laurent Breillat. I’m just starting out and I’m learning a lot. I am 59 years old and my photographic life is starting, it’s a wonderful world.
My English is not great but I will come to your blog a lot, that’s for sure.
Thank you for all this advice, thank you for clearing the paths to make them more accessible to us.
Kindly
Thierry
David. Absolutely agree with your take on this topic. The more I photograph, the more I find exactly what you were saying – that my preconceived ideas about a place and those photos are rarely if ever what I consider to be the most “telling” photos of that place. The more time I spend exploring, learning and experiencing a location, the more personal the photos are and the better they express what I am trying to express to others. Thanks for a wonderful read as always. Long time reader and listener, first time responder. Yeah, what can I say, the camera drawing does make the fingers move on the keyboard!
Such a valuable reminder to keep at it, even when it’s oh so murky!
Thanks for the generous drawing – dropping my name in the hat!
Please include my entry in the “hat”!
I shoot documentary style a lot and I like to explain to clients that, while I can show them what a lot of my work looks like, it’s similar to “life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get.” That’s the same way I feel going into a session. I never know what will inspire me, what I’ll create, what moments will unfold for me if I’m ready for them. 🙂
Thank you for putting out such wonderful content!
I always enjoy your posts David – thank you!
I definitely struggle with bringing my vision to reality. It could be a concept I have in my head, or an interesting subject I find, that I try to make into an interesting picture that tells a story.
As always, very insightful and spot-on. And yes, you can add my name to that hat. Thanks.
Hey David. I’m a long-time fan and blog + book reader. I love your writing — it always inspires me to pick up the camera and try to create.
The hat is a happy surprise — please drop my name in!
I think consciously asking what do I want to say is a great starting point! I feel like I need to slow down and ask myself this more often. I think I rush more often than not and disappoint myself in doing so. Love your photography and writing David! Please throw my name in the hat 🙂
Thanks for this great post. Not just in photography but every aspect of life is a discovery, a work in progress. We just have to be open and curious. Life is what happens while we are making other plans 🙂
Always appreciate your inspiring words!
There is a lot to be said for the click, click, dig, dig process but it begs the question of how film photographers managed when every image was costly in time and money. They could not experiment so freely and I think the discipline of cost probably was help to their intent and vision. Thanks for an interesting post.
Another great article.
I have had several teachers used to ask the same question – “What are you trying to say with this, and how?” And whether it was with photography or writing, it made me more conscious of not just “spraying and praying”.
I saw Something there that convinced me to capture that image or that thought – remember what your intent was. And if you can remember that, then you can use all the other tools to shape the image or edit the paragraph to get to the treasure you described.
Thanks for sponsoring the contest, and that whoever wins gets another tool in the toolbox to help find that treasure.
Please put my name in the hat!
Thanks
David
I have been a follower of your for quite sometime have enjoyed our time together have always found your work to be enjoyable and you push me to see better
David,
It is always a pleasure to hear/read your insights. Your singular view and your enthusiasm are always compelling.
Thank you so much for your outstanding contribution to the craft of photography from a less common perspective.
Best regards and best of luck!!!
Vision – yes, I do have a vision. And, yes, I’m wandering, often wondering, sometimes sauntering in the fog.
The joy of discovering plus the joy of developing something together with others, that’s what a wise man called ‚love‘ – and I agree with him.
And that’s what I perceive when I read your words.
Yes, vision matters. And I know what it feels like to dig for a while.
Furthermore: Sometimes it’s the UNEXPECTED that moves you and helps you make your VISION become REALITY.
P.S.: We have just founded a new school! https://freieschuleratzeburg.de That’s my vision becoming reality.
P.P.S.: I’d like to make photos with the Fuji X100F. Please let me win it, I’ll send you a documentary of our first school days!
Thanks for the continuous flow of inspiration. Your insightful posts always leaves me thinking about things a little differently. Thanks for sharing. Please add my name to the hat. Thanks!
Great article, and so very true. Thank you, as always, for sharing your thoughts and wisdom!
Pls put my name in the hat!
Cheers, Jana from just up island from you!
Thanks for another great blog. I think I probably don’t experiment enough with angles and camera settings. Then I get home and I’m disappointed with the results. It was such great light, such perfect frost, why are these missing the mark?
On the other hand, when it’s – 25C I tend to shoot fast in order to get my hands back into my mittens as quickly as possible.
Just at the tail end off your ImageWorks course. Thanks so much for putting that together. It’s the first time I’ve seen anyone connect the in-camera and post techniques like that and it’s made me think differently about the whole process of taking a photograph – starting with what I want to achieve or say and then thinking about how I can get there using both.
Put my hat in the ring.
Cheers,
Ruth
Wonderful thought process, as usual. Thank you for continuing to be an inspiration, and for providing guidance for those of us willing to walk the path with you. It is always rewarding. You know, I used to see obstacles all around me, but now I see challenges, and I seek solutions for all of those things. Thank you for being here for us, and for helping me change my thought process for the better. While we’re at it, I’ll thank you to throw my name into the proverbial hat, if you please. Stay safe and warm!
Hi David! It’s amazing how I see differently when I look through the viewfinder. Depending on what I am photographing, I may walk around the object for a while looking for the right look – my vision. And I may only photograph a portion of the object – enough for the viewer to recognize and envision the rest of the object/subject. My vision and style follows a quote from Da Vinci: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.
Took me a while to get around to reading this one, but as always it was worth it! Love the posts and love the podcast – always an inspiration!
Hello from sunny South Africa, David! Your words made me smile and give a me huge sigh of relief too. The camera clubs always speak of intent, and I sit there, at the back of the class, and hope that they don’t ask me what I want. I hardly ever KNOW what I want. But to my great delight, I always come home with 1 or 2 great images. Yes there are about 1000 other images of the days’ shoot on the SD card, but that’s because I have a VERY BIG SHOVEL!!! I would be delighted for you to add my name to the Hat. Best wishes.
Hi David.
This article is very encouraging. Without knowing that I was taking “sketch” images, I have found myself in one place taking a LOT of photos, (some times for an hour or more) moving around that location, different angles, rotate 360 degrees, hi lo to the ground, switching lenses, macro to telephoto.
Then I upload them ALL into LR and say to my self, “What the hell am I doing? You are NEVER going to improve this way!”
So thank you so much. With this encouragement, I will continue to allow myself to be enthralled with a place and just enjoy the process of looking at all the nooks and the big spaces.
It often starts with a vision, but sometimes it just a flow. Have an idea, searching and just do it and see what happend next.
I want to throw my name in the hat.
Thanks Karsten
Love your idea of sketch images… to make them.. not get rid of them…. learn from them… so simple.. so obvious when heard.. sometimes hard to do.. very often forgotten… thanks for that reminder 🙂
Yours is quite a stoical approach on photography.
I am not sure whether gold is always there, but one should enjoy at least the process (of taking photos), and then the result (the photos themselves).
Thank you for all the inspiration.
Hi David,
Please put my name in the hat for the Fuji camera.
Hello from Paris, and well done on your inspiring courses and books.
Merci!
David – it feels like our shovels must be extra heavy duty in these past and upcoming months. Seems hard to be creative right now – but as always, I find your words ring true.
Warmest Regards,
Rande
Whoa! Have you ever had this many responses to a blog post!! I wonder if it has anything to do with giving away a camera 🤷🏽♂️
Great to see so many people interacting and receiving your blog posts though!! The good thing is you can forget about them all and just put me down if you like. Will save a tone of work 😂
Hope you are doing well David. I always enjoy your posts.
Take Care
Dear David,
Greetings from Indonesia. Thank you for all these years that you share photography insight & journey with us. I hope for the best to your future.
Sincerely yours,
Julijanta
David
Thank you for all your articles. I love thema nd find myself learning and thinking a lot..throw my lot into the draw for the camera . Cheers friend–Peter Jensen
Thanks for the continued inspiration. Not sure the fog will clear, but through your blog and your books, it is lifting . Just follow the process. Thank you
David, your thoughts and how you present them continue to give me things to think about. They’ve helped me in my seeing, and my path to being better photographer. Thanks very much for all your writings.
Vraiment intéressant, une vision qui m’inspire. Merci pour le partage de votre expérience.
Hi David,
wow, that was a lot of scrolling;) Thank you for your inspiration, as always. I think one of the main reasons why I love reading and listening to your words, is because I feel they have a deeper meaning where it’s not only about photography, but life in general. The search for meaning/purpose/vision in life. The “sketch images” one has to make in life in order to get closer to that vision. Finding out what to leave in and what to exclude. And not being concerned so much about having the latest, newest and best gear. We usually don’t know where life is taking us and we have to trust the process and keep digging. These are all questions we should ask ourselves not just as photographers but as human beings. I believe the answers we find can give direction to our life and therefore also to our craft. I guess it makes sense, since our art is an expression of ourselves, our souls. So, thanks again for your input and for fueling the flames:)
Take care,
Nigel
Great article! Your articles/essays are alway’s so inspiring and that’s what we need, not the technical stuff. I own several of your books because, here again, they are so inspirational, they make you more imagery conscious!
Yes, please throw my name in the hat for that lovely Fuji camera!
Thank you so much!
Thanks for all the inspiring words and images.
Dear David,
thank you for beeing and sharing with me with all your knowledge…
thank you for that feeling, that I CAN !
Thanks so much David for your deep thoughts on photos, photography and photographers inner life.
Thanks for this post David – and all your regular emails, blogs, books and courses that you put together for all of us keen photographers, it really is much appreciated – do please keep it going!
And, yes, if you could include me in the draw for the Fuji 100F, that would be great!
Thanks for inspiring me to think harder about my photography. And yes, please, throw my name into that hat! 🙂
Bonjour David,
Je viens de finir l’âme d’une image, qui m’a beaucoup fait réfléchir pour sortir des sentiers classiques de la photographie
Je comprends très bien ce que vous voulez faire passer comme message en parlant de la vision
J’aime être dans cette état , mais je ne suis pas toujours inspirée par un lieu ou une situation . question d’humeur peut -être ?
Merci de nous mettre sur la bonne voie
Je participe volontiers au concours .
Thank you once again for the thought provoking article, so often you write about a topic that resonates with me, that makes me think and question and look at my images, each time learning more and enjoying the process immensely! Please also add my name to the many already entered in the draw.
Thank You!
Many thanks , a thought provoking perspective as always.
Great Topic and something most of us struggle with. Yes please put my name in the Fuji camera giveaway. Thanks
Hi David,
Been a long time follower and fan of your work and teachings. Astute article, as usual. Thank you for your generous sharing.
I would love to be entered to win the Fuji camera.
Although, honestly, I enjoy your posts more when they come without a drawing, because then there are fewer comments & more engagement with them.
I appreciate your speaking to your process. I’m at a strange spot where I’m losing some aspects of my vision, literally, and can no longer “sketch” in this way… Sorting out what can be done with what’s left…
Thank you very much for your beautiful articles. Please put my name in the draw.
Dear David,
study your Books deeply and be so inspired and full of energy now.
Coming from Germany and books been titled ” Sehen und Gestalten” and second was “Das Handwerkszeug des Fotografen”
Many Thanks for writing it.
Kind Regards
Torsten
David, you know my name, I have been followin you since way before your CreativeLive sermon, and yes I want my name in the hat too, but I want to say it once more, I eagerly wait your posts and your mails once a month and I find in each post a hidden gem – or more. That is what I call a source of knowledge that never dries out. And I thank you for that. The camera is a nice addon, but the real treasure is in your words and your beautifuly anarchistic mind…
P.S. Anarchy is a Greek word – which I’m sure you know – and as a Greek myself I have to inform you that it has a dual meaning: it firstly means without order αν-αρχή when αρχή means authority and structure, and secondly it means without a begining, αρχή actually means the begining of sth, so άν-αρχος is a word that we describe for example God, because He has no begining!!
Thank you so much for this, Panagiotis. What a fascinating insight into the use of the word “anarchy” – really interesting.
Thanks for beeing “my teacher”!
Hi David,
I came across your book A beautiful anarchy first and when you started the podcast it was a new way of thinking about photography for me. A striking new way and I’m so grateful for all your effort and authenticity you put in your way of photography and teaching. Thank you so much.
Falk
Epic post! But my name in that hat!
I have 6 kiddos and must hope that my subject is remotely interested in being in the same spot long enough to be captured after my aha moment. 🙂 Interested in the drawing if it’s still open. Otherwise, I finally did get back here to read the article. That is an accomplishment! Blessings!
Great post. I think you nailed an underlying truth in many creative pursuits. Start and iterate. Discover deeper insights while doing.
Votre article nous permet de revenir à l’essentiel, soit de prendre le temps de regarder notre monde (du très petit au très grand),
et d’y trouver ce ‘quelque chose’ qui nous attire et qui va nous inciter à explorer de nouvelles façons de photographier ce dernier. La prise d’une photo c’est comme la profession d’un photographe c’est toujours en évolution.
Votre article est rafraichissant j’aime bien .
Still searching for my ‘vision’…..thanks for comforting me that it’s sometimes a long digging process.
I am in a very specific photography niche of sports photography but yet I REALLY want to develop a unique signature (or ‘vision’) and I know I’m not there yet. But I’ll keep digging…. merci beaucoup David.
and yes please enter me for the Fuji drawing.
I can think of one shot in particular that I made where I had a “ crystal clear vision “ of what you wanted. I had seen hundreds of pictures of the Morley Church west of Calgary and most of them were taken the same way either fences alongside the path creating leading lines to the church and while it was effective it was also kinda obvious. I too had gone this route previously and I thought I was a genius only to realize I had seen it the same way everyone else did.
What I hadn’t seen was how this church was sitting in a place where the prairies meet the foothills and it was part of a greater landscape. So on my way out to Canmore I decided to stop there just after sunrise. I walked about a quarter mile east of the church, waded through the tall grass and got low and it looked through my view finder to see what was already in my head. As Hannibal from A-team was known to say “I love it when a plan comes together”.
Oh and count me in for the contest too 🙂
David,
Your book “Making the Image” was instrumental in my journey into making photographs as opposed to taking snapshots. Thank You! You’d think I could just read it once and “get it” but that’s not how it works. I have to go back and revisit the essentials as I evolve. Your courses, books, magazines, “A Beautiful Anarchy”, et. al. give me a pipeline into the mind of an artist. I’ve learned so much and continue to do so through experimentation and your inspiration.
With reference to this post, what I’ve come to discover is that I’m often unaware of what makes a situation special until I’ve taken the time to absorb it. Sometimes the camera is ancillary and serves only to help translate what I’m seeing into two dimensions. The serendipity of discovering something I didn’t expect to find is priceless and what transforms photography from a pastime into a passion.
Thanks David!
I’d love to have a new Fuji 100F, so please throw my name in the hat? Maybe someday I’ll understand the vision thing; until then I’ll just keep following my nose and look at whatever catches my interest and play with it. Click, click, click.
Wonderful discussion of how a vision develops. I often don’t realize what my photo is about until the editing process. If I’m lucky it gives me ideas for the future, but it’s surprising and educational no matter what. Thanks for everything you give so freely. And put my name in the hat for that free camera, too.
Thanks for all the great content you share and for the inspirations. We appreciate you so much!
Kindly include my name in the list. 🙂
Thank you for another insightful article! I enjoy the digging also, looking for those nuggets that are out there, just waiting to be found. A Fuji would be a new experience for me, one I’m willing to try out.
Still looking for my vision and intent… but I think I’m getting closer with finding my aesthetic. Maybe lurking underneath that is a subconscious intent. In any case, always appreciate your words and in this case, to reinforce that there’s nothing wrong with setting out without a clear vision. And yes please to the fuji 🙂
Love the explanation of your process. Glad to know you too work through x number of images before finding the One or Three that bring the smile or awe. So glad I stumbled upon you several years ago. Your commitment to the craft, sharing of knowledge and genuineness is inspirational. Thank you David. And Heck yeah, throw my name in the hat, please.
The line is long! You have a great following. I like your sketching and have used the idea for a couple of years. I like to immerse into environments and get a feel for things with the sketches, then get a sense of my goal. Thanks for your blogs, books. And no bullshit👍
I’d love to think about new visons with a new camera – so please put my name in the hat, too.
Thanks in advance, Janis
Thank you for your blog and inspiration…
Insightful and interesting as always – thank you for all that you do, and please put my name in hat!
Thanks, David, for modeling and sharing your thinking with us.
Great articles. I enjoy your inspiration.
Please enter me for the Fuji drawing.
Thank you David for the sound advice or being open to new ideas, having patience and being persistent with a location/subject. Too often we fall into the trap of going with our first impressions. Please add me to the giveaway.
Thanks again
Thanks again, David. You have an extraordinary way of expressing in words the thoughts and processes that one should go through to ‘get that image’.
Ah, David, through sun and rain and COVID confusion, you once again bring me home to my visual centre. Nothing brings frisson to my life like photography. No one else’s words ground me in thoughtful creativity like yours. Merci. Merci bien.
Dear David, I am engaged in photography for many years , searching for nice compositions, structures and details I see in my own way. Thanks for your inspiration and your statements that gear is much less important than vision and intent! Currently I take pictures mainly with my iPhone and even started Urban sketching to try out other ways of capturing my impressions. But with such a nice new camera I might surely expand my activities and creativity.
All the best,
Peter
An incredible amount of comments:D
Just keep doing the great work and thank you for that. All the inspiration and motivation is what a lot of people are looking for.)
Thank you David for sharing your valuable insights. There’s always something inspiring to take away in your materials even for an amateur like me. Stay healthy and please keep up the excellent work for the photographers’ community.
Put my name in Draw for the Fuji. Often its difficult for me to understand exactly what your intention is, cause i’m not a native speaker. So i train my foreign english and learn something about your approach in Photography. ” Just go your own way” according to Supertramp is my personal resume.
As usual, you’ve given me something to chew on! Please add me to the giveaway draw. Thanks for all you do!
I have read many of your books (currently reading Start Ugly) and it is helpful to know that the vision doesn’t have to be/isn’t necessarily there at the start. This blog reminds me to take more time (and more photos) to get a better sense of how I want to tell the story. Please enter me in the drawing.
Giving yourself the time and patience to explore is key.
Please add me to the giveaway.
Thanks for the reminders as always, and I agree that “intent” is a more helpful way to direct one’s thinking about photography than “vision”–intent is approachable, vision is more obtuse and internal. I really enjoyed your comments on content creation in The King is Dead as well, definatly satisfying to go along for the rant with that one, if I may say so. Please throw my name into that hat, I’ve become more obsessed with the fixed 35mm focal length since I switched to Fuji 2 years ago but haven’t pulled the trigger on a purchase of a prime!
Hi David, thank you for this reminder to slow down, take some time to sketch and lean into these guiding words of intention vs. vision and exploration before expression. All the reminders that point towards how the thought process and scenes align before clicking that shutter for that decisive moment. Thank you for sharing your Fujis and the opportunity to enter this generous giveaway!
Like so many others, I receive a daily deluge of e-mails which are periodically dumped after a mere glance. But, I look forward to your e-mails. The insight is excellent, but the realism and mostly cheerful tone makes it worth the time to pause and just enjoy your musings and coaxing us to do better. Thank you!
Dave.
Great thought about not everyone understanding what Vision is! I find that it’s a hard thing to explain with words.
And then there are different ideas of what Vision is, further complicating the issue.
Thank you David for all your help over the years. With a dozen or so of your books in my digital library and with your blogs, I heave learned a lot. Carrying around a load of lenses is beyond me nowadays so a Fuji F100 would be my dream camera. Sadly not in my budget so I would be most happy if you could put my name into the draw. Thank you. Malcolm
Beautiful. Like all things in life, photography is all about the journey. Each day we go out with our cameras, we have no idea what we will capture and you have illustrated that point beautifully. I thank you. My son is learning to follow in my footsteps so I would like to be considered for the giveaway.
Thank you kindly David.
Many blessings to you and yours,
Benny
I have to admit that I did envision you walking around with your camera in an almost saintly manner, creatively fulfilling your vision that you set out to shoot with. Having taken a few of your courses, read a few of your blogs and listened to your podcasts and radio interviews I now have a different image. It’s of you stumbling around with the rest of us. And I SO appreciate that!! Great insights as usual David. Please throw my name into the hat. Vision is better but new gear is pretty great too.
David, a thought provoking message. I have to agree with everyone who liked your thought process.
Please add me to the list of possible future Fuji owners.
Thanks for keeping our minds engaged as well as our shutter fingers.
As always, an excellent column with lots to think about. It’s amazing that David is so consistently generous with his knowledge, time and philosophy. It’s nice to have a resource in the photo world concerned with each individual’s artistry within the photographic process, rather than being fixated on trying to tell you the type of photograph ‘you have to take’ or trying to sell you more gear that ‘you just can’t live without.’
Hello David,
Thank you for your articles. It encourages me in my journey. I try to explore every day a little bit what is my vision and my intent. And step by step I grow up.
I have only one camera and one lens. I study many possibilities with this gear. Maybe it’s time to explore something different.
Thanks for accompanying me and thanks to Laurent breillat to introducing me to your lessons
Have a nice sunny day,
Best regards
Alice
My 15 year old daughter is just getting into photography and would absolutely love a camera that she can experiment more creatively with. Thanks for the opportunity to win a camera.
After reading many books and articles by you and other authors, reading and taking many photographs, I still feel that I have to dig much more to reach some relevant fragment.
One question: can everyone who dig a lot hope one day to achieve some success? Or does it depend on some natural talent?
I know this has been discussed in the past, but I would like to revisit this topic.
Hugs!
Thank you, David.
I have learned more from you over the years than you will ever realize. I read a lot of articles that provide knowledge, but your writing provides inspiration. Time an again, your teachings don’t just promote your perspective, but inspire me to discover my own.
Much appreciated.
I love this! This is exactly how it works for me. It takes (sometimes a lot) of exploration to hit that sweet spot. Good to know I’m on the right way! 😊
And that’s a sweet camera!
Thank you for sharing, David!
“Exploration usually has to happen before expression.” There it is.
Truthfully, David you and I have chatted now for almost 10 years, albeit once a year maybe, and I have credited you for saving my sanity when I first jumped into digital photography: all the “storytellers” out there, all the self-righteous youngsters shooting the disadvantaged, the homeless, the walking train wrecks all to make a point that their photography actually means something while everyone else are living insipid lives shooting flowers. All the “it” photographers who headline the big shows, have the big blogs, who went on endlessly how the 24 MP D3X was the game changer of game changers only now not to be caught dead showing up with it, being such ghetto gear. I am sure the D850 will be crap in a few years as well.
Then there was your writings about vision. You even included it in your company name. I was on board with most you say, but in reality, most days I got more excited about what I might find rather than what I might create. I kept my mouth shut, knowing I’ve generally worked against the grain most of my life.
Then I read your comment today. Again you do not fail to raise the eyebrow…screw vision. Too many people have it and frankly, most of it is either “me too” or simply not that good, in my opinion. And don’t get me started on “story telling”. A picture does not tell a story – a novel does. A picture describes a moment, a novel tells you about the sum of those moments, hence, the story. If a picture invokes a story out of the viewer, then he or she is creating a story relative to them and their imagination, not the photographer. So please, 23 year old kid fresh out of school with your 70-200 dangling off your hip, save us the “About” drop down on your website informing us you are a storyteller…insert eyeroll here…just cover the wedding and let your client show you their story.
Moral of the rant? Get over yourself photographer.
While we can make pretty pictures with a little effort and drive, at the end of the day, that sensor and lens do all the heavy lifting, you simply put it in front of something shiny and new (to you). Photography is the easiest trade/art to master where many can produce gallery quality imagery from no experience to maybe 30-45 days.
It’s amazing what I will do for my new 23/2.0, er I mean the X100F!
Ciao – Rob
Excellent thoughts David. Thanks for sharing them. Please add me to the pool of randomness.
David, your perspectives on photography elevate my photography. Thank you.
Vision is indeed a hard concept to articulate. Adding your thoughts about intent and then about process have clarified the idea. Being patient, open, and allowing myself to be taken is where I want to be more often. When I am able to be in these moments, I tend to make my more meaningful images.
Fervent lecteur français de votre blog et de vos livres, merci toujours pour ces partages.
Et merci de me faire participer à ce Fuji.
I, too, always hope something inspiring or unexpected in my work. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and insights.
You’re perspective about “sometimes you have to dig for a while with no sense of what you’re looking for so that you’ll know it when you see it” certainly rings true for me. I love your introspection about the craft.
Thank you, David. For the first time I think I understood what you mean with ‘vision’ or ‘intent’. I always struggled with it as my camera is a tool of exploration rather than expression. I don’t have a vision before the photo is done. If it’s a good one, I might find my vision in it.
And, yeah, now you’ve got my name you might as well put it into that hat, too. Thanks.
A refreshing view. So much has been written about the ‘decisive moment’ that it is easy to forget the value of working a scene.
Please do put my name in the hat. Thank you!
Thanks for this great advice! I would love my name in the hat too.
Great perspective on the photographic process. Love the honesty. It puts a different slant on the process i.e. practice, practice, practice etc etc, which is very important but also to dig down during this process to explore the process, subject and emotion that you are engaged in. This should replace the practice, practice etc with practice with purpose, practice with purpose etc etc.
I am still very much in this process of learning and realize that this learning process never really ends. Of course that other very important ‘P’ Patience, patience, patience is also, key to this process.
To practice and be patient takes time to evolve as we gradually slow down and show more consideration to this process as time goes by and we develop better Practices and evolve our vision and understanding of the process (lots of ‘P’s in photography!).
Your blog captures this very well in an open and honest approach, that is not seen often. I would just like to end by adding one of my own philosophies , that is embrace failure i.e. never be afraid to fail because we or at least I am going to get it wrong more times than I get it right.
Thanks, David, for breaking down that very high notion of “vision” to a more down-to-earth reality. In my experience the best pictures are those where you have a clear idea of how the final photograph should look like. Sometimes you get there, sometimes you don’t. And often this idea takes shape while wandering around.
Many names are already in the hat, but please add mine, too.
Petra
Thanks for another great article. The idea of letting your vision develop while working on a subject is so important. Please include me in the hat for the Fuji
Dear David,
thank God, for this post! Until now, I was wondering what’s wrong with me? Where the hell is my vision – when I start taking photographs and have no idea what I want to say with them, just because I see something beautiful or interesting. The vision comes later (IF it comes…). Anyway now I’ll be more relaxed when reading your books/posts and listening to your podcasts 🙂
Thank you!
Tom
I forgot, yes definitely put my hat in the ring!
i just photograph to feel good and content. normally i walk along the same path through the nature nearby. i’m always looking at the same szenes, but every day there is a different weather, a different light, a different season, a different feeling …
i’m looking around looking for beauty, sth., that makes me feel good.
it’s not a search for beauty by click, click, click… to increase the beauty. it’s looking for beauty by feeling “yes, that’s it”
david, thank you very much for your enlightened blog
I find your articles motivating and on target. I’m beginning to think some kind of journaling once a week in a small book with no lines on it might help me to record those moments that speak to me whether I have a camera in my hand or not. I think exploring what it actually is that pricks my interest and captivates my mood might help me to understand what I am drawn to. Maybe objectively writing down what I am seeing in front of me that communicates the emotion and mystery, like to amount of light, objects, distance, time of day, how many people are around or not around etc etc.
I totally agree with you on Sketch shots and honing in on the image in front of me, experimenting with angles etc.
I studying at PSC Melbourne (Photography Studies College), part time.
I really want to ditch my bulky canon gear and grab a light weight Fuji. A friend got a Fuji XT3. It was like holding a feather that performs like a Ferrari!
I forgot, yes definitely put my hat in the ring!
I agree with your article unless of course, it’s minus 20 and I’m standing in snow, trying to get a vision of the woodpecker or cedar waxwing or the flitting nuthatch in my camera sights. Then I’m happy to take as many photos in a short space of time and head home for the hot chocolate and the viewing indoors where I can plan a better shot for a warmer day… Unless it stays cold for yet another week…then I’m lured back out…..
I’d love a chance at the camera prize…. 🙂
It’s good to know I’m not the only one wandering around, camera in hand, in a fog not knowing what I’m looking until on occasion I find it. Thanks for your encouragement.
Been following you eversince i got this interest to photography and your posts never failed to inspire me to be better not only in photography but in life also. Sure that cam would be a great ups for me if im lucky to have it. thanks David. all the best.
Great article about the process. I would love to win that camera.
Vision requires time, to stop, remove yourself from a frenetic demanding world and then start digging!
The subject is more than at the right time for me. Recently I decided to bring an old project (in my mind) further ahead and as my Club photo of Sherbrooke (listenned to you there virtually lately) offered a mentor’s program, I picked someone I liked and she became (Emma Dion) my mentor for this project. I was surprised at our first meeting that she proposed that I draft what I had in my mind. I’m not very good at sketching but I tried to do something anyway. It brought my ideas to another level automatically. My sketches were not so good but my ideas were far better. With the pandemic and the recent curfew in Quebec I started a challenge in B/W direct from the camera without any postproduction. Then it forced me to play with the light and position, reflection, contrast etc… Each day I go to that process that is similar to your description here. Thank you, I am not so crazy after all.
Can you put my name in the hat for the camera please. Daniel Bienvenue
Aren’t we lucky to live in the digital age and dont have to limit ourselves to 36 shots and then change the film when something is just emerging? You are so right, we always have to keep an open mind to what is happening around us and work with that. To have an open mind is already the first step to ‘intend’ and just needs to be followed by patience and we are half way there, right? I would be delighted to have a second camera. Thank you for your constant inspiration and generosity.
A really good piece as always, making us think about working the scene to get the best of the location. I’d be interested in how of this you recommend (or can get away with) when you taking shots of someone rather than some other sort of subject.
I’ve eyeing up an X100V but can’t afford one at the moment so would love to be picked as the winner of your X100F.
Ian
Hi David,
An excellent post.
In addition to your blog, I am currently working my way through The Photographers Process and your book “The Problem with Muses.
I find that the Photographers Process is teaching me new ways to look at a scene. Chapter 2, in particular, taught me why is is sometimes not good to let the camera decide the “perfect exposure”. It is also helpful to have your insights as to “the How and Why.”
The Problem with Muses is excellent as it addresses many of the problems I deal with, not only in photography, but in other creative areas as well.
For a number of years I shot with Minolta and then Sony, but I have turned into a die-hard Nikon fan. That said, I would not want anyone to think I was predigest, so, in the spirit of unity, please put my name in for the Fuji.
What better way to demonstrate that what we need is not more gear, but vision, or intent, by giving away more gear! I love it!
Now how do I enter the giveaway for more vision/intent?
‘A comment’
On this occasion, I am following your request to leave…
Hi David,
thank you for your honesty and also your wonderful photographs. Sometimes the process of exploration feels to me so hard and laborious. But sometimes (the good times), it feels like sneaking up and encircling the “thing” / “object” / “scene” … click, click, click … and the fascination starts to flow with me …
Wolfgang
Thanks David, a helpful clarification!
And of course, I can always use another Fuji 🙂
“I’m digging for treasure, and my camera is the shovel”
A simple mantra I can keep in my head when I’m out shooting … thank you!
I’m just here for the X100F.
Seriously, David, this post was a helpful clarification that vision is most often something that emerges through a process rather than something that starts out fully formed.
Hey David,
Thanks for always being honest and inspiring! Your emails remind me to not give up on what I’m passionate about!
Also thank you for being so generous and giving away the x100 F!
Sometimes I just toss all of the tech terms , advice and lessons all out of the window and just shoot photos with my camera. Other times it just seems as though my cameras have a mind of their own and freeze a shot unexpectantly or settings go way below what the lens is capable of. Is that common? A few weeks ago I had an amazing epiphany, that aw ha moment camera settings I heard discussed in a lesson but could never figure out. lol if I can only remember it half the time it would probably be
more beneficia l to my shooting style. Interesting article, David thankyou . I am down to my last old camera and the battery is coming apart at the seams. lol I shoot too much. Thanks for providing us the opportunity to win a new camera, im in, lol awesome!
Wonderful. So well said.
Wow – I had to scroll a long way down to find the box where I can throw my name in the hat! An X100F would be a lovely companion. I came for the content, but sure – add me to your generous draw.
Often I will have a vision for a project, but find that the images guide the project after I’ve finished shooting.
Hmm. Interesting thoughts! Throw my name in the hat – thanks
What a great message! and it really hit home for me in a timely manner! I’ve always been confounded when hearing the words ‘photographer’s vision’ and felt lost as I don’t know what my vision is. Now I don’t feel so lost and understand it as a digging process.. Thanks for the insight and all your inspiration! A big thank you for offering such a great prize/gift to one of your fans, include my name in your list. 💐
I always enjoy your articles and this one in particular struck a chord. My usual routine is usually to walk around a place for at least 10 minutes before I start taking pictures- that’s the first strike of the shovel. Then I get the “usual” shots out of the way- digging a little deeper. Then I stop, look some more and get down to the treasure. I’m glad to know my “routine” was intuitively a great way to shoot! Please add my name to your drawing. Thanks!
Hmmm… You’d think a comment, any comment, would be easy to conceive and jot down, but complete freedom always makes me stop and think “what do I really want to say?” …Getting into the flow and losing myself to it is the fun part. Figuring out what I want to say, or to show, is harder but doing it leads to my finding flow… 🙂
Excellent as always David, thank you.
Love the blog. Toss my name in for the camera! Cheers
As always, worthwhile writing about photography – good stuff to remember. Thanks for sharing.
And thanks for the new Fuji camera!!! 😉
David, I think through the process of still life photography (it IS cold outside) I have come to that place where I can say that the light is beginning to dawn in what you are saying. All these pieces on the little table – how do I arrange, what to leave in/out, and how to maneuver the light to accent the scene. And it rarely is the first set up. These little days of indoor work have given me more “experience” than I could have imagined. I think we call it patience with the process – and not so much the end result. Another great article!
Another excellent reading, thanks for the inspiration! Name in the hat, please o/
I get so many emails that, I must admit, I usually just scan over them and pitch most of them… this is the first I’ve read all the way through in a long time. You really hit the nail on the head with this one, David, and it’s almost comforting to know that it’s not just me wandering around in a fog looking for inspiration that might lead to a good photo!
Keep inspiring your followers – you’re doing a great job!
While ‘gear collecting’ isn’t what makes a good photo, a new toy would be fun! Please throw my name in for the Fuji camera! 🙂
I don’t disagree, but, as with a lot of things, there is no simple “this one way is best” answer.
Speaking as someone who has done a lot of photo-journalism or reportage type work in the past, the “mantra” for tht can often best be described as “shoot first and think later”. Over-thinking what you are tring to do could easily result in missing the shot.
I’d love to win the Fuji for days when I don’t always want to carry a dSLR
I first found your work in the book Photographically Speaking and for me it was transformational. I had begun to seriously engage with photography a couple of years earlier and was very ‘stuck’ in the technical aspects of the craft. Photographically Speaking (quickly followed by Within The Frame, Vision & Voice and others) completely changed my outlook and approach. I would characterise this journey as one from single images, that were technically and formulaically driven, to bodies of work that are focused on story telling. The blog above reminds me of one of your podcasts when you ‘worked’ the image of a net fisherman, click, no, click, no, click, maybe, click move, click getting somewhere,…..and so on. Another great step in the journey!
I was in on your presentation to the St. Louis Camera Club, and I really liked the concept of sketch images.
I would love to have this camera, pretty much like everyone else here in the comments, thanks!
So happy to read about this as it does feel exactly like what I am going though when shooting in the streets… Thank you David, and yes, may I ask to put my name in the hat for the Fuji camera : )
I like the idea of being an explorer. It takes the pressure off the creative process. Thank you for sharing your journey. I could use that Fuji camera as my camera is too heavy so please enter my name in your draw.
Love your thoughts, and certainly can relate to your process. I have found that I really need to get to know a place on a personal level before I can begin making images that I truly connect with and will value. It is a constant refinement, to continue to push further into that vision. I guess that is the beauty of photography in so many ways, it is a deeply personal experience to each of us. Thanks for your great work, and I would love to be entered into the drawing.
Great topic. Definitely something that I struggle with. In fact, I’m realizing now that my internal dialogue about not “having a vision” for what I’m going to shoot before going out has been holding me back from just getting out there and letting creativity emerge through exploration.
Thanks for sharing this, David!
Thank you David for teaching us photography in such a wonderful way!
A Fuji would be great for implementing what you just taught. 😊
Buenos dias desde la Republica Dominicana!
This whole mindset just does something to take the pressure off of shooting with a camera. It kind of brings back the fun of the challenge to create something new. I guess where the pressure might come back in is when you are given a short time frame with which to make magic for someone else or you’ve spent an investment of money for travel and your trip is almost over…
Yes, please add me to the draw! That little camera would come in so handy!
Thanks David, excellent as usual, please include me in your draw.
Best wishes Jeff.
This is a LOT like my “process”. I’m glad I’m not the only one!
I bring my camera to get into a flow. It’s almost a mindfulness exercise for me. What is this place, this time, trying to tell me? Once I start to hear that elusive message then I work to see how I can capture it to share it with others. It doesn’t always happen (for me) but when it does it is golden.
Much of my frustration with photography comes when I rush it. If I shortchange myself and don’t get into the flow, it’s not fulfilling and it starts to wear away at my enjoyment.
Nice article, nicely put. And yes, I would love to have my name in the hat 🙂
I’m amazed when other photographs produce a silk purse from a sow’s ear of situation or location and after many years of trying I still produce the sow’s ear.
Many thanks for your insights and please put my name in the hat for the Fuji camera.
Josie
David,
Another thought provoking article, thank you.
I have struggled to articulate what my vision is, I could not write it down easily, but I fully understand what you are getting at with your article. If I photograph an event I usually have an intent or vision of what I want to achieve or create however you are at the mercy of what happens during the event.
The rest of the time my photography seems to be just wandering around and observing and things happen, a sense of serendipity taking over and things reveal themselves as you go along and you instinctively know you have an image which resonates with you, internally you just know. After all most of the time we are only trying to please ourselves with our images, feel personal satisfaction with our creation – if others get it then great, is that not the nature of art?
Please include me in your draw for the camera.
Thanks again and look forward to your next articles.
Ian
I, on the contrary, make few clicks. Apparently I brought this up in my days when I used the Medium Format camera.
Would love to have that Fuji and dig, dig, dig, click with it!
Grüezi (=Hello) David
The first step to a good picture (a picture with a soul) is to step over the doorstep with your camera! Thank you for your inspiring and motivating thoughts.
Greetings from Switzerland
Hermann
I love this! I always want to get it right first time. I know that’s all in my head, but seeing it written down is like permission to play around. Thank you, David. Please put my name in the hat 🙂 Now I have to get back to your course!
Vision isn’t everything = but without it what do you have??
The term “vision” gets thrown around a lot, including by guys who call their stuff “Craft and Vision.” 🙂
This real-world definition of what it really means is helpful. I’ve been guilty of overthinking “vision” as if I’m crafting an overblown artist’s statement about the meaning of life or something, when what it really means is just “what am I trying to tell others with this photograph?”
Thanks David. Your blogs have always been very instructive . It’s content always depart from the usual stuffs that most teachers write and teach about. You’re coming to me also as photographic philosopher.
Do I have a vision? Most of the time none.
When something strikes my eye, I ask the why? And for whom?
Then I capture the image.
You always inspire! Your honesty and teaching encourage me to find my own “intent”. Awesome article.
Another great post! Thank you for sharing.
Love the description of the thought process!
David, Even though I am in a season when there is very minimal shutter snapping going on, I still find your blog inspiring.
A camera does aide with taking in the sights, and seeing things we might not normally see, but just being present with my loved ones has its rewards too. Trying to strike a healthy balance in this regard…
Perhaps another camera, to share with one of my daughters, will make the seeing and sharing aspects meld together a little better.
😉
great insight
David,
After years (literally) of following your work and trying to absorb everything I possibly can about not only your approach to photography but life in general, every time I think “Oh, this is it. We’ve reached the end of what this Master can teach me.” You bring out another gem that forces me to admit that I don’t even know what I don’t know. The idea of developing an idea from “aether” fully formed always left me both a little skeptical of those who claim to work that way and a little (more than) discouraged because I most certainly do NOT work that way. It is a relief to find myself in your company and to know that the path is there, pointed out by you, to those who will see the imperfect glimmer of an idea and “dig” at it until the form appears, slowly, from the sand.
Here’s to continuing to dig.
Thank you for all you do, but most of all, thank you for you.
An excellent post David. Every time I go out with my camera I approach it a lot like that. So good to hear you do the same! 😀
And yes, please put me in the drawing.
I am 85 yrs old, been doing photography more or less since I was 14; I have belonged to oodles of Camera Clubs and got a string of letters after my name. But I am still learning, in & out of the fog, constantly digging for new approaches, and your articles are up there in my ‘preferred inspiration’ list. Put me in for that Fuji.
Cheers from New Zealand
Barry Doig
Interesting thoughts. How often or rather how much of your sketch images do you keep when you find one composition, one set of lighting or one moment that excites you.
Again what happens when you did not get the one which you are looking for and what happens when you are going through your sketch images and find some thing interesting which you wanted to try again. Do you go this same place again and start again with different lighting etc ?
How do you keep track all such instances where you think you have found something interesting in sketch images and you need to go this place again ?
Some of my Random thoughts from this Article.
David, I am amazed about how much I have learned from you, your online workshops and your clarity in explaining some concepts that sounded obscure to me before. Thank you for sharing that gift with all.
I always appreciate your blog posts, and this one does not disappoint. I actually have used your book, A Beautiful Anarchy, in teaching my music classes at Northwestern University and the Curtis Institute of Music. The quest for inspiration and vision balances with the technical, and both the artistic and more mechanical aspects of creating art require practice and patience. Keep egging us on to greater heights. And I’d use the Fuji as a grab and go camera — please enter me in the drawing.
I have to admit I wander with an open mind, looking and watching what is happening around me without any preconceived idea of what I want. This approach usually surprises me…having a totally open mind…things do show up that are the images that make the day. Also I will admit once found that the shutter goes click click click as you mentioned. It is comforting though to know that you say you walk around in a fog until you see it then work it searching for the exact image that excites you. Yes, it is exciting to go home with images that say something and have vision or an intent.
I really appreciate your in sights, books and articles over the years plus I was lucky enough to attend one of your workshops in Nanaimo a few years ago. Thanks again
I enjoyed the dig, dig, dig aspect of photography, as well. Thanks for the article and I am headed to the read about how my bad image might be the most important.
Thanks David. Insightful as always.
Very insightful and helpful thoughts. Thank you for all you to to help us photographers out here, especially for letting us know we’re not alone and helping us feel less silly and lost!
Excellent advise. Thank you. Now if I can just find the time to slow down and let the process have a chance to work.
Thabt process resonates with me.
If all goes well, you will be speaking at my local camera club later this month. Looking forward to it!
David, thanks for what you share beyond the technical in each of your blog posts!
Thanks for the reminder of striving to get to it!
And please add my name to the “hat.”
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Hmmm…
(click) ahhh ha! …
lol sounds like me until i find what i felt i saw!
Well that’s a huge relief…..
Thought I was doing something wrong.
I love reading your emails, books, etc but the idea of going somewhere with a vision of a particular image in mind as to what I want to accomplish fully formed is just not me. I’ve read it a number of times from various people about having vision or intent and I always felt like a failure for not having it or feeling like I don’t have it.
What you have said in this article is much more like what I do, taking lots of images from different angles, viewpoints etc till I get what I think ‘works’ for me. Working the scene so to speak!
Thank you for sharing your insights/methods it’s made me feel much better about myself and my own way of doing photography
As always, you have shared this Golden Nugget in the most relatable way imaginable. Simply marvelous!
Thank you.
I do this, but never thought of it as sketch images. Great description! Thank you for the chance to win the camera. I would love to win.
David, thank you for all the time you take to produce these articles. I am 74 years old and have been following you for some years now, and found your writing helpfully and encouraging.
Again thank you…..
Nan
My mind blew up on Mallory Pier, Key West, sunset celebration. The original intent was to shoot the perfect sunset. The marketplace just before the pier is where it happened. There were so many opportunities. The lady with the craggy face wearing a straw hat selling shirts who befriended me and was the perfect image and soul with Key West chickens framing sketches all around; but it wasn’t just her. It was everywhere! But got to get to the sunset!
I failed miserably. Must go back.
Except for the sunset. 50 sketches among which was the perfect one.
David,
I am always amazed how your words, articles or pod casts never fail to hit me right between the eyes. You clarify things I didn’t know I wondered about. I read a lot by a lot of photographers but your words just align with my stupid brain in a way that makes sense.
Thanks so much.
Greg Steffen
I appreciated reading about your process of “finding” the images and how the first howevermany are just digging to uncover it. Such a good illustration!
Hello David. As usual your insights and teaching are a gold mine of inspiration.
Thank you for your unselfish sharing of your love for the photograph.
Thank you for sharing your journey and your experiences into photography. Also thank you for the opportunity to win a FujiFilm x100F.
As always, thanks for the inspiration. I, too, have come to see the journey as the reward. Getting in the zone by letting go of the outcome I think I want, and embracing the thrill of discovery.
My intent is to be fully in the moment. Rarely achievable, that too is part of the journey.
And yes, please put me on the list for the Fuji X100f. I would like to give it to my daughter, an avid phone photographer. She would love it.
Thanks again for the inspo. Lisa
David, yup , yup, yup, more great advice! I would love to be included in the draw for this camerA
I will throw my name in there for the fuji! Thanks for the insightful article and keep up the great work! I’ve recently started following your content after discovering you though the podcast you did with Daniel Sigg and it was very inspiring and possibly the nudge I needed to delete my IG and start shooting for myself. I am very excited to see what comes from shooting more and more with no expectation of immediately posting and/or getting the vacuous commentary of posting photo work on social media as well as shooting what I want without the external influence of what’s trendy or algorithmically successful.
‘click, click, click’ is where it all begins.
It is wonderful to be able to follow your thoughts here. This type of discussion is way more beneficial than f stops or a lighting diagram.
And yes please, I would love to win this incredible camera.
Thank you.
A friend gave me “The Soul of a Camera”, I’ve been following your missives and podcasts ever since. In these times where we take more images in one day worldwide than the entire 19th century, taking 1 good one is even tougher. Sure; after 10 years of using
Sigma Foveon I’ll give a Bayer camera a try. Put my name in the hat.
(P.S. My wife and her traveling partners have picked Vancouver their favorite city – if your sequestered with Covion can’t think of a better place)
I enjoy your emails. Thanks fir the chance to win a Fuji.
Hi there, David. Hope this finds you well.
I’m always eager to open your emails, looking for some directions. It’s great to know that i’m not alone in my search. I sometimes say to myself “yeah, you’re a beginner alright. You’ve been here roaming for an hour, pretending to be Johnny Walker and still weren’t able to find your gold!”
It’s very reassuring and encouraging to know that, like me, most photographers need to dig in several places before finding their gold.
And please, throw my name in the hat for that giveaway, i love that Fuji and the idea of using the restrictions of a fixed lens camera. By the way, thank you so much for that.
All the best,
Sérgio Vasco
David, it is precisely not working the scene that I have been pursuing for years. It is a long, long road but it ends in the fullest understanding of artistic composition. I have been so surprised in finding it is congruent to music composition and, yet, it all makes so much sense if all of art is built on the foundations laid in nature; balance, rhythm, harmony, etc. Yes, if you are experienced enough, you will know it when you see it; but how much better to be trained enough to be able to make it when you want it. That’s what I seek; it’ll take a lifetime to master. First to know it, then the practice it and, finally, to teach it.
Thank you for this great post. Your words are always inspiring. I would love to win the camera!!
Thanks for making the difference through your teachings as well as inspiring us to be better photographers!
And, yet again, you take the stress off and turn the joy of the journey on. The exploration of a scene lends a type of anticipatory feel as you see where it leads you.
thanks so much,
Bev
Another great article! I always look forward to seeing your emails and the insight you share, and frequently refer back to specific books/articles whenever I need a pep talk. Thank you for this!
Thank you for writing this – I work this way, too. I hate shoehorning myself into anything.
You got me. Real good. I’ve been following you for a while now and when I saw ‘Vision isn’t everything’ I almost spat out my tea!
As always, great words and very encouraging to find that we’ve got pretty much the same creative process of stumbling around until you hit on something!
In all honesty though, I think it’s about being there, and being ready. When I go on my allotted, daily, 1 hour ‘outside time’ that this dystopic reality permits me, I’ll often have camera in hand and just see what I see. Often times it’s nothing, but when there is something, I need to be prepared and be present. Ready to snap.
My favourite saying right now that rings in my head whenever I’m shooting is ‘f/8 and be there”
C’est très déculpabilisant de vous lire et enrichissant aussi.
Merci de partager le fruit de votre travail et de vos réflexions.
Merci David de partager le fruit de votre travail et de vos réflexions. C’est très déculpabilisant de vous lire et enrichissant.
Thanks for sharing this, David! I have been following your blog for three years since finding you in Vancouver. Thanks for all the helpful photography tips + camera giveaway (Entering my name). Waiting for the world to open up but have been happily a miniature version of it in my studio. Peace and joy to you this year, and lots of creativity.
Best,
Sophia
http://www.sophiahsin.com
Hi David, A great post! It inspires me to keep “digging” and working to find that great photo just waiting to be created. Thank you!
I enjoyed your comments especially about the process of getting to a vision – it indicated to me that I should enjoy the process of getting there more to expand my vision – Thanks for your lessons, they’re invaluable!
Great article! I guess I’m often too impatient, to give some other clicks a chance. Maybe a new camera helps 😉
A thoughtful and inspiring article.
Some of us need to keep reading your positive articles.
Thank you.
I very recently found your blog and really enjoy it. Thanks for the inspiration about vision and perseverance. So many times I’ve vowed to put my camera away but after a day or two I begin twitching (figuratively speaking) and I get the camera back out and start shooting again. Except for my self-imposed determination to take & post a photo a day on Flickr, I really have no destination (other than my own pleasure which should be the main purpose anyway) for my images.
Please add my name to the hat for the camera drawing.
Dear David,
I am in France and I am following your blog and I am subscribed to Laurent Breillat’s online formation given by you on creativity. You are very inspiring ! Thanks for sharing.
Hervé
Your blog posts always hit the mark on something that’s been in the back of my mind. Thanks for your insight.
Dear David, I just got your book “the visual toolbox” (it’s the german translation, so the titel is a bit different). I already read some books to understand what kind of things you can do to and with your camera. But your book is doing something very different and when I read your intro, I was kind of like: where can I subscribe to this special photografer´s school of yours? I could handle 1 year with just an analog camera and black and white pictures.
and one thing got me: it really is not about the newest gear. it is the never ending journey and to do the best with what you got. thank you for that. so I am happy that I am part of this journey.
oh, and I really would like you to put my name in the hat, thanks a lot. fingers crossed.
Love the idea of sketch images. How often do we nail it first time? Hardly ever! Would also love to be in the hat for the Fuji, thanks so much
I listen to your podcast while I walk in the mornings with my baby. You have given me more courage than anyone, and for that I am grateful. Thank you!
I would have never thought to call them sketches, but that is just what they are. Building from an idea, something that caught your eye, then continued and developed till something is there that is satisfying. As a fine artist as well as a photographer, I always find it fascinating when I’m reminded of art fundamentals that I know so well in “art” that apply to photography as well – such as making sketches and preparatory drawings for work.
David
As always, your posts are insightful, inspirational and educational. Please keep them coming.
Russ Butner
Hello, I would love to be put in the draw. Fuji bridge cameras are responsible in a large part for my love of photography and I was sad when they discontinued that affordable line of versatile cameras. But I have hear d great things, and enjoy the enthusiasm from your newsletters during this strange time!
Enjoyed your viewpoint and how you expressed it. Vision has been a developing thing for me, as I guess it is for most folks. For quite some time, I had no idea what was meant by it. Galen Rowell’s comment made a ton of sense to me. “I like to feel that all my best photographs had strong personal visions and that a photograph that doesn’t have a personal vision or doesn’t communicate emotion fails.” Part of the reason I like going back to a place, over and over, is that my vision/intent changes with time. And, not to mention it, but the light changes every time. The changing light and my familiarity helps me capture with intent.
And, please enter me into the camera drawing…..
I love your work… I have your course and am getting started with it!!
Great description of the sketching process with your camera. Keep up the inspiring words and pictures!
Hi David,
thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. Especially about Vision being something I have to look for.
You made me:
Pick up my camera again after some years without
Changing my POV, especially with regard to the background
Finally find out, what my camera is able to do, instead of always using automation mode
Dehazing in post-production
local adjustments in postproduction
Where I still need help:
Allowing me to stop what ever I am doing, when I see something to photograph. And allowing me the time it needs, to make those photographs.
Thanks for being “the David” to us.
Hey David! Thanks for the newsletter. Downloaded the Deeply Wild PDF as well. I really appreciate how much you are putting resources out each week. Truly inspiring. Would love to put my name in the hat for the Fuji camera drawing!
Thanks. Walking around in a fog . . . so that is what that grey stuff is! Appreciate this as I think my intent isn’t often very clear unless I have to do a lot of set up. Something like a night shot makes me think and the extra effort makes me have a specific purpose. I am not always sure of what I want to “say”. If a picture is worth 1000 words, there are times I thnk Idon’t understand the language. Cheers, and I appreciate the chance at the Fuji.
This article remember me a song TIME IS ON MY SIDE… the connexion between what we see and what we are need our investment and time , confidence and humility. Thank you to remerber us that we are not alone in this walk.
Great article !!
Thanks David – insightful and helpful as always. And please do put my name in the hat for the X100F 🙂
David,
Whoa! You got some serious response on the giveaway! Add my name to the hat because I’ve had my eye on that ergonomic, featherweight Fuji X100F for a while.
Your meditation on vision made me realize how difficult that is to articulate.
It’s sort of like lightning—they say a charge comes up out of the earth to meet a charge coming down out of the sky, and where they meet—pow! Let there be light.
That’s what it feels like to me—something in the landscape coalesces in a vision that resonates in me. My sky power is in the searching for all the factors of composition , etc. to come together. When inner and outer line up and connect, I feel the quiet “Pow!”
I’m in Eugene, Oregon—do you know about the proposed Douglas-fir National Monument in the Central Cascades? Big trees, big water. You should take a field trip here—it’s truly amazing.
Thanks for an excellent essay,
Sandy
Awesome topic. I’m a filmmaker and, even though I plan out my shots, I always leave time so that I can explore things on the day of and come up with fresh ideas. But I do definitely get frustrated, especially on client work.
And yes I’d love my name in the hat! Thank you!
I needed this today. Grateful, as always, for your generous and thoughtful pearls of wisdom!
The idea of digital sketch images is a strong one and something I’ve resisted because I don’t often delete in camera. I’ve always been more likely to keep clicking and then sort it all out on the computer later, assuming that what I could see on the small screen wouldn’t really match the image later on the big one.
Shooting film helped me get past that in both being more circumspect in pushing the shutter but trying to train myself to see through the viewfinder what the image will become before the button is pressed. It’s a journey that I’m still on and hopeful to continue to improve.
Thank you for making me feel less guilty just exploring and playing with my camera. Unlike the 7-basic habits, I don’t need to start with the end in mind!
Unlike many photographers Who talk about equipment rules for photography and what can or can’t be done and then complain when others do or don’t do it ,I love the inspiration yes the vision the thoughts in the process of making an image that you expand on with each online submission.
Always a pleasure to learn from your insight and develop new perspective. Thanks for all the great articles and eBooks – my library is overflowing!
I just looked at your images. They are beautiful. I currently live in a very unappealing area, flat and pretty boring, so your scenics were a balm to my soul. Great captures.
Dear David, thanks for your very inspiring “down-to-earth” article. I enjoyed very much reading it. My process of taking a picture is the same you described above. Often my pictures turn out to be better than I thought and this motivates me to continue taking pictures. However mostly, out of the average of 100 pictures I take per session, in the end I chose 1 or 2. Because they are the only ones that I consider acceptable. This shows me that photography is not about the pictures taken, it’s rather about the process of looking at the world finding subjects and scenes that catch our attention. As a matter of fact, as even as the world seemes everything can be a good subject. So it depends on how you see the world. You have to train your sight and start looking like a camera but adding the emotional side and getting an acceptable result in the end.
I love learning and you make it easy and inspiring. Please put my name in the hat.
Thanks for being so inspiring to many of us (amateur) photographers. Hope to learn from you still for a long time.
“What do I want to say with this photograph, and how?” I’m finding in the world we live in right now, I am mulling this question over more and more….at least the “what do I want to say” part. Perhaps, the how I need to do some more digging on, perhaps that is where sketch images come in. So thank you for today’s timely article. I’m not one with too many cameras, I just have one beloved XT-2, and have yearned for this model….so yes, please put my name in the hat!
Good advice, David. If the media with which one is working isn’t expensive or the time available isn’t limited, an iterative approach seems better to me. It’s fine going in with a plan, but we all know how well that often that often turns out.
I’m curious to know if your exploration also continues into your post-processing. Do you ever unearth hidden treasure as you process your images?
Please enter my name into your X100F drawing. Thanks!
David, I read the subject line in my email and thought maybe you had cracked — ‘vision isn’t everything???’ Lol. You got me. Great insights as always.
I would enjoy a name in the hat as well. Thank you, sir!
I really appreciated reading this. I started off this year with a one photo a day challenge and I am still going. One of the focuses of this project was to motivate myself to explore new subjects and take different types of photos. Often during this challenge I don’t even know what my subject will be let alone what my vision for the photograph is. When I decide on a subject I haven’t photographed before I really have no idea what I am going to do with it at the time. I really work with sketch photos in this process. Just looking at the subject through my lens and testing out different angles and perspectives to see what really resonates with me. Thank you for writing this. It helps me feel like I am not so lost in these moments.
Sincerely,
Kyle Reynolds
https://krnaturalphoto.com/
Thank you David, your words are always inspiring, I need to just keep digging and not give up after a few shove loads 😉 .
Please enter throw my name in the hat.
Thanks for breaking down process- even though vision continues to elude me, I love the honesty of process that you’re willing to share. Thank you for all you do and Be!
Please put my name in the hat for one of those 2 Fuji cameras. And thanks for this article. Very inspiring. Greetings from Munich, Germany.
You are so good at sharing your passion and your process, it is always inspiring. Thank you for making me feel like my process is adequate.
And yes, please, put my name in the hat!
This was so helpful to me! I love the idea of sketch images and I plan on using that idea in my photography and other creative pursuits going forward.
What you call “sketch” images, I don’t do enough (impatient, I guess). As you gain experience do you find that you are creating more or fewer sketch images while shooting a subject? How often do you decide later that one of the sketch images is really the “OMG”?
Turn up and get started.
Thanks, David, for all that you do! I have your books, listen to the podcast (love your delivery style, by the way) and, of course, follow the blog. You never fail to inspire and make me consider how I might improve. I’d appreciate being entered for the draw as well 🙂
Keep inspiring
Thank you David.
After mulling this post overnight I spent my 3 morning pages today exploring what your thoughts have triggered in me. I am always intrigued in how specific words, although similar, lead us down different paths. In your post you referred to vision, intention, creation, discovery, exploration, and expression. Not exactly interchangeable.
And, of course, we all have different reasons for picking up a camera. For me it is a meditative practice – with a camera in hand my monkey mind clears (at least some), and I realized after writing this morning for me its about developing my ability to perceive what I see all the time but don’t notice. When I walk by a shelf of stuffed animals I would like to “see” ET in there amongst them. Perhaps with practice.
Thank you for your post.
Hugh
Thanks David! I’ve been enjoying and been inspired by your photographic philosophy for many years now, and always appreciate your thoughtful perspective. Please add my name to the camera draw!
I needed this article today. Thank you, David!
For me- my best work is when a take a total break from the daily grind. It starts with a decision followed by the act of packing a bag, grabbing some cash, and walking out the door. Sometimes there is a plan sometimes I just drive. It takes me a day just to catch my breath, to clear my head. The driving is the bridge, driving clears my head. Driving eliminates all the office/work/home distractions.
There comes a point where I take a deep breath and the anxiety stuck in my chest literally “pops” upon a deep breath. It’s like the starting gun for shifting my brain to the creative right. Sometimes a night in a tent works. Coffee on a campfire. The tempo changes, the distractions are removed …. I don’t think about it. I look. The rhythm of line, shape, color, time, and story wash away most everything else and I am free to explore and press the shutter at anything without judgment that it is worth my time.
I carry a camera every day in a small bag. But I rarely “see” anything. I sew the traffic and think of the tasks I need to complete or when I need to be at a specific place at a specif time.
I’m a Fuji shooter and have been chomping at the bit to try the 100V. Count me in.
I’ll be glad when Covid is under control. My second vaccination is on Feb 9. I am thinking I need to pack a bag and leave after any reaction.
Love your blog posts because of your straightforward message. thanks for the reminder that I have to do the work.
Who am I to think the first will be the best.
I’ve been a subscriber of yours for years. You words and thoughts are not only clear but inspirational. Thanks for being so generous to our photographic community
Sure, I’d like a new camera!!
Thanks, Jane
Thanks for another great post. I enjoy your weekly insights and encouragement.
Thanks for the inspiration. Please put my name in the hat.
I’ve followed you for many years and while this post is nothing new…everytime I read you talking about vision it helps reset my focus back to what matters. Thank you.
ps. Throw my name in the hat – while I know it’s all about vision I would really love a chance at that little Fuji camera.
Always inspired by your honest posts.
Please enter me in drawing.
This is so so true! You have to explore, and play! Also loving the “my camera is my shovel… Dig, dig, dig, Click, click, click” Anology! 🙂
Thanks for this piece of insight, David! It’s reassuring that I don’t have to make THE image at once, the first time. Though with analog LF I don’t want to make too many test shots. And I don’t think I have to, since the process is much slower and more deliberate.
Thanks,
Ariaan
As usual David you give us something profoundly worthwhile and ask little in return other than an unwritten promise that we go and make images. This blog post reminds me of an exercise I sometimes do which is pick a small area, maybe the back garden(yard) or any small 10ft x 10ft area in the woods – then take at least 10 photographs in that area. It really helps develop the vision and digging skills ….
Peter
And sorry yes I would like to be entered into the hat for the Fuji – why wouldn’t I 🙂
Peter
I need to shoot this way more often. I have, and that’s generally where I’ve done my best work, but I really need to make it more of a conscious habit.
Needless to say, I’d love to be included in the camera drawing, too!
To take a photo. First you need a camera… then light and a subject.
Intent, Vision, Moment, … the mix of a situation and an image you imagine. !! Great article as usual.
And put me in the hat for the Fuji X100F
Thank you for continuously sharing your knowledge and also for sharing your workflow with us!
Thank you, David; this idea and your words landed squarely this morning. Just the perspective shift I needed! Please also include me in the drawing. Thank you!
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Hmmm…
(click) Interesting, what if I…
(click) Nope. But…
(click) Nope. Drat. Oh, but…
(click) Ooooh, hang on a…
(click) This gives me an idea.
(click) Closer
(click) OMG. I love that.
(click, click, click)
This is my process as well. When i spend some time with my subject, honouring what i feel it should be expressed as, i get results!
And oh! I’m here for the camera as well!
It’s good to know I’m not alone in my searching, now I wish i could do more finding! 😉
Thank you, would love to be entered to win the camera 🙂
Thank you so much for this article. I have friends who seem to go out with a fully formed idea of what they are looking for. Me? Never. I’m the explorer type; and, I know it when I see it. My motto is ‘You just have to show up.”
I have previously felt inadequate, knowing I did not have the same ability others had. Knowing you function as I do gives me great joy and relief!
Another inspiring blog from David!
Vision can be the last thing too..
Of-course it’s important to get the framing right at capture, but sometimes that’s not possible. For example, when photographing lightning.
In this case, cropping after the image capture will lead to the final vision.
Thank you for all you’re sharing with us David. Your wisdom about photography reminds me of a photographer I met years ago in Connecticut, his name was Robin Perry. I don’t know if you ever even heard of him, but I found him very inspiring, just like you.
All the best to you and many thanks for the lecture you gave our photo club a few weeks ago.
It’s good to know I don’t have to know exactly what I want and get it right the first time.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for always inspiring us – not only through your final images, but through the storytelling of your journey to arrive there!!!
Of course I would love to win the Fuji X100F – so please enter my name.
Another interesting and easy to understand essay. I’m forwarding it to the daughter of a good friend – She wishes to get into photography.
It is Always Good to read about other peoples way of thinking and the way They do something to get to an solution. That makes me feel less stupid and it gives me hope.
Thanks David.
I also want to try my luck for a camera, so that i don’t have to use my Cellphone for my Photography anymore. So please put my Name in the hat.
Greetings again from Japan🙏🏻🙏🏻🇯🇵🙋♂️! Another thought-provoking article Sensei David! “Vision isn’t everything…” I almost dropped my iPad when I saw this. I just completed your class on The Photographers Process and am now getting ready to dive into The Compelling Frame.
As for Intent, after thinking about Intent vs. Vision I was trying to find a way to take it out of a theoretical/existential framework and make it a “more real-world, go out and do it” type of usable tool when I’m out shooting. I made a laminated card of this and keep one in my camera bag and one in my money clip now. For what it’s worth, try this on for size:
I – Intensity (as in intense focus on what’s immediately around me)
N – Necessary (what needs to be brought out and shared in the scene)
T – Tenacity (don’t give up…keep digging, keep shooting)
E – Engagement (with subjects and/or moments happening around me)
N – New Perspectives (am I seeing this from the best position or angle?)
T – Tired? Try Again! (there’s an old Japanese saying…”Fall down 7 times, Get up 8 times”)
Thanks for making me think…and shoot! If your drawing pot still has room, throw my name in the hat please🙏🏻🙏🏻!
Great interpretation of INTENT! One of the reasons I like going back to a place over and over again, is that I have a changing view of a place when I go back. Needless to say, the light will be different every time, but yes go with intent and vision..
Thanks for this David. I really appreciate the points about exploration, intent and digging. These three elements have definitely led me to good places in terms of images – and to wonderful surprises like you mentioned – new ideas and even thematic projects that I hope to exhibit one day. Thanks for continuing to feed our creativity through your podcast and blog posts. Cheers!
P.S. Please do include me in the chance to win a Fuji X100F.
Thank you so much for this piece. I have always felt a sense of shame when reading about vision because I have no idea what my vision is much less possess the ability to express it in words. Vision was something artists must experience, something grand and mysterious, but I am more of a rather clumsy tradesman. But exploration, yes. Pushing onward through the nopes… I would love to be in the drawing for the Fuji despite already owning a camera that far exceeds my ability to use it.
David, I truly appreciate this article because you’re right I was beginning to question why I did not seem to know exactly how I would tackle an image of a subject until I played around with it a little. I appreciate all of your articles but this one really hit home for me.
Also, please put my name in the hat for the camera. Thank you.
David, Thanks as always for your wise guidance along the path of photography (and life). Please put my name in the hat for the Fuji X100F.
This is such a pragmatic insight- lots of nopes to get to the yes and that is the process. Throwing my name in the hat. 🙂
Thanks David for your books and content. They have helped me look at photography in a way that helps me in some of my “blind spots” and made me a much better photographer! Throwing my hat in the ring.
Thanks for the insight into your thought process. I love going out in search of photos.
Throw my name in the hat also please.
Thanks for everything you do, and the continued inspiration you provide. I’d also love that camera 🙂
Thank you so much for saying that David – after many years of photography I’m still not a hundred percent sure what my vision is and I seldom go out to take pictures with a clear cut vision in mind. I find that something will present itself and after some trial and error I may have something that does represent what I would like to communicate. If it takes time for someone as phenomenal as you then there’s hope for me!
You were right. Very surprised to see you write those words! Mind you your process as described is a better match.
Please put my name in the hat.
How wonderful that you were able to put this process into words (and with your usual touch of humor). I’ve probably done this at times without knowing it was a good thing!
I’ll take that Fuji if my name comes up.
Thank you so much David for all the inspiring posts and podcasts. Please add my name in the hat.
Thanks a lot.
Fevzi
Your article sounds like me trying to learn portrait photography with mostly me as my own subject – vision & intent only come after some considerable digging [into light, pose, remote control, lens choice, white balance adjustments, aperture & background look, killing or blending ambient light, and so the reading & practice & experiments continue].
David, i so enjoy reading your posts. I am an amateur photographer but a professional potter . Your words resonate with me as a potter as well. I keep experimenting with techniques, mediums and tools with the vision that something wonderful will come from it, there are many fails but from the fail, come more inspiration. My intent this year is too take better product photos and I go through the same process as you do until i come up with the perfect photo.
Please enter me into your contest. What a wonderful opportunity.
Thank you for your insights on photography. I find them helpful in my development as a photographer.
We’re so lucky you have the heart of a teacher. Thank you for breaking it down and inspiring those of us trying to fumble and find our way.
All the best,
Liz
Would love to be entered to win (sorry didn’t include in my first comment)
Thank you David
I have noticed that more and more, this is exactly how it goes for me as well. Especially with portrait subjects, these “sketches” are not only necessary for me, but I’ve noticed for the subjects as well. They make it clear to me where I want the session to go and it gives the subject the confidence to relax more and more.
And yes, I would love to have the change to win that beautiful shovel, the X100F.
Really like this explanation of intent and vision, thanks. Would love to win the camera.
Great writing once again. Inspired.
Many thanks again David for your wisdom and transparency. Knowing someone even like you(!) goes through this process is very encouraging as well as instructive. So much appreciate your teaching and blogs. Please put my name in the proverbial hat!
Hello David. I discovered your photographic approach thanks to Laurent Breillat’s blog. Since then I had the opportunity to test 2 of your training courses that I really appreciated. Your speech is reassuring and motivating for the beginner that I am. Thank you for your good advice! Can you please add my name to the already long list? Thank you for sharing your vision
Thank you, some times it can be disheartening if you can’t quite get the photo you are after. It helps to know others can have to same problem and there is support out there when inspiration is low.
Please add my name in the hat.
Hello David. I discovered your approach to photography via Laurent Breillat’s blog. I have since had the opportunity to follow some of your training and their content has made me evolve in my practice. I find your approach reassuring for the beginner that I am and this article encourages me to keep digging. Please also add me to the names already on the list. thank you for everything
Thank you David for all the inspiring posts. I can’t stop reading them.
Please put my name in the hat.
Ciao
Roberto
Setting out to take the perfect photograph may never work. Seeing the perfect photograph and being able to take it in time just might. Right time, right place, rather than right equipment perhaps?
Thank you for this excellent article, David!
In the many years I’ve been following you it became more and more clear to me what this “vision” is your were always talking about. I believe this post puts it in a nutshell, clear and understandable for everyone. And it is exactly how I feel when I’m out with my camera, on occassions where I’m not having a clear goal what to photograph (like birds, butterflies etc). But it also encourages me to keep working harder and digging deeper at times when there seems to be no “vision” 😉
Would love to be part of the Fuji lottery 🙂
Interesting like all your articles. Thanks for sharing so much food for thought.
Thanks, David, for another inspiring read!
I fully agree that intent or vision are crucial, but as you say, they are hard to pin down, and maybe it is necessary to clarify the different levels these concepts are being used for?
Maybe I want to capture the beauty of Venice, and that’s why I am in Venice with my camera, trying to figure out how to best capture what I see? And maybe I figure out that I really like to capture the melancholy of fog in Venice…
The ‘intent’ here seems rather vague, and it might be much more precisely defined in an assignment, or a well defined project.
Isn’t it an iterative process? Starting vague, and refining based on what I encounter?
Wonderful to discover in this way what really excites me, especially if that is something I wasn’t fully aware of. That’s what make photography so much fun, and so worthwhile, in my view.
But it’s also here where I feel feedback is so important, and the chance to discuss with others. To play with ideas, to see whether others can see what I mean…
You point us in a good direction, I think – but we need more chance to interact! Very much looking forward to that chance!
Thanks a lot, and have a great week!
Stefan
David,
I have always wondered about how accomplished photographers get to what constitutes a successful image. I would look at an image and see a certain quality in terms of angle, color, tonality and moment. I definitely saw those qualities in many images in photo books or online and, for the life of me, I was unable to make an image that would have any, and certainly not all, of those traits.
Early on, I thought it was the gear that allowed the masters to produce engaging photos. So I got better gear – to no avail. Then I figured it would take an exotic location to make such good images. So I started going to places hoping to return with imagery closer to what I saw in my mind’s eye. Still no luck. And then I read Photographically Speaking and bingo. Now I make pictures with intent and the process is so much more enjoyable. I now actually feel like I have become a photographer and am indeed making images vs. taking shots. I am not yet always successful by any means but photography for me is all intentional now. And because there is intent in the process, or rather intent is what drives the process, there is something to pursue vs. just seeing something, clicking the shutter and walking away with a shot. And so that pursuit is what takes digging and perseverance. The result is much more rewarding, too, knowing that I worked on the image. I no longer fear that I lack (and others surely have) whatever talent it takes, to create successful photographs.
Thanks to your inspiring writings, books, podcast, that I am more determined than ever to pursue photography and get my work out there. I don’t yet have a website but I am working on one.
Thanks,
Erik
I almost forgot to mention that I would like to be in for the X100F.
Thanks,
Erik
Dear David, I worked as graphic designer along 25 years but in 2015 I quit, changing completely my career: I became a wellnes instructor. This experience tought me a simple idea: wathever you want to learn and master you have to train. You want to build muscle? Train. You want to run faster? Train. You want to be a better photograper? Train. And fail. Learn from your failure and build on it. This process spreads both at macro level (studying tecnique, masters of photogtaphy and so on) and at “micro” level, when you are on location (click, click, click…).
Stay healthy
Fabio Rizzo
Interesting post, as always. You do have talent to put in word a process of thought or a thing we might all be subject to.
Oh, and you can put my name in the hat 🙂
Hi David. Great topic, I usually go out to see what photos might interest me, and further on, my friends. I never know what I am going to come across by the end of the trip. Even on bad weather days, I will come home with something, not necessarily an OMG shot, but something. Sometimes, it is worth taking the time to set up at a location and wait for the photo to come to you. I have had some successes doing just that. Please put my name in the hat too. Many thanks, Ron.
From Nairobi, Kenya, with love! I enjoy every one of your articles and of course, I’d love to win the camera. I have had a Fuji X-T1 for 2 and a half years and to say the least, I am blown away!
Sounds like a point in favour of the photographic project! A project allows one to approach a given place or theme time and again. The “vision”, or your individual point of view is refined iteratively as you proceed. In my own projects, the first couple of months rarely yield any pictures which make it into the final selection. However, the few pictures from that period that work often act as beacons which hint at the future direction.
Best, Thomas
PS: I don’t want the X100F, as I already own two cameras which is too much of a distraction!
From Nairobi, Kenya, with love! IU enjoy every one of your articles and of course, I’d love to win the camera. I have had a Fuji X-T1 for 2 and a half years and to say the least, I am blown away!
Very inspiring again! And personally, the acquisition of your course “the photographer’s process” was a great one for me. I can only recommend this video course to anybody who has read this article and likes it. The video course takes this concept and explains it very profoundly and usable!
Thanks again David!
Man… So much scrolling just to leave a comment and hi. Thank you for your relentless writings on the the subject we all love. Can’t remember how I found you and your newsletter now, but it remains one of the few emails I enjoy receiving. Keep it up! The answer is of course, to take it back to the old school. Analogue. A 50mm prime. 36 frames and patience. Aroha from Aotearoa, EJ.
Very inspiring!
Thanks!
David,
Yet again you continue to hit the nail on the head. As an amateur photographer who thought I wanted to take better photos, I’ve recently come to the realisation that it’s not always about taking good photos, it’s about taking photos with meaning. I’ve spent too long hoping for the perfect light, making sure I obeyed the rule of thirds, having pin sharp focus and perfect exposure. What I wasn’t doing was making photos with meaning. I think this is similar to your intent, we all go out wanting to take “nice” photos and that is ok sometimes but what if we want to move beyond the snapshot to capture a feeling or something we are passionate about? Then you need to ask yourself, what do I want this photograph to say about me? Because at the end of the day no one will ever take a photograph like you do so you might as well show what you intended and with meaning, no matter how long it takes. Keep up the great work, your a fantastic source of knowledge and inspiration.
Hi!
David, you are awe inspiring and an constant inspiration to us all – me included. After a long hiatus with my camera – due to circumstances outside the scope of this comment – you inspired me and gave me back my long lost love for photography in all it’s aspects!
Thank you so much for being so generous with your insigths and professional knowledge which has helped me to find my way back out of the dark. Each newsletter and blog post is a highlight for me.
Take care of yourself David and keep up your good work.
Greetings from the deep end of the Stockholm Archipelago.
Best regards
Robert Seyfert
Thanks David for expanding beyond the “vision” language for exactly the reason you discuss. I’ve never gotten the “my vision” thing, and while I’ve replaced “vision” with “intention” or “exploration” whenever you use the word, it’s good to know there isn’t something wrong with me.
Keep sharing your thinking about photography!
Love your newsletters, very inspiring
Thank you so much for your constant inspiration to think deeper about our own photography. And I love Fuji and would love to have that X100F. So exciting and thanks for the opportunity!
I have been reading your blog for a while, but your comment on your thought process when shooting and “dig, dig” really resonated with me as I have been doing a photo project recently which has involved multiple trips to the location to try and get the best shots. The process is working – slowly but surely
Please put my name in the hat for the camera.
You got it~~~~
Finally, you said said something that I could relate to…..
The search for the vision, the “right feeling” that those shots tell me are onto something.
I didn’t have “vision” a few minutes or even a few hours ago,
but the “search”,
the click, click, click, …….even more clicks to refine the “vision”, coming out of uncertainty
sometimes hesitantly pursued, then aggressively pursued !
I’m getting it ….. I’m getting it…… I’m GETTNG IT …..
I GOT IT !!!
….
Sometimes your visions doesn’t appear to you till you see it through the camera. I definitely experiment to see what I can pull from the scene.
David, I’ve been reading your material for years. I still get out and shoot, mostly sun rise on beach. Keep the blogs coming and the podcasts are food for thought.
A very thoughtful blog. Isn’t this the same as the story of Matisse (the French painter) who was asked why a simple drawing was so expensive. He opened a cabinet with hundreds of sheets and said “because I had to practice before I could make it” (or similar words).
But it helps when you are able to see things that are interesting.
Please put my name in the hat.
Hi,David!
Thanks for putting so much work and effort in your articles, I enjoy reading them and am trying to become a little better, by asking the right questions.
It is a lot more fun, when I am asking questions and am trying to figure the answers out.
I was amazed to find out, how much trials and error it even you takes, to come up with a sensational pic.
I am interested in participating in the Fuji give away .
Beate
Hi David,
Thanks for the article and for the chance to win the x100f 🙂
Inspiring post, as always.
I have offered 2 of your books to my Dad for Christmas & he’s very happy to finally reading some inspiring about photography. So thank you for that too.
I fall for Fuji xt2 a few years ago & I love it. I’d be trilled to win this one (fingers crossed!).
Have a lovely day.
Wait, what? you cuss?
I thought i was the only one…
I thought that in this day and age, cussing is not allowed anymore, that we should all be “mindfull” and “zen” and let life flow around our frustrated beings, calming us to a level of consciousness that is at one with the energies of the universe.
Please put my name in the hat, i want to be able to cuss at that Fuji camera
Hello David, thank you a lot for this new paper, it’s very useful!
Click, click, click oh my god ! its so true 🙂
I become more curious, and when i’m “without idea”, sometimes i discover unexpected things… and i feel great 🙂
Audrey
ps: you can throw my name in the hat ! 🙂
As with a previous comment, not sure if followers from abroad, in this case South Africa, are eligible, but trying my luck by submitting a comment. With our bad exchange rate buying imported camera or other electronic equipment is prohibitive and hence my hoping to be lucky here.
So, so true! I think it’s both…sometimes you have the vision first and it is a matter of expressing that vision through your photograph(s), and other times you need to explore to FIND your vision! And that’s part of the fun! 🙂
Count me in for the X100F!
Hi David!
I humbly throw my name into the hat for the Fuji. That’s quite generous of you. As for the article you wrote, intent has become a much stronger word for me, not to mention simply demystifying the process of creativity. I appreciate teaching you do.
Stay safe,
Brad
Thanks for inspiration!
So very true … I find that the best pics happen when I work for them.
Thank you for your work. Your thoughts do help.
Jan
Enjoy your blog, the musing, and creative process to image making that you share so freely … well not always free. But one must make a living! Please chuck my name in the draw for the Fuji camera. I live In Nanaimo so won’t cost you any delivery charges. Wink wink.
I’m not sure, people from abroad may enter but I leave this comment 🙂
Always motivates me to try and keep trying! Thank you.
Hi David
Great article as always. Keep them coming. If you could put my name in the hat, that would be greatly appreciated.
As ever enjoying you blog posts, you have a way with words that strikes a cord with me. Your composition process seems very close to my own, although I feel mine may be even longer. I am happy to have my name put in the hat 🙂
I appreciate the advice. Isometimes do the same thing but feel guilty for just trashing so many experiments, thoughts, maybes, etc. I will keep on doing my liitle experiments perhap now with less guilt. I would like to enter the contest because I am presently seeking something that doesn’t weigh quite so much to haul around when I’m out “on the hunt.” Happy hunting! – Richard
I love your blogs and all the great ideas, tips, and ruminations that you share with us. I also have a deep appreciation for your photography because you appear to walk what you talk when you use your camera. I often share parts from your blogs with my fellow Photo Club members and encourage them to join here. Our club is dwindling due to COVID-19 restrictions but we still have about 6 to 8 regulars at our online meetings. I would like to enter the contest because I am presently seeking something that doesn’t weigh quite so much to haul around when I’m out “on the hunt.” Happy hunting! – Richard
I love your blogs and all the great ideas, tips, and ruminations that you share with us. I also have a deep appreciation for your photography because you appear to walk what you talk when you use your camera. I often share parts from your blogs with my fellow Photo Club members and encourage them to join. Our club is dwindling due to COVID-19 restrictions but we still have about 6 to 8 regulars at our online meetings. I would like to enter the contest because I am presently seeking something that doesn’t weigh quite so much to haul around when I’m out “on the hunt.” Happy hunting! – Richard
David – Thank you so much for all your articles and posts … they are wonderfully informative and above all, so inspirational!
I have always enjoyed when you talk about the aim of intention, vision and purpose. I love the concept of sketch images … one process that I follow is actual sketches, where I map out ideas and objectives on paper prior to proceeding to the photographic action. Yes indeed, throw my name in the hat for the Fuji X100F – Paul
David,
I’ve been on your e-mail list for only a month or two, and find your intelligent approach to photography quite inspiring. Not to mention the several illuminating PDFs and videos providing examples of good photos and techniques.
I appreciate your time spent in trying to educate the ‘great unwashed’ like myself! 🙂
Daniel
Thank you for this article. This is something I’m trying to give myself room to more fully experience – I’ve started a daily photo project simply to force myself to pick up my camera and put in more of the time to play and explore in an effort to rediscover what I love about this art form.
I love your blog posts, articles, books and all of the Vision is Better episodes on YouTube (I would love to see new ones!). Such a needed departure from all this gear talk. Thank you for all you do!
Sketch images. OK, I hear you. Makes sense. Shoot an image, look at it, develop an idea. Shoot again. Better, but not there yet. Shoot again.
Oh well, but I got myself into trouble. I shoot film! The “Click, nope. Click, nope. Click, hmmm” has to happen in my imagination. Just by looking through the viewfinder. By the time I pull the film out of the development tank and take a first look at the negative, the scene is long gone. Or, I am gone and may not get back to that same location ever again.
But I am not giving up! Those old masters had the same problem.
Oh, the camera you are giving away is digital? Hmmmm….count me in anyway.
No idea how much it would help, as I’m not a film photographer so can’t give it a try, but have you considered making some sketch photos with a digital camera before making your “real” photo? Maybe simply a camera phone?
I mean, way back when, some photographers were shooting polaroid to test their lighting before making the real exposure with “real” film. Wouldn’t be that different, would it?
I always enjoy your articles, and descriptions of the ‘creative’ process. As so many creatives say, inspiration comes through getting out and doing the work, digging and digging until you find that spark, and then following it where it leads.
Name in hat.
I bought the 100th X100s ever sold – in Dubai, at the time, and this camera opened my eyes to the real joys of photography. I learned to ditch gear and get lucky / happy with my shots.
I’ve since moved on to film, but I miss this little bugger in my coat pocket.
LOL – omit the cussing – love it!
My family will often stick their heads in my studio (albeit, rather hesitantly) and ask if I’m okay, when things are obviously not going the way I would like them to.
Glad to know I’m only one of many who cuss while making photos!
And happy to throw my hat in the ring for your generous giveaway. Been resisting the urge to indulge in new gear 😛
Yes, a very good vision. this is a very imprtant question for me too…
Yes, I can read an image language of the shot, yes I can understand composition, a visual links, similarity / contrast and many other methods of organizing elements in space of shot, like Steeve McCurry for example do. But… making all these things specially when I shot – kill the photography as art for me. Too many thinking kill the miracle of photography in my case.
And only after 10+ years of shooting in this winter trip to Arshan’s mountains in Buratya I make this shot: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKWU78pMnMe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Easy, by the way, when my batteries was almost dried and hands are as cold as the snow. I can’t even switch to a 25mm wide lens and make a 4×4 pan with 35mm. And it is here. So I get understanding that photographer not a speaker but a listener of the visual language in which reality speaks to him.
And his true purpose is only to recognize the relationships and compositional constructions created in reality.
Only to see !
Hi David,
It was refreshing to read your post. Your suggestions are what I try to do every time I go out with my camera. I love the search, the what if … exploring all the different approaches. Using a digital camera and pockets filled with memory cards allows me the freedom to do that now. When I first started learning photography at SFAI in 1965 I was using film and learning to develop and print my images. The cost of supplies definitely reduced my ability to do much more than the assignment. I’m very grateful that doesn’t limit me now. I’d love some new equipment. Please add my name to the hat. Thanks!
Thanks David for sharing your great knwoledge and helping us grow!
Been going on daily photo quests – thank you for this article, it’s soooooo helpful!
Inspiring as usual. I just love the sound of the thunk on the trunk, but also the different treasures you may find. My favourite is the map.
David,
There’s no doubt I have the intent to make great images. Your writings, podcasts, and lots of practice nudge my closer to getting the results I desire. Thank you!
Please include me camera giveaway!
My dad just forwarded me your article and your Blog in information. I love your article and the humour you bring to your writing. I am looking forward to improving my photos!
Thanks!
Thanks David for another great article. Sure got the comments going!! You don’t have to put my name into the draw, I’ve got too many cameras too 🙂 – Hope all is well in your part of the world, thanks and take care.
Please throw my hat in the ring for the camera draw.
really enjoyed your article. Can’t wait to get out with my camera again and start exploring
Another iconic quote: “I’m digging for treasure, and my camera is the shovel.” Thanks for endless inspiration and motivation! Very best regards from Iraq, Harald
Always enjoy Your Articles!
A thought provoking and indeed a bit liberating article. It is sometimes nice to hear everybody struggles as it seems it is more the case with me than not. But indeed intent is a great thing to put into words as well. For a while now I have tried to photograph only with the intent of making a print and this has slowed me down and made my compositions imho better.
Definitely in for the camera raffle but I am more drawn to your words and images. Thank you for inspiring.
Your post is soooo accurate about it takes some click, click, no, click click’s and no’s and then some hmmmm’s and oh yes! and so on. Thanks I did enjoy it!
Thank you for this opportunity. Great article.
Hi David,
First, thank you for clearing the concept that is not as easy as just getting to a place and shoot and a great photo comes out just because you have ‘the vision’. I’m still digging and it’s not easy sometimes. But reading your down to earth comments, pushes me many times to keep searching for that photo I’m looking for.
Thank you, really.
Great article as always David! It’s like you are reading my mind.
How do you keep digging when you put everything into it and don’t see anything day after day? How do find the inner strength to keep going? I’m frankly tired. I’m not sure if a Fuji camera would help me but it wouldn’t hurt, right? Love your posts!
How do you keep digging when you put everything into it and don’t see anything day after day? How do find the inner strength to keep going? I’m frankly tired. I’m not sure if a Fuji camera would help me but it wouldn’t hurt, right? Love your posts!
Love your books!
How do you keep digging when you put everything into it and don’t see anything day after day? How do find the inner strength to keep going? I’m frankly tired. I’m not sure if a Fuji camera would help me but it wouldn’t hurt, right? Love your posts!
Sorry it posted 3 times. Not sure why.
You seem to always be combating that negative voice in my head! Thanks!
Thanks David for continuing to explain and refine the idea of vision. This really helped. I find vision elusive at times and humbling when it turns into the flow of the moment. Throw my name into the hat for a camera.
WOW, it’s 5 PM and I am starting my workday by reading your post. Just what I needed to hear. This applys very well to writing as well as photography. Thanks for this wisdom and yes, please enter my name for the Fuji draw.
Good stuff as always Daavid. Put my name in the hat please!
Must say I love everything you’ve been putting out, been reading you for a few years now. I’ve never been disappointed.
Wish I had your way with words. Always inspiring.
I’m going to take a chance and throw my name in the hat also. Keeping my fingers crossed. Would love for you to drop by my Facebook page, would greatly appreciate reading your comments.
Georges
Interesting article. I always enjoy your work and your perspective on the craft. Thanks for sharing. I’m game for that free camera, too!
Hi David. Please throw my name in the hat. I’ve heard so much about the new X100F and would love the opportunity to win it. Thank you for the opportunity. Cheers!
David, I truly love your content. Your podcast is the only one I listen to at normal speed (most are sped up significantly). Your books and courses have been so valuable to me in my journey as a photographer, and The Heart of the Photograph has given me so much to digest. It’s going to require a few readings for sure. Sincerely, I thank you for the work you’ve done in creating all this material for us to enjoy and learn from.
All the best, Andy.
Thanks for the great contest! Please enter my name into the drawing for the Fuji X100F.
David thank you for your years of inspiration. You are greatly appreciated.
Hi David, I have been following you for a while now and I do love your writings. I wish I could wonder in the fog, but most of the time I wonder under the midday sun of the country that is hosting me. Sad to say that on my day off, even if I get up early, I end up shooting something between 11am to 3 pm…pretty flat :-). Every time I promise myself to do better. Do I succeed? Nope hehehe. I’m getting older and to vin the X100F will be just the perfect tool to carry with me where ever I go. My D800 is getting heavier and heavier by the day. I would like to start one of those project (portraits of 100 stranger…more or less) and I think the X100F will be a good companion. Wish me good luck, keep up the good work and keep safe. Ciao and Thank you.
You are so generous! With your articles, your advice and now a camera. Putting my name in the hat and crossing my fingers. Thanks for all you do to keep me motivated!
What a great article. I struggle a lot with “having a plan” for what I’m photographing and this was a timely reminder to just play with the subject matter a little. I always appreciate your insights!
And yes, please throw my name in the hat for the Fuji.
Use failures to improve and never give up – it’s a great way to live your life and works for photography too. Thanks for the great post.
Hi David,
I enjoyed today’s topic. You are always thought provoking which is good, you are the only ‘mentor’ I follow that pushes (or reminds) me to think of my intent (or vision) as opposed to straight technical aspects and post processing. So thanks for that.
Please do include me in the running for the new Fiji x100F camera. Thanks!
Thank you for putting a name to my “sketch” photos and !
Before reading this, I was bewildered at my use of digital sketch photos, embarrassed by the sheer number taken sometimes.
Coming from a film background, the ability to use my digital camera as a sketching tool, working towards the perfect shot, has been counter to my core photography beliefs and training,
But, the ability to shoot more, without the cost of film constraints, has led to freedom to explore and some delightfully creative discoveries.
Thanks for making me feel good – and a little less guilty – about photo sketching!
Please include my name in your camera contest hat!
Hi David,
Have followed you for years now. I always welcome you into my email box because I know something special is waiting for me from you.
I have been a Fuji x100s shooter since that second model came out. I love the camera.
It would be sweet to get one of your x100F cameras.
Thank you for being such a sharing person.
Edwin Gustafson
Hi David, I’ve been listening to Beautiful Anarchy and love it. Maybe next time you open your group I’ll be able to join. Meanwhile, I like intent more than vision. I feel a bit lost right now. I’d love to snag that Fuji like everyone else! Be well! And thank you.
I love it. You’re right, David. It’s just like treasure hunting. You might find something, you might not. The excitement comes from the possibility of finding something; the journey matters most in my opinion.
And yes please, I’d like to win a Fuji X100F!
Great to know I’m not the only one who shows up at a place to shoot and then struggles finding a vision/perspective/purpose. Sometimes shooting away helps, then I leave the photos for a while, coming back to them for post after they’ve had time to rest so I’m not forcing anything. It helps when it is a place where I can return for more pictures after the initial round of snaps finally speaks to me.
PS – You have my permission to put my name in the hat for the camera!
Such a great reminder. Embracing imperfections is part of the process.
Go find out approach is instrumental in learning to love the process. Coaxing ones subconscious out to play takes time and play. I have learned to embrace the process and forget the product. To capture with intent is to grasp life through a child’s eyes. Thank you for the wonderful article and concepts.
It is good to hear that I am not alone in my struggle with having a ‘vision’ for my photographs… big sigh of relief! 😁 I do a lot of ‘just go out and see’. But as a relative newcomer to photography I find that your podcast has given me much to think about, and helped me to be more patient with myself in my progression to making better photographs. Thanks for your wonderful advice.
I would love to throw my name in the hat for that Fuji. More importantly though I want to thank you for sharing such inspiring content.
Your words came at the exact right moment – I just spent a day “digging” and wondering what was wrong with my vision that I wasn’t getting the photo I expected. Tomorrow I’m going to approach it differently. Instead of trying to fit what I see into my vision, I’m going to let my vision expand and evolve with what is before me until it finally says what I intended. Thank you!! And please enter me in the give away.
Photographers can be artists, and all art starts with a sketch. I love this concept, would love to be in the draw as well. Thanks David!
Thank you. As always, concise and directly on point. You seem to read my mind and know my thoughts snd struggles. It is must meaningful to here reality on my level. Thank you for sharing all that you. You continue to inspire me with courage to be the best I can be. Yes, please enter my name for that camera. You’re still the best, even when I don’t win.
David,
Thank you for your tireless work of inspiring us, your followers, to make better images by simply thinking about what we want to say with them. Thank you for exposing the reality of craft where exploration is key to the process. Can you imagine if by some freak circumstance your keeper ratio will skyrocket to unthinkable 100 percent? Maybe someone will call it photographer’s heaven, but I think you will see the opposite in it. So may your diamond of an image be found under a mountain of sketches!
Be safe!
LOL, It has been maybe 7 years since I last left a comment on this blog. But read it faithfully, and you always encourage me. 10 years ago, I was really scared of taking this journey of being an artist and pursuing creativity, and your voice, your words really taken me through the seasons. I have clipped and saved a lot of your writing on evernote, so you know I was surprised with the title of this blog post. But I get it. Thank you for sharing.
Can I join the big hat? Thanks for opening my eyes and moving me on from the good old film days when shots were precious because you only had 24 – 36 on a roll of film and it was was expensive to process, especially for a student.
Fantastic encouragement in this article. I often feel pressured by the primary client to hurry the process of getting “the” shot even if it isn’t defined well in the beginning and we are all working towards something stunning which we recognise when it appears but can take time to develop. Thank you . Please
Enter me into your draw if you can post a winner a camera to New Zealand ?
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
Is the title of all of my photo collections.
Seriously though, I really appreciate the candor in the way that you express you own doubts. You make it okay, to feel like I’m just groping around in the dark. Your insight provides a bit of light, in that search for a wonderful image.
Thank you for your generosity and interest.
Take care,
David
You pen words that my heart understands and I struggle to find. Thank you for sharing your talent with me and so many others. We are better because of it.
I like the idea of digging to find the photograph. Too often I don’t dig enough if I’m not “feeling it” and probably am missing some great shots. Thank you for this perspective.
Came for the contest, stayed for the content!
Nice to see that even in a seasoned artist the process continues to evolve and be recognized differently.
Please put me in the drawing as well….Thanks!
Always good to read you.
Count me in too. Thx
I forgot to add to my comment a moment ago to be please included in the drawing, that vision is the reason you push the shutter button. You “see” something that you want to keep for yourself or that you want to share with others…. This is your vision, your reason.
Thank you so much for your down-to- earth advice. I so enjoy your emails, and the wisdom that they bring.
Please add my name to the hat 🙂 ~ Franziska
Hey David. It is encouraging to know that “real” photographers suffer from the same issues I do. I have followed you for several years and find your teaching style amazingly in sync with my “learning style”. Thanks for everything and please stay healthy.
-Tom
Keep up the great work. Love to get the camera.
Please add me to the virtual hat to be included in the drawing to win a new smaller, light weight camera. My back would really appreciate it. Thanks
Danelle J
As per usual, a very inspiring and thought-provoking essay. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and expertise with us, David! And. of course, the giveaway camera. The click…click…click part made me laugh out loud…it’s so true for the way I take photos, as well. Please add my name to the hat!
David, I appreciate your insight into capturing an image, as most people only see the final product and never experience the internal turmoil of the photographer. Personally, I may go out with a vision but on arrival find that the shot envisaged is not available requiring me to modify. I may not be disappointed as I head home, but on closer inspection of the images on a larger screen, I can be pleasantly surprised. Thank you for the insight.
I keep reading about the need for vision. I still do not understand what it is. I just bought an old out of print book about how to acquire or develop it from Abebooks. It seems to be one of those intangible concepts like mood in a photograph. We recently had a zoom lecture about mood in our camera club. The speaker showed a lot of landscape images, but did not once mention either the word mood or explained what mood the image contained. I will still read the book, even though you suggest I need look no further. I find your concept of making sketches interesting. When I go somewhere to take photographs I do not have a clear objective. But that for me is the buzz. Will I return with an image I like. Surprisingly I usually do, maybe just one. As I say that is the thing that motivates & excites me. Unlike a landscape photographer who sets out, if the light etc is not right he has to return another day. It reminds me of the reply the artist David Hockney made, when someone commented that the weather was not right. He replied for who? Last year I went to our local heritage railway station, again with no clear vision I guess. A steam locomotive came in & I like every other photographer I took some photographs of the engine. I hung about noticed a mechanic polishing the wheels of the loco. I took a photo & called it TLC. I entered it in a club competition, the judge did not understand what the image was about! I was recently taking some architectural photographs of a church & the entrance. A young lady came along & started reading the notices in the porch entrance, interrupting my photography. For a moment I stopped taking architectural photographs. But then decided to take several photographs of the young lady in the porch. I supose I switched to street-style photography. Maybe vision is the same thing as intent. Maybe it is serendipity. But I think it pays to keep an open mind. I have takenphotographs of window displays when I have gone outdoing street photography. Does that window display count as street photography, is it urban photography or is it a found still life? Who cares? I don’t.
Anyway I have that affliction of GAS. I have to say I have a lot of gear. As much from upgrading & hanging on to my old stuff. Having seen how little the stuff is worth on ebay. I also keep my old cameras so I have a spare. I damaged my main camera when I was last on holiday- that finishec my enjoyment for the rest of the holiday. So now I take my entry level body & kit lens as a spare with me. The other reason I keep my entry-level camera is that it is light with its kit lens & not too heavy when I go on a hike.
I could do with a new compact quality replacement camera for street photography. Someone asked me if I was a tourist.
Have you noticed whenever Jeff Beck or some other top guitar player is shown at home, how many guitars he has on display? I know they are all tools. But in my tool box I have short & long screwdrivers. Some with a spade end, some with a cross-shaped end. Some that will fit into a power drill. One for electrical work that lights up when a live wire is being checked. I have a set of tiny ones which is useful when I want to tighten the screws on my spectacles.
As I like to take architectural photographs I need a PC lens. However I would be happy with the Fuji compact for street photography. So please enter me in the draw.
It’s good to listen to your podcasts, read your articles & your books. I find I am reading less about gear& PS & more about the subjects that you cover- creativity, the compositional side of photography etc. Keep up the good stimulating ideas.
Kep safe, keep blogging, keep writing, keep stretching our photography. May I always be lost for a reply, when people ask me what do I photograph.
Look forward to seeing your name in my inbox.
Sometimes you need to put the self doubt talks aside, and just push the bottom. And see what comes of it – instead of overthinking. Some of my best images are when I remember to let that go, and experiment.
A Beautiful Anarchy is my go to book at the moment. I have many of your other publications, magazines and am always taken with your way with words the enlightens the visual image….
It’s not about the gear but the right gear helps one to focus on the intent of the vision! Grateful for you!! ❤
Too many cameras? I can help with that problem!
What?!?! After all these years, Vision Isn’t Everything?!?! Cool, man. I’m getting gear!!
David, you have a knack for waking up MY intent with that gentle elbow nudging me out of those little ruts. Thanks.
Hey David, throwing my name in the hat. Cheers!
Forgot to add – please enter me in the draw!
Sketches. Love it. Thanks David.
Great work that you do. Thank you for the time and effort you put in.
David did a presentation for our camera club lately. I have been thinking over many of the things he said. My intent feels like a quest There are times when intent isn’t there and there is no flow. However, it’s always good to be out there with my camera in hand.
I always appreciate your words!
Thanks for doing what you do, David. After, well, let’s just say more than 50 years of making images, I’m still refining/shifting my vision! I still have my Yashica Mat 124G twin lens reflex simply because it slows me down:
. 6×6 cm frame
. waist-level viewfinder
. everything in the viewfinder is reversed!
. single, fixed-focal-length lens
. 12 exposures/roll!
Yes, I love my digital equipment too, but it can be too easy at times.
Sketch images, that is such a positive way to think about the process and not be too judgemental about what you see on the back of the camera. The feedback loop between something catching your eye, a sketch and more experimenting until you have captured your intent, awesome way to think about the process .
Happy to be included in your giveaway
Love the blog. Very inspiring. Please keep it up.
I have enjoyed photography as a hobby for close to 50 years. I have spent most of these years focused primarily on the technical aspects. My most recent photographic activities have led me in to focus more on vision and intent. Your courseware, blog posts, and other resources have helped me immensely. This article in particular really resonates with me because I many times have the feeling “I don’t really have a vision” or “I really don’t know what my intent is”. It makes total sense that it is a process of exploration to develop my vision with each new opportunity. Please add my name to the drawing for the FujiFilm X100F. Thanks!
Thank you for this. I often get frustrated with myself because of my wandering in the fog and feeling lost. I thought other people just know what they are doing and follow they’re vision clearly. This message is a great relief that I’m not alone but more importantly makes me feel that im not wasting my time braving the fog (it makes me feel like a hack haha). Please add me to the fuji camera draw^^
Thank you for sharing your insights and encouragement! Please enter my name for the camera giveaway.
I always find great nuggets of education and inspiration in your blogs. Love your honesty, and I feel like as I’ve been following you, I have become a better photographer due to the advice you give, and me actually practicing some of it! Please put my name in the hat! Thanks for sharing your gifts!
David – I enjoy how you approach photography, and sometime find myself quoting you to myself when I am traveling and out taking photos. I used your approach to how you photography India, with a specific theme to shoot one aspect, not, “here’s India! in ten photos or less.”
I would say your move to intent from vision creates a lot more comfort. When people ask me about my vision it is easy to get lost in how to respond, and while I may not be clear and comfortable in talking about my vision…. it is far easier and more direct to reflect on my intent…. where it is the intent for an individual photograph or my intent on how I am going to approach photography in general.
Yes, please put my name in the hat for the Fuji camera.
I do think “intent” is a better guiding word than “vision.” Intent is a mental attitude. A vision is something that is or has been seen. Intent implies a process. At least it works better for me.
*** Would you please throw my name in the hat, and then pull it out! LOL
I always enjoy reading your blog posts! I appreciate your honesty about your own journey to the beautiful photos you take, and I appreciate even more your desire to help more of us to find and share our own unique vision in our own photography. (I think it’s equally important that you are encouraging us to JUST ENJOY PHOTOGRAPHY!)
I still remember the first time I shot 9 rolls of film in 24 hours (first time at the Grand Canyon) and had just enough “keepers” to start thinking of myself as a photographer. Never mind the rest :).
Love your insights and I appreciate you giving me new ways to think about my photography.
You aren’t just a talented photographer, you are also a very eloquent writer. I’m still working on refining my vision and honing my intent. Hopefully one day I will get there. Ancora imparo.
Please add me onto the list for the Fuji too.
Thank you David. Enjoying your blog posts and your courses.
Sketching takes the stress out of the idea of being intentional – thanks!
David, you always make me pause. How refreshing to know that you, too, struggle to figure it out. How kind of you to give away a Fuji camera. I’ve never won anything, but maybe. …
It’s always encouraging to hear that even the pros don’t always know what they’re going to get when they shoot. And, to think about what worked and what didn’t in each successive shot. Thanks
Hi David, I have several of your books and am also a past course participant. In the beginning I struggled with your mantra of Vision is Better and then onto what is my intent, or what am I trying to say. I still struggle with the idea of having something to say, but feel a lot more comfortable about my picture making. In the end I make pictures, first for me, then for my family, then for whoever else want to look at them (Instagram, prints, etc). So when I wander the city with my camera looking at buildings, light, shape, shadow etc, I’m not looking to say much at all. I photograph what catches my interest. The same thing happens when I go on a trek through the Aussie bush. It’s when I get home and start scrolling through the shots that I start to identify potential images that might show the majesty of the bush, or the beauty in structures. There’s not really a lot of premeditated vision, or intent there, but I think what is there is a need to create some focus on the subject for the viewer. To make the viewer stop and look into the image and take it in. To encourage them to see the world as I do, in small rectangular segments of the whole. A single light fitting on a wall is of much greater interest to me than the whole building for example, or the bark on a tree is more interesting than the whole forest. Do you think I’m getting close to what you are teaching, or am I way off the mark. Take care, and thank you for doing what you do. Jack
I always enjoy reading your articles, books, and listening to your podcast. Like most people, I haven’t been able to do a lot of photography in the past year or so, but I always appreciate the honest insights you offer. Hopefully I will be able to channel all this inspiration into something new when the world reshapes itself into whatever it may look like when this pandemic is under control.
Oh yes, and please do include me in the X100F drawing! 🙂
David, thank you for the inspiration and motivation to keep trying. I would love the chance to win the Fuji!!
I have been a serious photographer for fifty years. I find that David helps me use my mind and eyes better which is what I need to continue to be creative. Thank you.
Could you post a sketch or two and how that translated? Please–hat in the ring
Love your style of photography and love every blog you posted
I love reading your blogs. You have a way of infusing the joy and adventure .into doing photography. Your manner of expression fosters learning of important lessons even if they may not be the exact point of your message. A frequent experience that has me coming back for more.
I”ve learnt so much from you over the years of reading your blogs, ebooks and books. I love what you say here about it being an exploration. So often what I end up capturing is so different from what I’d expected to. That’s the joy and surprise that comes with taking the time to just be wherever I am. And yes, I’d love the camera – please put my name onto your list.
With all your comments it’s hard to convince myself to respond except I want you to know how much I appreciate the effort to share your expertise with us. Teaching is your jam as well as your photography!
I would LOVE to have the Fuji! I’m not a pro but I jolly well enjoy improving my skills! It is my joy every day to see what I can create. I feel jazzed and challenged at every email or article I receive!! So here’s to a new camera and a BIG thanks for all you do. So appreciated!!
Hi there I’ve been following you for a while now and I wish I could buy your books you are one of the few educators out there that makes sense to me please add me to the draw I’ll probably never win but I want to say thanks very very much for all the work you do with the little I have learned from you my photos have improved drastically over the last few years
All the best
Dru
I love your blog because it’s not about the perfect photo, it’s about the path to a good photo. And I want to throw my name into the hat for drawing the camera
You always inspire me, and I really appreciate your focus on the art & vision & intent instead of the rules, the sharpness, and the technical perfection. While I agree it’s not all about the gear, I would love the Fuji X100F.
Thanks for all the great content you share and for the inspirations. We appreciate you so much!
Kindly include my name in the list. 🙂
Once again you’ve written something helpful and worth reading. Every Day I get so many emails from photographers, and 99.9% of the time they’re really just trying to sell me something. Their ad might be cushioned in a description of technique, equipment reivews, advise on composition, etc. But they’re hardly ever worth reading and I’m to the point where I trash the majority of them without even opening them. Your emails, on the other hand, are always worth reading. I’ve got a number of your books, and I’m sure I’ll buy more. But it’s so refreshing to get an email from a photographer that isn’t just trying to sell me presets, or courses. I hope you continue writing these articles,. Oh yah, and I hope I win that Fuji too.
I love the way you use sketches going from Nope, Nope, to I Love it! I often think What If as I try different POV. It’s fun and often has surprising results.
That. Was. Everything.
You just clarified who you are and what you’re saying to my very soul. It was like you gave me the permission to be comfortable in the process. “Nope” is one step closer to where I want to be, and I never have to be embarrassed or concerned (or sweaty, if you really want to know the truth!) that I don’t see it before I start. I learned that as a hairdresser, but for got it as a photographer. Until now. Thank you, David. I also love that I can hear your voice now. Love the podcasts too.
Hi David. Thanks for emphasizing the philosophy and the Why of photography rather than just technique. It makes you stand apart. Please enter me in the draw for the camera giveaway. Thanks!
Sure, David – add my hat to the draw!
I can get on board with your message. And I am here for the camera drawing, too.
I am very glad to read you describe my own process in photography. I see that you need to have a clear vision of what you want to say and how to see with an image. I have no such vision. I work much as you describe – as an archeologist digging for artifacts, slowly going toward the artifact, the reward, the image that can grip people.
As a dedicated amateur, I too, of course, would love to win the Fuji. (I wonder if I will like it as much as I loved the Leicas I had in the ’80s.)
beautiful words (yet again!) Thanks David. Brings to mind “digging” by Seamus Heaney. “…but I’ve no spade to follow men like them” – but I do have a camera….dig, dig, dig. keep going…so grateful for your work.
…and hat. ring. yes. please.
Thanks for all your encouragement and advice. I am plugging away with my smartphone, and your words help!
I’m a big fan of you, David. I discovered you a few years ago now, in the 2014 5DayDeal bundle, and since them you have become one of my mentors. I’ve read all your books and I bought of course your video courses. I really learned a lot from you and I take this opportunity to thank you very much. Your views on photography and the creative process are inspiring and guide me throughout my work. Thanks again. And yes, sure, put my name in the hat.
I can stand for hours just snapping away to get the right photo, sometimes I wish I had taken just that bit of extra time to get the composition right or a slightly longer shutter speed. Thanks for putting me in the draw, love Fuji and would really like to give this one a go!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. One of the main things I appreciate about your teaching style is that you don’t simply tell me what to think, you encourage asking questions to clarify my own personal vision about what I want to communicate through the photo. Cheers!
David, I agree that I usually don’t have a vision going in but do sometimes have an inkling of what I am hoping for from a given location. Part of intent is seeing the potential of a new location or returning to a previously visited location and taking a sketch image that you made the first visit and improving on it. I find that part of the joy of shooting at a new location is finding surprises that can be photographed.
cheers,
Mark
I was reading another article today… dancing into and around the teacup, about the exploration of a subject, but yours went one step further, the absence of an idea of what you would do with that teacup. It also goes hand and hand with the advice that you need to make lots of errors to learn better. Somehow this is all tied together and extremely useful.
Thank you.
Let’s be honest, your content is amazing David, but this comment is for the camera! 🙂
This post allowed me to understand my frustration when I’m traveling with a group of photographers and not able to stay as long as I’d like at site. The workshop leader has scouted, reconnoitered, and knows what to expect; they’ve carefully chosen the time of day to take us there, they know what lens they’ll use, maybe they truly have a vision of what the want to capture (or maybe not!). I’ve just arrived; I’ve shot the image that everyone makes of “the thing to photograph,” sometimes after competing for space to set down my tripod. Maybe after that I’ll have a few minutes left to start to think about what to sketch, but then I hear, “Time to go!” What I need to do is to find a project close to home, to try to see my current environment with fresh eyes, be able to truly sketch by returning to the same place under different conditions. As always, thanks for the fresh insight, David!
(Deeply Wild is sensational, btw. Thanks for the freebie!)
I like the analytical process implied with “intent”. It’s a fresh thought on a common topic. But it may not adequately express the need to “see the photo” before you take it. How about “visual intent”?
Yeah, quite agree. Most of the time when you are off to explore you don’t have a vision or an intent in mind. And in this exploration comes first and hoping inspiration hits you.
Yeah, quite agree. Most of the time when you are off to explore you don’t have a vision or an intent in mind. And in this exploration comes first and hoping inspiration hits you.
Geez I want that Fuji too! 😀
Thanks for all that you share. You are a diligent educator.
Funny that with all the ease of digital imaging the concept of sketching is hard for some to understand. Previously it was processing different speed films with different requirements (push, pull, clip testing), then grabbing the lupe (magnifier) to lean over contacts or slides on a light table. This on top of having either different camera bodies for various speed films and/or rewinding film to change it before reloading it carefully advancing to the mark.
Please STAY HEALTHY, & keep smiling,
Your post reminds me of something I asked my kids to do every now and then. They would come home from school and when asked how their day went, it was always “boring.” So I would ask them to pick something mundane during the day and build a story around it to make it into something exceptional. Some of their stories were epic, sometimes not so much.
I try to do the same when looking for a shot; look at something and figure out how to make it exceptional. Roof shingles, a grass lined creek, asphalt, tree bark, rust, etc. It would annoy the family when we went on vacations. “Oh look, there’s Dad photographing sand or dirt again!” It’s exactly what you are talking about doing. Sometimes it works better then others but it keeps me looking.
Thanks for the reminder and would appreciate the offer to put my name in your hat for the x100F.
Keep up the great work, I look forward to reading more.
I have been reading and saving your articles for a long time now. It’s like a continuing photography course that advances as the field continues to. I really am thankful I found you. Thanks and keep it up. I don’t usually have much luck winning things so I’m not doing this in hopes to. More to let you know how much I appreciate the articles, books, hints, etc.
Thanks for all that.
Love your posts and insight. I tend to follow Garry Winogrand’s somewhat similar approach. “I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed”. It’s often followed up with an intent!
Yes, David, I would like to throw my name in the hat. And thanks too for the excellent, thought provoking reading.
It’s so interesting to see your thought evolving, thank you
My home is where my hat and my camera is. Your hat may be full of names – mine too.
I’ve been following your work for almost a year now and everything that I’ve come across is brilliant. You’ve inspired me in many ways and for that, I thank you immensely.
Nice article. It’s always good to know that photographers better than me struggle sometimes. I use this technique a lot because I have trouble seeing the whole frame through the viewfinder.
I’m not sure what the word is… vision, insight, or something else. I know I don’t do well when photography becomes a part-time hobby and I go months without. I’m more successful by getting out regularly, taking my time, and making photos. Over time, these outings take on a peaceful, meditative quality. Focusing on myself, caring less about what others think, and taking good pictures that make me happy seems to be the key.
Thank you for A Beautiful Anarchy. It’s probably my favourite podcast.
Please enter my name for the free Fuji give-away.
Many thanks.
David, thanks for your inspiration. I’ve used my camera as a sketching tool for years. Please put my name in the hat for the fuji camera. Thanks!
Hi David, thanks for another great post. Your honesty and insight is always so encouraging and helpful. I’ve learned a lot over the years from you- thanks so much for all you do!
– Jessie
Ps I’d love to be entered for the camera please!
Thanks David, your insights always lea e me thinking.
Thank you David for your important insight on Vision. I usually just see a place or person and think that is what I want; it turns out that I probably hit only 1% of what I could actually see or visualize when doing so.
Very much appreciate your insight with deep gratitude for helping me see better!!
Yes, put my name in the hat! Thanks!
This is the most relatable blog post I’ve read from you, David. I have been a devoted amateur photographer for the past 20 years and have a decent sense of what kind of photo I’m expecting to make at a location. But I’ve fallen short often enough that I wouldn’t have the confidence to say I have a true “vision” of the final shot when I first arrive on scene.
Outside of a controlled environment, most of my photographs result from the iterative process that you described so well. Testing out my “What if I…” scenarios is frustrating but so alluring when you finally get it “right.”
Thank you David, your newsletter is always an inspiring moment !
Please put my name in the hat 🙂
Thank you for this article! Just have to remember to keep digging. And yes, put me in for Fuji; the X100 line had been on the wishlist for some time.
I always learn something… or “re-learn” something I had forgotten. I love your approach to teaching, so down to earth. Thanks!
Freedom to enjoy the search=why I love photography.
Photography frees my mind from things that otherwise consume me.
It is my Zen.
When I first became serious about my photos, I would go to a place and wait for people to get out of the frame then snap.
I realize now that those photos were dead and empty.
Following your suggestions and those of other photographers I admire, I now go to a place to photograph, scout out an interesting perspective, and WAIT for someone to enter the frame and arrive at just-the-right-point.
Serendipity turns the Mundane into Magic, and a person in the right place, not because you placed them there, but because they gifted you their presence is exhilarating!
Thank you for your Stream of Consciousness writing that encourages us all to open our minds. Terry
Thank again David for your insight and challenging the statua quo of many traditional thoughts on the photographic process. Learning some of your process I take far fewer shots just hoping for somethung and now have a foundation to start from.
I thank you also for sharing your gift as a gift to others.
Amanda
Thank you, David, for sharing your voice and creative eye. Everything you’ve talked about here applies to all visual arts. This acrylic mixed media artist (and amateur iPhone photographer) is very grateful!!
Hi David,
Love the chiselling away to find the idea. Will share with my writing class, think it might help them too!
Thanks,
James
I like to walk with my camera and as I’m walking I often anticipate what might just work. Sometimes I’m right. Sometimes it’s a “false lead”. Either way, it’s an adventure, an exploration, an anticipation of what might be. This “sixth sense” developed after years of trial and error, and by having learned how the camera will interpret the scene. Sometimes, while I’m making the photo, I envision how I will process it on my computer. Having so many options keeps photography my passion in life and, thankfully, more passionate about life itself.
Your dedication and passion about photography acts as another source of inspiration. Much appreciated!
BTW, had you envisioned getting so many replies? Thanks for the kind offer.
Always digging!
Usually a gem in your writing and like you, I enjoy sharing your exploration into the meanings in our craft, art or whatever; to stir ingredients simmering away, looking for a recipe for a successful composition/image. Thank you for raising the level of thought and discussion about making better images, your writings are filled with new ideas and suggestions for fueling our creativity.
Thanks for this, David. I share your process and just love that intense feeling of being “in the zone” when I start to see better images on the back of my camera after shooting through the obligatory earlier iterations. I get so involved in what I’m doing that I actually forget the time that I’m burning through in the zone. Often much to my wife’s annoyance.
I would be delighted to win the draw which you are holding for the Fuji X100F. And despite what you mention in your post…X definitely marks the spot when it comes to Fuji cameras. Fuji makes a wonderfully engineered line of cameras – I believe it was Zack Arias who called Fuji “the poor man’s Leica”. He’s not far off the mark in that respect.
I appreciate you and your insight into the creative process. Sketch and dig to see what you find!
Thank you for your free camera offer. Fingers crossed..
Thank you for your inspirational posts, wonderful books and your podcast. Here’s my hat!
David, Thank you for all sharing all your experience. I’ve found that I need to slow down and do more of what you’re sharing today. Maybe this will help me get the photo to look like what I see in my head.
Hello David,
I regularly read you articles/blogs, listen to your podcast and have been going through probably all of your workshops.
Your photography thoughts and teaching are extremely refreshing, inspiring, thought provoking, … => simply sparking to go out exploring with the camera. I’ve been learning a lot, most importantly to just go and do my best work.
Yes, please put my name in the hat as well.
Your blogs and videos are always so helpful. Thank you!
Thanks a lot for this article, David. I started photography a couple of years ago. I live in Heidelberg, Germany and I found your books here in our bookstore. Since then I follow you and have learned so much to improve my work
Please put my name in the hat, thank you.
I agree. The term I use is beachcombing. Wandering hoping to find a new path or to be distracted by something interesting.
Beachcombing! Nice!
My favourite part from the blog is the
“… (click) Hmmm…
(click) Interesting, what if I…
(click) Nope. But…
(click) Nope. Drat. Oh, but…
(click) Ooooh, hang on a…
…”
and the most annoying when it happens after you select a place cause you like it from someone other’s articel, picture, you make plan, have your ideas, then you’re there, and …. nothing. You’re trying and trying and it doesn’t work. Get back several times if possible.
Nothing.
And if you’re lucky, maybe next time e.g. you’ll be just after a rain/storm, and Yesss!
You always bring it back home to the core of whats important. You’re the best. Aaaaand I also wouldn’t be sad to win a free Fuji camera 😉
Thank you Mr. duChemin for your efforts to make us becoming better photographers. And this little Fuji would be perfect to bring with me everywhere.
wow! I would love to win this camera. Actually, I have been thinking of going from my Nikon to Fuji as I had a car accident and I need a lighter camera. This would be perfect, thanks for giving me a chance to win it!!
This is so true. Starting a project is a leap in the dark, one has to trust to one’s capacity to create and hope that sometimes, by working and playing there will be a result. There is always something new and sometimes a production to boast about. This is a very hopeful article, one that is sometimes missing from teaching. Thanks you.
Thanks David for the insights and inspiration. Always enjoy your writing.
Please enter my name in the draw for the FujiFilm camera.
Love your points about the exploration as valid approach in itself! “Vision” is so often presented as if you’re supposed to know what it is in advance, rather than search it out. Your way of seeing this makes so much more sense to me. Thanks!
Thank you! You have been one of my precious guides in following my nose into photography!
Vison, intent and practice work hand in hand to lead to grace, the moment where the story is captured in the most succinct way. The millisecond that says it all!
It is a joy to contemplate the thoughts you share about making photographs. Thank you
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Some sage advice. The camera would be a nice birthday present, though, but I’d take your advice over just getting new gear any day…It’s so important that I’m even telling my cousin to tell her teenage daughter to read your work because I know it will definitely help. Thank you so much for all you do!
Vision is a thought, concept, or object formed by one’s imagination, or a manifestation to the senses of something immaterial. When I take photos, sometimes I started with a vision like taking photos of a flower with morning dews with the sunlight in the back; sometimes I just look through the viewfinder at random objects and look for inspiration.
For me I need both being intentional and unintentional when I try to be creative.
Yes please enter my name to the hat for a Fuji camera draw.
Your writing is just as inspiring as your photography. Thanks for sharing both.
David,
I love the analogy of digging for treasure with your camera as the shovel. I will certainly use this as a reminder to approach photography the sense of adventure that digging for treasure imparts. As a “rule follower” I need these reminders.
I would love to be the grateful recipient of the fujifilm x100f because I would like a camera with the dials on top so that I can become proficient at adjusting exposure while looking through the viewfinder. Thank you!
Hey, David!
Thanks for the inspiration! I’d love to win that sweet camera, too! 🙂
“Exploration before Expression” a great catch phrase very succinct. Something I’ll have to try with my digital photography. And as with any exploration or digging effort is required! Looking at the number of comments you will have to do some further digging!!!
LOVE THIS!
Makes me think of that magic line from JRR Tolkien …
‘All that is gold does not glitter. And not all those who wander are lost.’
Thank you David.
Wow. You are correct! That’s exactly what I do. The old time view camera photographers always said that they walked around with a portable frame to set up their shots before exposing one sheet of film. I do as you described with my digital camera to set up the shot. Seems equivalent to me.
Thanks very much for writing this post.
Glad to know that I’m not the only one feeling like I’m wandering around like a fool when taking photos. A lot of the time I just give up but this process gives me hope for the next adventure.
This is a most inspiring article. A pathway to future photography, a new path to follow. I know that I need “sketches’, but so often I hurry on down to get that shot and that shot does not live up to my potential. I know that, but I needed a push in the right direction and your article provided that. Thank you, as always your are an inspiration.
It truly amazes me after all these years of following you (I still remember your website with the dark background and yellow globe/countries on it) you still manage to come up with yet more insights on the process of photography and also your ability to adeptly convey them to us so that we can improve our skills-and not feel like idiots who are just wandering around in a fog. Cheers! And thank you.
David,
I’m still very new to your posts, this is just my second, but I really appreciate your insights and thought. Definitely rich food for thought and definitely resonates.
I think for me the idea of sketch images makes a lot of sense, and my personal takeaway is that even on vacation, when I’m capturing a scene even if just for a memory, it might be worth reviewing a little more carefully and seeing if it caught the memory and story I want to record. This advice, in my opinion is just as important for that kind of “work” as it is for going out only to shoot and create a product.
The other thing that just kept popping in my head is how the modern digital world had enabled this method. In the old days the only way you could do this was with a polaroid before you committed film – wow how times have changed – definitely for the better in this case!
Thanks,
David
I’ve got no choice to keep digging down into the same scenes thanks to lockdown, but it might help to look at it as a blessing in disguise.
Thanks for all the inspiration , David. The courses you offer are amazing and have helped me immensely. Yet my pictures look nothing like yours. A sign you are teaching the right things and not making clones of yourself,
When I used to shoot film, I think I shot with more “intent. I also think I knew more instinctively what my vision was for an image before clicking when I shot with film. I’ve been trying to regain that intention. Still, it gets difficult with the luxury of easily-disposed digital images. Even when I take “sketch” images (I never thought to call them that before!), I find something magical in most of them, even if only one captures that sweet spot.
As always, thanks for granting us a peek inside your process.
Savannah .”
Thank you for the very useful metaphor that a camera is a shovel. I often wonder why I take so many shots. I will keep digging.
Thanks for your continued inspiration David!
Please put my name in the hat!
I like this article very much. As always, your blog posts help a lot to reconsider the technique and style of my way to photograph.
Please put me in the hat for the Fuji as well. Thank you!
Insightful article, one that I empathise with as my process is similar. I have a general idea of what I might find in a location but I must ‘work’ the composition, exposure and other adjustment in real time to reach a point of refinement that is ‘success’. The refinement often includes visualizing what I can do in post processing to reach the image rendering that I had termed success in the field.
I am a FUJI shooter. So a 100F would be very welcome!
Great article. Put my name in please.
My word David, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a photographer say they have too many cameras. I do, however, appreciate the chance to win one.
What you call your sketch images, I call my practice shots. Similar methods of trying different things till something comes together for that one (or several) cool shots.
Hey David, I hope you have a very big hat!
(Pleae add my name to the pile)
Throw my name into your big hat, as well, please.
It’s interesting how the image capturing process has changed since the advent of digital capture. I can’t imagine doing this with film – of course there’d be no immediate feedback other than with Polaroid.
I almost always resonate with what you are saying. More importantly maybe I resonate with how you say what you have to say. Thanks for being there for me to learn and grow.
Planning to recommend my photo club have you as a guest speaker. Great idea.
I totally get this! I go thru a lot of “Nopes” before getting to a keeper, but I always imagine that you see a shot, take it, and move on… ☺
Would love to win a Fuji, especially now that my Canon is starting to fail.
Thanks for another good one, David!
Ever since I took my first photography class I’ve been trying to be more intentional when I shoot. 20-some years later and I’m still working on intent. Your post serves as a good reminder. (Although now it’s much easier to make tests shots with your phone and not waste film!)
Dear David, the most exiting and inspiring thing about you is your personal trajectory as artist and entrepreneur! I follow your path from the past times of “Within the Frame” and VISIONMONGERS, your accident in Italy … and I am always impressed by your ability to evolve and transform your mind, your attitude and your creativity … and I am also impressed about how many people are waiting to see your next creative transformations …
kind regards,
Theo
ahhhhh crazy for that little fuji! thanks for all the help throughout the years!
I look forward to A Beautiful Anarchy and your emails every Sunday morning. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and processes, especially for letting us know that you too stumble around at times.
Yes, please put my name in the hat! Thank you!
I recently started a 100 day project that will be confined to taking a photo a day of what is happening in a 6ftx2ft flower bed…dead of winter to spring bloom. So your vision and intent really opened my thinking to change how I was approaching this project. Instead of “documenting” some part of the flower bed each day, I will intentionally make a few photos that will possibly be more “arty” and hopefully show the process in two ways..my growing skill using a camera in manual mode (mostly auto now) and the growth of the flower bed in photos that might be keepers. Intentionally looking for the “something” or “some angle” or “some setting” that will make a difference in my subject and what and how I see. A new camera would be a good thing as by the time I finish this project, I might be able to work in manual mode most of the time! Thank you for all the words that jog my brain to think about my photography in different ways.
Always well written and insightful. Thank you!.
Another great, insightful article!
Please put my name in the hat!
You’ve been my inspiration since your Craft & Vision days and I will have every eBook you’ve produced as well as your later ones! Love your philosophical approach and your authenticity. Thanks for your positive contribution to so many lives.
This is often how I work as well and it’s totally worth it when it all comes together in the end. The one thing that I have really learned over the years is that you just have to keep shooting and trying different things because there is always a way to tell the story but sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to see. That’s when persistence really pays off and even when you think you’re done shooting something, you should shoot it a little bit more. That’s often where the great shots come from I think.
Such a lovely giveaway- thanks for doing this! I’ve been eyeing this little camera for a long time.
Nothing like a contest to get people to jump in a comment. I want to thank you for this article. Vision feels like such a grand term, somehow almost spiritual, as if it should come from outside, like a muse. But intent – now that is different. That is something I can construct myself. It is a choice – something over which I have control. It is definitely something I can, and will work with.
Read your book, Within the Frame, and it led me to a MFA.
What your piece today reminds me more than anything is that photography takes work and discipline. Because one has an “eye” and can sometimes get away with being lazy, that doth not satisfying photography make.
Thanks for the Fuji thought but still use my old Panasonic GX8.
Frank
Ha Ha, that’s a lot of comments. I don’t usually offer my thoughts here, but you’ve lured me in. While I’m partly here to blatantly try to win that lovely camera, I will take the chance to say how much I enjoy your words and advice. It was a bit of a relief to discover your opinions and approach as too often, when I’ve been trying to learn more, I’ve ended up down a rabbit warren of photographic opinion. Anyway, you manage to make it all more achievable, accessible and best of all, enjoyable, which I for one have greatly appreciated.
Take Care,
John
Always love your writing. I find it very inspirational whether I’m behind my camera or my easel. Thank you for your generosity. And yes, please put my name in the hat for the cool camera!
Thoughtful and thought provoking post as always. Thank you! Please include me in the draw for the camera.
Thank you, thank you thank you. You take fabulous pictures and I don’t but we use the same process –
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Hmmm…
(click) Interesting, what if I…
(click) Nope. But…
(click) Nope. Drat. Oh, but…
(click) Ooooh, hang on a…
(click) This gives me an idea.
As yet I seldom get past this stage but you have given me hope. So thank you
Thanks for all the work and effort you put into the newsletters and podcasts. They are all helping me find my vision and keep me inspired to keep exploring. I always get a tingle of excitement when I download the latest podcast or receive the latest newsletter. Please keep it up. You inspire a lot of people to keep getting better.
Name –> into the hat, yes please! Thank you for your continued insights, appreciated and helpful.
Yes, please throw my name in the hat. I’d love to join the Fuji fan club!
And more importantly, thanks for everything that you do. I have been repeatedly motivated and inspired by your many books, blogs, emails, and podcasts. They have really helped me in my photography.
Interesting. Thank you.
Looking forward to the next one.
By the number of comments so far, the chances of reading mine are virtually nil.
However I must say that I don’t need or want your Fuji camera – best go to somebody who might make good use of it. I’m pretty happy with what I have and far too old to learn a new system.
Can’t agree with your ‘scattergun’ approach to taking photographs – just me who had difficulty in having enough money to buy a single 36 exposure roll of Kodachrome and that usually had to last for a couple of weeks. The attempt was always to try to make every exposure count, and yes, you held your viewfinder up to your eye to assess a photo, but you rarely pressed the shutter button. Why do you press yours so much?
I suggest you don’t – reduce wear on the camera and save time sorting and deleting subsequently.
Who am I to say this? Good question!
As an amateur photograph who wants to keep improving my photographs, I love how you demystify the process. I find it easy to look at a compelling photograph by a professional like you and imagine that you saw the photo before you even arrived, took one look around and immediately knew where and how to get the photo you had envisioned. It is so refreshing to hear you describe your discovery of vision as a process that includes taking some not-so-compelling photographs. This blog encourages me to keep taking photographs and to explore different perspectives when I am out shooting and to being open to discovering what a location suggests in any moment. Thank you!!
Thanks David, this was fun to read. Myself, I usually shoot as if I’ve only got 24 takes. So I spend a little more time looking, seeing, walking around to get the view, then I’ll start the click, click sequence.
Thanks for confirming that exploring is a big part of the process…leaves me feeling encouraged! That camera would be a great one to carry around all of the time – please enter my name in the drawing! Thanks!
I always thought I was the only one wandering around exploring for hours. Thanks, great article.
I’m still working on learning how to dig deeper.
Even with a strong pre-visualization of your ideal shot of a familiar subject, iteration in the moment helps.
I had to laugh at myself while reading this. I started getting serious about photography in the film days. I can’t tell you how many times I looked at my slides and said to myself, “damn, I wish I had just – moved a little to the left, got down lower, used a wider aperture, included more of the horizon – you name it. Over time, I learned to slow down and think about what I was doing. I did it for two reasons – to get images I really liked and cut down on expenses! Thank you, your articles and books truly help me enjoy photography more than ever.
Thanks David – as always, your articles are generous, thoughtful, articulate, straight-shooting (yes, that was intentional) and you’re a natural teacher. It’s a gift, one that I appreciate.
Name –> into the hat, yes please! I never win anything, so I’m no threat to all the others here, vying for the giveaway camera… I checked out Fujifilm’s website, and have to say how much I love the dials and gizmos – reminds me of the cameras I used to teach myself how to shoot – Minolta SRT 101s, all manual, all metal, heavy as sh*t, but back in the day, they were the only ones that fit in my small hands. Loved them!
Thank you for sharing your insights and encouragement which help make our photographs better and more meaningful – and for the opportunity to win a new camera!
Insightful article & ideas & food for thought.
Also you can throw my name into the hat.
Enjoyed your presentation for St. Louis Camera Club! I learned from another photographer years ago to “work the scene”. I guess those are “sketch images”., at some point after tryin g different approaches, angles and compositions I get to the vision I had for a scene. It has been very helpful.
Sure I’ll try for the Fuji!
I very much like your description of digging and listening for the thump.
My own personal metaphor is catching a scent and trying to follow it amidst competing smells. Sometimes you lose it, sometimes you find the hot cinnamon roll. Meanwhile, even if you lose your way, your appetite and imagination have been stimulated, which can lead to further adventures.
Another insightful arrivals and I really must dust off my “shovel” and get searching for treasure again
Hello David, I really enjoy reading about the process. I’m glad to know that it’s normal to struggle and that i’m not the only one struggeling.
And yes…………….. please put my name in the hat.
I took a class last year from someone who used the concept of sketching to get us to expand our perception of what shots were possible in a particular place. When I visited during different times of days, different weeks the number of possibilities expanded.
I think my early shots at a location are the equivalent of limbering up and stretching out your muscles before your ready to race (okay, analogy falling apart here, move along). On rare days you get a PB, most days its just training for the day that you do
Keep safe
Thank you for all the rich content David!
Please add my name into the hat.
It is you and Sean Tucker, who calls some of his images “visual notes”, that taught me it’s ok to take a bunch of photos before getting to the good ones and that made the whole process a lot less stresfull and more enjoyable, so thanks 🙂
and yes, I’d like to drop my name in the hat
Thanks for the advice over the years.
One bit of advice while taking photographs is to also look behind you. There maybe another great photo opportunity there – or a danger!
I would also love that camera.
Cheers.
I have followed you for years, and sketch images is the way to go. Rarely do you find the perfect image a tthe first attempt.
I would be grateful to be considered for the fuji
cheers
Oh, how I revel in the exploration! The experimentation and failure is really the source of our joy! (And I could sure use a new camera so please put my name in the hat too)
Even after 55 years of photography, I am still looking for new ways, equipment to get to my intention/vision/oh, darn, what do I do now. Would love a different take to my Nikons.
AS usual David, you commentary on the photographic process is both elementary and advanced at the same time. You encourage us to take a simple approach to create meaningful images.
Once again thank you. I realized, for me, that sometimes one of the pictures during a shoot just doesn’t fit. Then later when working on a small body of work, that its simplicity matches the current theme better than any other. I think that I am growing.
Thank you for this great article! Makes me think about trying different things at the same spot to come up with a great shot! Its just a needle in a haystack chance but throw my name in the hat please! Thank you!
I like the digging and treasure metaphor a lot – especially the maps which lead to other places. Not going to find much treasure if you don’t dig. All the best David.
David, Pick Me! Pick ME!!
Dreaming of Kenya…
Oh yeah.
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.
I do this for days, sometimes. A new Fuji probably won’t help, but one never knows! 😀
Thanks for sharing!
I found that I was much more careful about pushing the shutter button when I was working with film . Digital makes it so much easier to just keep clicking and hope for the best. It’s a constant struggle to remember to use my analog mentality in digital. Please enter me in the x100F giveaway also.
David, I love the way you hone in on the very human elements of the photographer. I often go out with a plan for a particular style of photo. However, I still wander around in a ‘fog’ as you describe it. I see a scene and just know that my image is in there somewhere, I just have to find it. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t and sometimes I find something quite unexpected. Often it’s the serendipity of photography that brings me back time and again.
As always… Gourmet food for thought.
Love the thought process.
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Hmmm…
(click) Interesting, what if I…
(click) Nope. But…
(click) Nope. Drat. Oh, but…
(click) Ooooh, hang on a…
(click) This gives me an idea.
(click) Closer
(click) OMG. I love that.
(click, click, click)
This can apply to so many areas of life and brings out the fact that you rarely get it right first time. The frustration comes when you expect to.
Great article.
This is fantastic. I was instantly inspired to get out and go on a shooting journey.
It’s the freedom not to get discouraged that you don’t know exactly what you’ll find in the box once you get there.
That especially made me want to go out there and try harder.
Yes, please put my name in the hat.
Ted.
Well said as usual. I think that as photographers we often have expectations that we will just show up and take the perfect shot in one frame. The more time I spend as a photographer, the more I realize that to really capture your vision you need to spend a lot of time in a place to fully understand all the elements.
Your willingness and ability to describe your creative process and how we can all learn to get from junk to keeping by working that process is one of the most impactful parts of my ongoing photography education. Thanks so much for continuing to dig deep and share your approach with all of us.
And yes, please enter me for the X100F!
For my own inner work and for my photography – often one and the same – I use the idea of intent to bring me to center and to help me go to the core. What is my intent? Ask the question again and more deeply – what is it about that? I continue until I get to a sense of my intent or what drives me.
For my photography, what captures my attention? What about that captures my attention? What am I seeing, what am I not seeing. what would I see if I shift my attention? I feel it is an exercise in going inward in observing the world and seeing its multitude.
Dear David,
Thank you for this “Vision Isn’t Everything” post today.
It’s a beautiful day and I’m off for a walk, shovel and camera in hand, feeling inspired again.
My name in the hat, please and thank you.
Your fan, Barbara
Never would have thought I would hear it from you…but it is true.
Thanks!
Always a pleasure to read your posts. I must say that I really appreciate your podcast. I’m thinking of using it as a creative journal prompt. Lots of thought provoking ideas in there. Thank you for the great content of everything you do.
And yes, please put my name in the hat! 🙂
Thanks.
David, it’s always a joyous day when I find your emails in my inbox. I learn something every time – both about my photography and about myself. http://www.justaddlight.com
Digging, excavating, eliminating the chaff and finding the essence of an idea or thought. Hard work and not always successful. But getting up the next morning and grabbing that shovel handle. As my dad said—just keep pecking away at it.
Good morning and thanks again for your ongoing articles, David. It is almost weird (in a good way) how your thoughts so well encapsulate the thoughts that I have not yet expressed – or perhaps not even thought about! I have been in the cycle of upgrading camera gear and lenses and filters and bags and and and and….Although recognizing full well that none of these things will produce better photographs they all provide some false hope that, just maybe, they will. I am so easily seduced by these clever ads promising how much better I could be if only….What it really takes is the time to just do it rather than sitting and thinking about doing it. There is always something else that takes priority! Sigh…Loved your last article about having too many choices and that certainly applies to lots of things in my life. These choices make things just that much more difficult.
Okay, I have been meaning to thank you for the past several months but I really never reply to anything online. The possibility, however, of demonstrating gratitude for your work and thoughts neatly correlates with winning something! Actually, I really do just want to thank you for your efforts – love your stuff. Cheers, R.
Hi David,
Thank you for your inspiring work!
Glad my directions as a photographer crossed your work!
Keep up with the amazing phototales ;)!
Best wishes,
Hugo.
PS: Yes, put my Name in the hat. 😉
Your writing style is wonderful and conversational. Today’s blog really speaks to me. Thanks !
Always a good read – thanks!
Love how you share the whole process of photography–not just what you shoot, but how you get there. It is a process, and can take a while to get through. Thanks for opening up your mind to us!
I was part of that group in St. Louis that you refer to. You make a lot of sense……especially to an older photographer who thinks that I have to “rush” to get things done. In fact, I don’t need to rush, I need to B-R-E-A-T-H-E, then think. I will adopt these ideas and let you know how it works. Hat in the ring for sure, but no negative expectations, for just like it says at the bottom of my screen, “We can’t live a positive life with a negative mind-set.” I’ll be positive and chill a bit. Thank you!
Hi. These teachings, philosophy and way to approach photography are one of a kind, and I’d recommend to any of my photographer friends, amateur or pro alike. A big thank you David for inspiring us! And, thank you for courses like The Compelling Frame!
Finally! The light came on!
David, Thank for yet another unique way of saying what we all should know or do as photographers yet somehow lose our way. Whenever I am lost in this way I turn to your writings, podcasts, Traveling Lens etc. Your voice always helps me get back on track. And yes, put my name in for the Fujifilm X100F. Thank you.
Thanks for this David. I’ve recently been using this technique with my digital camera as the sketchbook, aiming to return later with my film camera. I find shooting film slows me down and makes me more contemplative, primarily because it’s costly to shoot film so I plan accordingly. As I’m sure you know, there’s resurgence in film photography, especially black and white shooting and processing (insert shameless plug here for Vancouver’s community darkroom, (temporarily closed), in the West End Community Centre), which I find somewhat more satisfying than sitting in front of a computer. 🙂
Thanks again.
Ken Villeneuve
Hi David,
thanks for your inspiring work as author AND photographer (or vice versa – who knows?).
Stay save and sound in these strange days!
Alexander
PS: Yes, put my Name in the hat. 😉
This is the article I’ve been hoping for (without realizing it, until you wrote it) since I first came across the concepts you have emphasized of both “vision” and “sketch images”. I could never tie together how they fit with each other, what their relationship is in the creative process. I get it now. Thank you! (And thank you for all your original thinking about photography, and sharing here). Please throw my name in the hat. All the best David!
Your approach to vision/intent discussed above make me think of a old quote I have pasted to the bottom of my monitor.
Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. — Pablo Picasso
I find I wander around, see something that catches my eye, and like you click, click, click…
I find that if my head is in a creative place, and I’m not being lazy, I usually get something. Might not be added to my portfolio, but will usually plant a seed and affect how I approach future subjects.
Keeps up the good work, and yes I do a new walk-around camera for those moments when I am not carrying the big glass.
Thanks David, it is always very inspiring and motivating to read your blog!!!
Seems like every time I get uninspired, and there have been a lot in the last year, here comes David with an article that makes me feel good about shooting just for the art of it, just for myself.
And sometimes Vision is so hard to come by, and that’s where “just click it” kicks in. Thanks David!
The problem with too many cliks is that you can finish a walk with 1000 photos to evaluate and process. I would prefer make a few clicks stop and analyze them carefully, etc etc probably it depends on what type of person you are if hyperactive or more reflexive
Rafael
This made me feel so much better about what I do, trying different ideas in the same location until I get what I am looking for. Kind of I know it when I see it but exploring the options to get there. Venice is a great example as there are so many options every which way you look!
Your emails really make me think and I am thoroughly enjoying the courses I am doing!
Thanks for your insightful words, once again.
Yes, you can throw my name in the hat.
Intent or vision isn’t so much outside where one is looking, the scene in front of us, I think but what is inside and what one understands about ones self and how we see life or understand what is important to us and what makes us feel alive or what makes us feel emotions and how we react when we encounter some scene to which we react. We then want to capture that with the camera. What we see through the lens becomes an expression of that or what we are trying to do.
I guess what I am attempting to say is that we don’t tumble upon our vision but what we see is a reflection of a vision that is within us. Then the work is, as you helped point out so well, in the finding out how to express it with the aid of the camera: doing the grunt work of the sketch images.
As many of the other commenters have said, your post made me realize that all the mundane pictures I’ve been taking of the same old scenes on my walks this past year in my neighborhood have been like sketch images; my learning the tools, and materials so that I can get more familiar with how they work, coming slowly to understand more intuitively when I am able to get out an about again I will be more ready. Already though I have gotten better with taking the grandkid pics.
Thank you David.
Wow! I love this idea of sketch images, makes my failures feel more like wins. Thank you, I’ll will use this idea with more intention moving forward.
I think that’s one thing where beginner photographers make a mistake in their thinking…they compare ALL their photos with the carefully edited and vetted selection of pictures of those of us who have been doing this for a while…we’ve taken A LOT of sketch images (to use your phrase) to get where we are right now, and I think that’s a necessary process to get to the stage where you can slowly cut back on the amount of pictures you take to get to the good ones.
Or you don’t cut down, if that is the process you have to go through to get to the golden nuggets hiding somewhere in the stream (my analogy starts to break down here I think ;-)).
Anywho…there’s definitely room for an X100 in my bag next to the XT-3 and whatever analog camera is with me! 🙂
As always a helpful and inspiring blog. One of the best photographers that wants to inspire. Thank you.
Thank you very much David for sharing your photos and ideas. I think you are the best teacher in the field of photography, I really do. I’ve read 5 or 6 of your books and countless articles, and I am amazed how you keep finding the new ways of pointing to important things, ideas, approaches and techniques in creative photography.
Yes! Finding the vision is so challenging. Love the idea of exploring rather than wandering lost.
And yes, please put my name in the hat!
Thanks for stirring up my mind…
Thank you David as always, for sharing your process and so much helpful information. I love the idea of sketches. I am learning to shift from a quick look at my photo and saying ‘nope’ to a slower approach, taking in the photo and seeing what I like or what changes I can make.
And thank you for the opportunity of the draw for this fabulous camera.
Take care
I’ve had whole days with “Nope, nope, nope” but a place to start for the next day. Sometimes the sketches are precious even if not the whole intent yet!
Intuition is more than a mystery! And as always hard work, before it gets any impact…
The Fuji-camera would be a nice gift!
Interesting analogy, brings two things to mind first it the book later made into a movie called holes about digging for treasure but not knowing where to dig. The second being a line made famous in a Beatles song “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” I just started a video production class, having been a still photographer for over 50 years more than 30 of that as a professional… Video is quite foreign to me. I still see still images. I was cautioned to start small, VERY small 10 15 second videos. Even when I think back to my earliest days with a Argus C3 or a Mamiya C3 I can’t say that I had “vision” what I did have was passion, The desire to pick up that shovel (camera) and just go digging… And that just brought to mind another song called “Dig another well” a country western tune about dealing with adversity. Another driver of passion.
I’m a member of the Brandon Camera Club. I enjoyed you presentation and I’m sure that what I’ve learned will make be a better photographer.
Another awesome blog post. Thanks for sharing and for giving!
Hi, David,
I like your concept about sketch images. It takes away the feeling of mistakes and wasted effort. Instead, it is purposeful, to get to your best image. I love to wander, and am developing my intent and vision!
Please put my name in the hat, thank you!
Hi David – a very interesting insight into your creative working practices and certainly a helpful route to encourage photographers’ critical evauation of images leading to the best outcomes.
However there is a lot to be said for learning to work in a disciplined way, gaining an ability to previsualise your outcomes and producing correctly exposed and framed images first time round. I’ll try and explain what I mean below.
I worked for a number of years as a photographer in urban archaeology, on excavations in advance of building developments and photo-surveying historic buildings. The photographic record of the excavations was used to ensure the tightdeadlines could be maintained, and at the same time provide detailed images for post-excavation processing and academic research and publishing in academic journals. Archaology is a destructive process so you only get one chance before your subject is gone forever.
Photo-surveys of buildings were often done with very tight constraints on access with little advance information about the locations (that’s why the surveys were required). I often had to rely on my technical knowledge and abilty to interpet the locations when I was actually on site and produce high quality images straight out of the camera (I’m talking colour transparency and monochrome film, not digital and before autofocus was reliable).
All this required a different approach to achieve accurately framed, detailed and precisely exposed original images (no Photoshop back then!) that fulfilled the brief I was working to, so a diffferent way of working to get to a similar outcome is my point.
These days, after moving on to a long career working in Higher Education, I’ve recently retired and I’m enjoying photograhy for the pleasure and stimulation it provides wothout the pressures of having to produce work to order and though I’ve mentioned traditional (even historic) photograhy skills, I must tell you that I’m a digital photographer and have delighted in keeping up with technology all throughout my careers.
I’m a Fujufilm devotee and would love to own and X100F to keep in my pocket for everyday use – the X-Pro 1 and X-Pro 2 are definitly a bit more than pocket-size! Please enter me in your draw, and thanks for The Contact Sheet, which is always an interesting read and something I look forward to receiving in my Inbox!
Always inspiring. 🙏🏻 ❤️ ☮️
Hello, thanks for this article : I think I don’t stay enough when I click, I don’T think enough too … I will work on it !
Thank for the giveaway, I participate with joy
It feels kind of weird leaving a comment for camera contest on your blog of all places 😉 but can’t pass up a chance for a camera I’d love to have to take with me everywhere.
I really like the word intent, it is clearer to me than vision. I often feel like vision requires me to know where I’m going before I get there, but intent fits better with the idea of exploring and finding. Thanks!
-Sean
When I first started (in the days of Nikon F’s and Tri-X) an associate and I would practice by loading up with film from the local newspaper where he worked and then just pick a location and walk, observe, and shoot. Hundreds of shots, back in the darkroom, and perhaps four or five images worked. Digging indeed. The arrival of digital has allowed me to dig even deeper and broader to find the treasure; for it is not always where you believe it should be.
Regards.
Another great article David! I am reading through “The Soul of The Camera” right now and as always your approach speaks to me. I like that your articles are not all about cameras and gear, and they give me the freedom to create my art in my own vision.
Einstein’s brain in a beer cooler. That’s the ticket!
Want to throw my name in the hat also.
Am on the haunt for a cam for my new project and the X100F it would be a perfect fit.
David,
What I love about your blog/courses/books is that the ideas/principles/musings can apply to ANY creative work. I haven’t really used my camera for months (shame, shame); I currently focus on studying/producing music instead. Guess what? Your words of wisdom always stimulate my passion for learning, and encourage me to explore and express my inner world. I keep a camera at hand as I never know when my brain will switch from having fun with sounds to wanting to play with visuals.
To sum up: Your words are always spot on, no matter which sense I’m favouring at the moment. You’re my hero.
That’s cool
(click) Nope
(click) Better
(Remember you have feet, 2 steps left)
(click) Worse
(3 steps closer)
(click) Much better
etc…
Great article. Put my name in please.
David –
As usual, great things to think about!
Your musing hit the spot for all of us struggling to find that photograph that speaks to us and others.
I think the Fuji is the perfect travel camera and would like to see what i could produce once we get to travel again post COVID.
Please enter me in the drawing.
Thank you.
Another excellent post David!! Love reading your posts & getting a better insight into creating better images. It’s not always about the gear but since you are giving away one for free, I’ll put my name in the hat for a chance to win.
Thanks!!
Thanks so much. For me photography is meditation, sometimes therapy and nature is my sanctuary. And yes, a new camera would be nice😊 All thr best, Torsten
Beautifully said, as always.
Wow, love this topic. I often go out on a shoot well intentioned to capture a specific scene, feeling, mood. Then I may turn around to move to a better location and discover that by turning around, there is a better image there, one I had no intention of even shooting, with lighting just perfect.
My biggest challenge though is shooting when I am traveling, simply because I may never get back to that country or location again. I think my anxiety then gets in the way of just “letting it happen”. I need to stop trying to control the moment. I’ll just have heed David’s advice and “click” more.
Sign me up for the camera please, otherwise I’m signed up for the blog already 🙂
Thanks for another great article David.
What do you do with your older gar you no longer use? If I had friends or family that wanted to get into photography I would hand some over… or maybe some local photo classes in local high schools (if they even teach it any more I don’t recall any in my school 30 yrs ago!)
Is trade in or selling a reasonable option?
Jim Atkinson
Love the way you approach a photograp
Thanks for your insights David, carefully nurtured from years of experience, and much contemplation. Good photographs very seldom come from the first glance. One must explore constantly with the camera and without. I read a book quite a long time called The Metaphorical Mind. It illuminated in detail what I think that I already knew. My advice for photographers, and any artist really, is to accept that the mind naturally thinks metaphorically, and is very important resource to tap into. When in front of a potential image, I try to think of what this means to me, what does it reflect about my values, etc. Often the answer is illusive, but if I trust my intuition, I’ll create the image as well as possible, and return to it after it has been downloaded. I trust my subconscious mind as well, and I know that it has very likely been working on the meaning of the image to me. This in turn affects how I edit the image.
I you go out to shoot a girl wearing a blue coat and red hat you come back with nothing.
I always go out with a location in mind and then let it happen.
David ..Thank you for that article. It sure made me feel better about not being able to pin down what I wanted to focus on more to get better at it and never could since I take pictures of the oddest things or whatever catches my eye. I have a very bad habit of comparing my dumb photos to other more prof photographers and then never do anything with them. So after reading your article I looked back at a few of my lousy shots in a different light. Edited, cropped, and made it more about what caught my eye in the first place and why did I take the shot. So, thank you. I need that..
I only discovered you and your work a few months ago. Love it! Where have you been all my life? I look forward to Sunday mornings to read what insightful things you have to say and/or listen to your podcasts while sipping my coffee. Thanks for giving me a kick in the butt to get out and click, click, click away!
And yes please add my name to the hat. That’s going to be mighty big hat!
As always, thank you David for such thoughtful words to help us shape our visual work! Best wishes, and I still owe you some beer when the borders open back up!
Wisdom and a giveaway! Sign me up 🙂
As usual, your outlook aligns very well with mine – and you always know how to articulate it beautifully in words and pictures.
Love the narrative:
“(click) Nope.
(click) Nope.
(click) Hmmm…” It’s what I love about your blog, books etc. Pretty relatable. Throw my hat into the ring for the Fuji and best of luck to everyone else.
Please enter me into the draw for the camera. Thank you!!!!
Your posts always resonate! Cherish your health and take care of yourself as number 1 – all else will follow as appropriate . . . and strive to do your best; but be forgiving . . .
Thank you for your words of wisdom! I have been following your teachings for a while now and as time goes by, they become a reminder that I am on the right path in developing my photographic vision. Working to break through my preconceived conviction that the perfect shot is required every time I press the shutter, I am comforted by your words that great photos are the result of a process and exploration that takes time. I am learning to enjoy this process and I’m becoming more satisfied with the images that are the result!
Having fuji would be great 🙂
Please add my name to the hat!
I like what you have to say. And I’m interested in the camera, too.
Interesting concept. I, though, work the other way around. Because I am a hobbyist with intermediate skills, I usually go out with my camera to to see what’s out there that’s interesting. My primary interest is in rural scenics, though I do dabble in other interesting things when I come upon them
Please enter me in the drawing for the camera.
I find you particularly articulate about your process as photographer. Interesting to me. I like your exploratory nature. When viewing my ohotography after a shoot, it is a whole nother adventure to see what my camera saw and what i have overlooked in my search fir Isos and F stops.
Having a vision is a better way to approach to an image. But when I am travelling – really hope these times will come again – and when I am walking around the streets it is often the moment which I try to capture, it is that one second which makes an image. So it is always helpful to have an intention in mind but you have to stay flexible and have to know what makes an image working. Your courss like making the Image and The Comelling Frame are a very good ressource for learning that.
Always good light and regards from Germany,
Andreas
Thanks for everything you do David and yes, I do agree, intent is more actionable. I’d like to win that X100F. That’ll be great!
Always love your helpful and insightful emails and blogs. Today’s was spot on. Thanks for the continuing schooling.
I think you reflect very well how I have tried to look at things over the almost 70 years so far that I have had a camera in my hand trying to increase my vision and purpose with each image.
Hi David,
Loved this article (as I do most of yours).
It reminded me of our time together in Lalibela, this is exactly when I first experienced what you are describing.
Sit quietly… dig, dig, dig (and a few cusses..!) 🤣
David – through your books and this post there are consistent themes of vision, patience, exploration that I am trying to learn and apply. Your style is straightforward and not couched in so many “philosophies” or mantras that I can’t translate into an application. Thank you for that.
I seem to always bite my fingernails when reading should-do articles about taking better images. So your piece gave me peace. It’s okay, as you say, to be somewhat ambiguous when shooting as long as the intent is to learn by looking and then looking at initial results and then re-looking and shooting again and again. Thanks, David, for being a bit of an artistic therapist. And, oh yeah, add me to the list please of the Fuji wannabe giveaway.
Thanks David, I love the idea of digging for an image! Yes please for putting my name in the hat for the X100F.
Hi David,
I really appreciated your talk and the images you shared at our Brandon camera club. How do you survive with your heart spread all over the world? I find that each time I visit a place and connect with the people there that I leave a bit of myself in that country. I wish you safety and adventure in your continued exploration; and also rest when you’re home.
Jodie
Hi David,
I’ve enjoyed many of your books and I’m the guy that recommended that Jenny Stein interview you for her podcast. Over the years, I think I’ve most benefited from The Visual Toolbox and the podcast where you first introduced me to the concept of sketch images.
Please enter me for the X100F and accept a big thank you for all you do for us.
Jim
First good snowfall here…probably not the best time for me to apply the digdigdig approach bit i did…wet socks and boots , &2 hrs later! Maybe a good shot at last! Thnx for this and the many many great ideas you share.
This is something I’ve been thinking about while wandering around today. The notion of curiosity (links with exploration) stood out as the way to be outside and see the world as if it is new every day.
I think that the point you are making (or the fear you are mentioning) is an excellent one. I would think that the assumption that we can go out with a ready-made vision is a function of the attachment to the result. It’s what we are tending towards the more we step into a world in which performance is key. We forget or simply don’t see the difference between two different types of processes (the product that is the result of the “production line” and the product that needed to be imagined)
PS This article and the the expletive cold outside have given me the inspiration to review a number of travel photo shoots I have done. And yes, you can see the “dig, dig dig, experiment try, rework” until the ah ha moment hits. Yet rarely, other times the instinct kicks in and the first photo captures it best, and subsequent working doesn’t seem to have the same “instinct” guiding the lens. Thank you once again for being so thoughtful in your understanding and communication!
I almost never start with a predetermined idea or vision of what I want to create. I enjoy exploring and waiting to see what captures my interest and then working with that to see if I can create a “keeper “.
A new camera would be nice 😏
Cheryl Uphill
David your words and ideas are always so real, practical and relevant. I impart them directly onto my photography students in the Motion Picture Industry.. As you have so eloquently expressed the intent or vision is only a small piece that makes up the entire masterpiece of the image in the frame. It’s like the excavation is almost a biggest part of the journey. It’s not the final product or image that is the prize it’s all about the path that lead you there. I am so grateful for your work and teachings. A big Namaste to you! Peace and love to you and yours. Thank you for your kind offer of the Fuji give away, I would be so honoured to be considered.🙏🏻
Yes pleases! Throw my name in the hat. I have taken the idea of taking MANY sketch images to heart. It has helped my progress greatly.
Thanks for this and all of your newsletters and tips! I love the common sense approach you take in your presentations and the humour is really appreciated. So many photographers take themselves way too seriously. I will now resume “polishing my turds” until I hear back about being the lucky winner!
Hah! Thank you, Marilyn
As always, your blogs, posts, videos, etc, etc, etc, continue to inspire, motivate and put into words all that I am trying to express in my work. You nail it every time and I thank you! Keep up the great work – I look forward to digging deeper.
Please put my name in the hat for the Fuji camera 🙂
I’m a toy photographer and just last week I experienced some version of this 🙂 I went into the shoot with an image in my head, just to find out that I still don’t know my gear enough, so I went exploring with what I had at hand to reach the vision in my head. I think I got there in the end, even though it required me to change lens, change angle several times, add tripod, move my subject (a small poseable figure) and lots of little things.
Right now it is just one gold coin, one standalone photo that is my self portrait. But reading about the possibility of one idea evolving into a body of work is a bit of an epiphany for me 🙂 I always tried to find a theme for a body of work, only to realize after 3 photos that it’s dry and done. But going the other way has never occurred to me! Although, now that I think about it, I have actually done it with a character named Anton. I made several photos of him where certain themes are expressed. Good food for thought!
Passion + Purpose… and sketch images are the map. A willingness and method to explore the unknown – what an adventure it can be! Thank you David, always a considered thought that drops into my email and inspires and reconnects.
As always, thanks!
And ps: the last time I looked for a job I used this same process:
HELPFUL FRIEND/SIBLING/RECRUITER: I’d love to help! What exactly do you want to do?
ME: I dunno.
HELPFUL: well, what topics would excite you?
ME: I dunno.
HELPFUL: Well, private sector, public sector?
ME: I dunno. …. basically, I will know it when I see it!
And I scored the BEST — and completely not pre-visioned — new job!
I really appreciate the consider flow of vision, intention, adventure (my interpretation 🙂 and expression. I get caught up in the adventure and lack a little prep and the expression suffers as a result. The snapshot step added into adventure feels like it grants permission to explore and wander knowing that I’ll be back to actually focus on the photos. Love it!
It’s always an inspiration to get a look into the proces of another creative person! Thanks for all you posts!. I would join te party to win the Fuji X100!
Sounds like “work the scene” that I mostly don’t accomplish. However, I sense a contradiction – your abbreviated process presented implies looking at the LCD and judging “nope”, “hmmm, maybe”, “what if” and so on. OK but you’ve said elsewhere to avoid looking at the LCD because then you miss the action. Keep shooting, you say, and that leads to Flow. Maybe a minor point but it’s the thought that struck me. Thanks for all your email, podcasts, and encouragement to help those of us stuck on a plateau with our photography.
Thanks sharing your thoughts! I find your approach on vision very helpful and relaxing… about the Fuji count me in!
Always worth while taking sketch images, you may not get a portfolio image out of it, but it helps develop your compositional skills, remembering what you saw initially, and then looking at what and how you tried in capturing what you saw, what worked and what didn’t.
I had never heard of the concept of sketch images before this article. I guess I have been doing it in a way, but now I feel comfortable about being more intentional. Thanks for the insight, David. Please enter my name for the drawing.
It can be hard to get into that visual mindset sometimes, thanks for the reminder that most people don’t live there at all times.
“What do I want to say with this photograph, and how?’”
So much of value here, but I keep coming back to this, at the beginning. Thank you for pushing others forward amd helping us stretch, take risks and achieve.
As always great analogies, and inspirational.
Thank you
How far in advance of shooting do you do sketches? Do you have any sketching suggestions for those who might not be very skilled in drawing? Thanks for your insights!
I look forward to your weekly emails. blog, and 3 of 4 week podcasts! I’d like to be entered in the contest for the Fuji camera. Thanks!
Reading your process allowed me to let out a sigh of relief. It’s nice to know that great images often take time. Thank you for the reminder that your vision doesn’t need to be executed perfectly on the first shot.
Its nice to be reminded that we don’t have to know what exactly we’re looking for at every moment.
You make it seem easy to get inspired. Click Very inspirational.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t know what I am doing at first. Exploring and taking test shots often leads to a good photo down the line. Thanks for the words of encouragement in your blogs and podcasts. They always have something I can take away and use to try to improve.
It’s always an inspiration to get a look into the proces of another creative person! Thanks for all you posts!. I would join te party to win the Fuji X100!
I’ve always found sketch images to be valuable, especially as sometimes I get home and discover that I like one of the sketches better than what I thought was my final image. That could occur because I was trying to do too much in one photograph. Those are humbling moments!
Great article, so true! I believe Jay Maisel refers to it as ” Going Out Empty “. After looking at other photographers’ and artists’ work, there are two elements that are instantly recognizable: LIGHT (illumination and lumination) and/or COLOR. So when I’m ” Going Out Empty ” ( at times wondering what the hell am I doing here? I have a shovel and I’m trying to dig into concrete. ) I’m watching for those two elements of any subject that might cause me to shutter. I believe great images are given more than created and there can be no discovery without exploration. So thank you, David, you keep me exploring.
Digging is a process that can last a few seconds , minutes, hours, days or years. It is a continuing process with some subjects that I have been “chasing” for years. Returning a gain, again and again, but wait, again, again and again. I saw an interview with the great actor Cicely Tyson who was doing a stage play. She said it would be over 100 performances before she understood the part she was playing and would begin to get it right.
Every great photographer had some guidance and mentor ship along their path, and this is a great way to begin yours.
I always enjoy your articles, they reset my photographic sensibilities in a good way. I particularly love the camera/shovel metaphor. Please put my name in the hat too!
I also wander around in a fog then find (sometimes) that as I take photos something begins to strike me and I work whit that until I have something that moves me. I thought I might evolve into someone who starts with the vision then just presses the button nut it is looking like that may not happen. I am happy with that because this process is really quite rewarding.
Very inspiring article, thank you!
I suppose it’s like writing a novel: the moment you start working on the first page, the first paragraph, the first sentence, it’s impossible to have all the novel (story, characters, etc.) clear in your head. You may have an intuition, a sketch or even a partial story, but the finished novel will be there after lots of trials and errors, after long tormented hours of searching the right word(s). The creative process is more or less the same.
I always look forward to your Sunday musings. Thanks for inspiring me to continue digging!
Love your VISUAL TOOLBOX. You are an inspiration to us all, especially during covid isolation. Thank you. Please put my name in the hat. I really would appreciate that camera.
David is so right, there is so much more before you push the button. Thank you, I fell better as I put a lot of thoughts before starting! Thanks David
Hi David,
I’ve been following you for a long time since I started taking photos and learning from you. Please put my name in the hat for the Fuji X 100 F too. Maybe I’ll get my first decent camera that was.
Greetings, Marion
Great and insightful article as always. Thanks for teaching us.
I love the analogy to digging. Thanks for the words of encouragement.
Prior to things getting shut down, I photographed live music and had the opportunity to learn the musicians, their movements, and build the composition and time the capture. I’m photographing soccer matches now which is a totally different environment. In the words of Wayne Gretzky, and I paraphrase, “don’t go to where the puck is, go to where the puck will be.” I watch the goalie kick the ball downfield and quickly aim my lens in the direction of the players waiting for that header. Or I’ll aim at the front of the goal, hoping to capture the cross pass for a quick shot on net.
While I have compositional elements to grab, timing isn’t always my friend, especially at f/2.8 or f/4. I can focus the camera on these spots just to have the referee or other players wander into the foreground. Since I’m shooting from a low angle, I can’t avoid these moments and just shrug it off to wait for the next one.
I know I’m harder on myself when selecting photos to share with coaches, players, and parents. Some of the photos I thought off-kilter are sometimes the ones the players go crazy in sharing on social media.
Patience is key, photographs are subjective, and thank goodness that digital images are cheap!
Thanks David for vocalizing the thoughts that most of us are afraid to share!
Thanks for giving your prospectives on photography to help us make better images.
I think of it as a triangle of things, intent, purpose, and vision, that come together for success to fill the middle. Once you discover or understand two of these, they can result in the third. But you only need to start with one, such as intent as you stated in your article, then work to improve the others until you are satisfied with the result.
Vision – the ability to think about or plan with imagination or wisdom.
Intent – resolve or determineation to do or create something.
Purpose – the reason to do or make something, etc. looking for a desired result.
Please put my name in the hat.
Please throw my name into your proverbial hat. Your blog today is priceless as I am about to go off on a shoot with no particular vision but the willingness to dig…and keep digging. Thank you for your words….they hit the ‘sweet’ spot.
Very enjoyable commentary on how we so often develop our photos. I think this discussion really helps those that are just beginning to understand that it is often a slog to get what we want. The only missing element is what you have referred to before in your lessons, returning to a place often. Familiarity helps us to see more that we often do not see with a first visit. Thanks David.
As a process geek, I LOVE this post. And, as a long time fan, it’s totally what I’d expect from you: Completely thought out, indicative of your self-awareness, and delivered in a way we can grok. You’re an awesome teacher.
Intention is one of my favorite words, too, and “follow curiosity” is a favorite mantra. I sort of think it applies to everything in life and compliments another belief, “There be joy!” Which I think means you have to be open to it (joy), without directly looking for it. It’s about chasing those sparks of curiosity with intention. If you’re luck, you’ll trip into it (joy).
All of which I think you do…in a way that is rather infectious. But this “bug” lands as enthusiasm mixed with tenacious study and a will to constantly improve (on some vector). I just dig your journey!
Thanks for sharing it with (infecting?) us. =)
PS: Please throw my name into the hat, too. =)
As always great articles that are so helpful. Yes please include me in the draw for the camera. Would be amazing to win.
Now that struck a cord, as well as loving my photography I am also go metal detecting and it’s exactly the same procedure, except, when I am detecting I am looking at the land before me and trying to visualise where people would gather and perhaps build their homes (homes mean artefacts such as coins). It’s all about vision.
You could have almost been talking to me personally.
As usual great article, and I will stalk my my photography’s subjects with fresh insight.
Thank you
Sketch images and just sitting in the moment before I start clicking is such a useful insight. Really changed my approach.
I have a few regular walking routes in my neighbourhood. Sometimes I carry my camera along with me, having the intention to ‘make’ a photograph. I know the route so I have an idea of what might be possible. Then that thing happens that all of us experience in pretty much the same way. We see something. Something catches our eye. When that happens, two things come together but not necessarily in harmony. Intention. and Vision. I had the intention of making a photograph on my usual route.
The intention was based on my memory of what the possible views are along that route. I like this foreground feature or that background is always exciting, and so on. My mind is full of memories of possible images. But now something else has happened. Unexpected. Happening right now in front of me. I have my camera and I’m already thinking about making a photograph.
This is where your Sketch images comes in. I now have a starting point for going about making a photograph. I was a teacher in my working life and know that lesson-preparation is essential to the craft of teaching. But following the plan is not the only thing that happens in the classroom. Stuff happens. A new dynamic opportunity presents itself. The Teachable Moment.
Having a plan, being prepared, staying open to the possibilities so that sketching can take place is what I learned from you today David.
I too carry my camera around with me to “make” my photos. I learned to do that when I began photographing way back in 1959 and I’m still learning! I began as a professional photographer when I was hired to photograph high school activates in 1962, then as a navy photographer in 1965 and back again in 1969 to my old job in high schools. I retired as a pro photographer in 2016 and now I photograph for fun and love it even more!
Hi David
I love the idea that our camera is a shovel. That’s how I feel when I go out. I’m wandering and exploring and digging here and there, waiting for the thunk, meaning I might have hit upon something.
Thanks for your words!
And, I’ve heard great things about the camera, so why not?
Sounds familiar… please throw my name in the hat! Keep up the good work!!!
Trial and error is what gets you to the good stuff. So often when we label ourself photographers we feel like every image should be great but I love how you highlight it’s the experimentation that allows you to develop your craft and hone your vision.
So insightful!!!
Thanks
Hello David,
As usual I can so relate to the topics you bring in your blog posts. It is always a pleasure for me to see your mails appear im my mailbox. Keep up the great work!
Of course put me in for the Fuji X100F draw !!! I am on Sony right now (was on Canon DSLR before) and I am happy with it but I must say that there seem to be such a big hype with Fuji right now so I would be more than interested to give it a try.
Thank you. A very thought provoking article. Always enjoy your insights! Would love to try out the new Fuji camera.
Thanks for those inspiring thoughts.
Please throw my name in the hat for the camera
Thanks
Less pondering and more clicking while pondering. I love this advice. Please put my name in the hat.
Long time reader, first time commenter. Thanks for the insights. As a rank amateur photographer, the exploration of a place/topic is far more important than the actual photos I might take.
Please include me in the camera drawing.
Without a doubt my friend, you are the Master of the Metaphor. And I do mean that in a very much positive way.
Makes me think fog is a creative tool
I like the idea of sketch photos. Just like sketching before making a drawing, I can see that in photograph y takes a certain amount of noodling around before I can really see what I am looking at from my own perspective. We see so many images of everything it is hard to see with fresh eyes when confronted with a new subject. Sketch photos allow that as I work through the obvious choices and start to see something in a new way. Thank you for this blog. It gets me thinking!
Thank you for this. I’ve been helping a neighbor get started with photography. She is greatly disappointed that every shot is not a winner. As a sports photographer for over 20 years, you learn very quickly that a ‘winning’ shot is rare and requires knowledge, capability, and luck. (Lots of referee backs blocking action…) Since she is shooting mostly landscapes and still lifes, the expectation is that the majority will be good. I plan to share this in hopes your words will ring true for her.
I’m absolutely inspired by your teaching and your honesty. I love your approach to photography and am super enjoying the creative exercises in your Compelling Frame course. Also super intrigued with this mirrorless shift in photography!
I always have an idea of the photos I want to take when traveling but more often than not I wind up taking a completing different shot!!
Please add my name to the hat!
Thank you David for your posts. I always seem to have intent when photographing however when I get home to view it seems that my photos are never as I have visualized. I keep trying and loving being outside in nature.
David,
Thank you for your excellent insights on Vision, Experimentation, and what I think of as the ‘power of embracing failure’.
I struggle with ‘discovering’ or ‘finding’ my Vision. But I can ‘experiment’ and I can ‘play’. They are rewards in themselves.
PS Please put my name in the hat for Fuji X100F. Thanks
It always makes me wonder about the film/SLR days and what the true cost of that photography was as I haul home 100’s of photos to use 20% of them. Lockdown has me going through old memory cards & it’s an equally fascinating wander to look again at images that didn’t make the cut and think “why didn’t I like this one before?”
Thank you. When I first “heard” use Vision, I was, “say what?” When you added “Intent”, it became a little clearer but I still was not there. But now, I think I get I and your idea of “Sketch” has finally found a place in my head and I love it. Thank You. And, I am a Fuji shooter and would love an opportunity to try the new camera.
David,
Thank you for your excellent insights on Vision, Experimentation, and what I think of as the ‘power of embracing failure’.
I struggle with ‘discovering’ or ‘finding’ my Vision. But I can ‘experiment’ and I can ‘play’. They are rewards in themselves.
Thank you for your continuing encouragement and insights.
PS Please put my name in the hat for Fuji X100F. Thanks
“But (again), it assumes you already know what your vision is. I typically do not. Not immediately”
This! Gotta dig and explore and try. Great post! Thank you!
Hello David!
Thank you for your tireless output. Your contributions and your books are always an important source of inspiration and motivation for me.
Thank you for the chance to win a Fuji X100F as well. I would be very happy if she would replace my old camera. Please throw my name in the hat.
Also as an analogue film user I usually can’t afford so many tries. If I see a good photo, I take it. I sometimes hit lucky!
Pls add me to the list for the Fuji
Thank goodness for Lightroom and digital, makes the exploration so much easier. Just started digitizing 10 years of negatives and remembering how much film, developer, paper was wasted to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Now where did I park my backhoe?
A Fuji would be nice.
Unfortunately, I seem to have gotten stuck in the fog as of late. Nothing I’ve shot in the last few years has revealed any kind of vision. But I’ll just keep clicking.
And thank you for your generous gift of a new camera. Congrats in advance to the winner!
I really love the metaphor of digging for a photo! Please enter me for the camera. Thanks
Hi David,
I’m a regular follower, buyer, participant of your unique teaching (preaching 😉) ways but you’re always able to surprise me again and again with your postings.
Keep on going.
Sadly I had to wait for that little Fuji to express my gratitude!
With our without it, thanks for the inspiration.
I like the idea of sketch photos. Just like sketching before making a drawing, I can see that in photograph y takes a certain amount of noodling around before I can really see what I am looking at from my own perspective. We see so many images of everything it is hard to see with fresh eyes when confronted with a new subject. Sketch photos allow that as I work through the obvious choices and start to see something in a new way. Thank you for this blog. It does get me thinking about photography as making an expressive image, not just a well taken and composed image.
You always make me think, dig a bit deeper if you will, on why I even pick up a camera. You are always inspiring me to go a bit further. Thank you.
Cathy
David you never cease to amaze me with your insight. I love the way you teach and the style you incorporate into that. I have followed you since your early days and you are still my most favourite photographer. You have great analogies that sink into our (my) sometimes thick brains. 🙂
June
Please add my name to the list for the Fuji camera.
Thank you for your wonderful article. I’ve always called it working with intent. Just out of curiosity have you ever worked a scene searching and searching and come up with just well nothing?
I am actually quite comfortable in the fog – I have certainly spent plenty of time there!
Yes please, pop me in the hat. Thank you
Nice comparison between the photgrapher and the digger.
In my mind it’s more like finding THE piece of a puzzle that connect two blocks of pieces. It may be just in front of you for hours and when you find it, it’s pure joy.
Best regards.
I love your “digging” metaphors. It reminds me of a valuable lesson I learned from a workshop years ago……..”Don’t just take one or two pics of your subject, but continue to work the scene.” Different angles, shutter speeds etc. Kinda the same idea and a very useful one, especially when you get home and have only one taker from all the different shots of the same scene. Thanks David, your weekly posts are very helpful. And yes please put me in the drawing!
Always a pleasure to read your articles and listen to your podcasts – I often struggle with Vision or wonder why I’m taking photos then I read another insightful article by yourself then I’m back on track having another go.
Yep please add me to your hat ! Thank you.
Hey David,
I’ve been following your stuff for awhile, thank you for the inspiration.
Please add my name to the contest!
Cheers,
Tyler
Although written about photography for photographers , this is the same philosophy that is at the heart of Space X, Tesla and a host of technology start-ups. If you wait until you have the perfect, you will be late to market if you arrive at all. Few of us have the vision to see the end so it is a smart strategy to start at the beginning.
Thanks for your continued photographic inspiration, David!
Garth
Please put my name in the drawing.
Wonderful article and delightful description of the (often) messiness of the creative process.
I think it’s critically important to understand the actual path to success is through mistakes, as they are the core of the learning process.
I appreciate your photographs, your insight and perspective. Just enjoyed Deeply Wild. And thanks for the chance to win a new camera.
I recently discovered your podcast and am constantly inspired by your thought provoking insights and challenges. I am a huge fan of what you do and look forward to seeing how you will challenge us next. Please add my name to the draw and keep inspiring us.
Hi David,
You always inspire me to get out and take more photos and to keep trying to better with my photography. I have been following you since I bought my first DLSR.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us.
This is the first time I’ve understood what “sketch” shots mean. Such a liberating reorientation of my understanding and expectations. I had the notion that you made “sketches” of what you’d already determined would be your envisioned subject and composition. Couldn’t grasp how you’d got that far before sketching. Now I fee so much better about it! Thanks so much!
Thank you David for yet another excellent post.I have learned a lot from you over the years, especially the importance of getting out and making shots to eventually develop skills and to turn intent into vision.
I’d like to win that.. can you enter me too 🙂
Always enjoy your posts. Throw me in the hat for the Fuji.
Thanks
Always looking forward to your comments, David! And now I even get a chance to win a super camera! I’m putting my name in the hat! Keeping fingers and everything crossable crossed! 😀 😀
Exploration is everything. Then I’ll click.
As always: a pleasure to read and inspiring.
Thank you.
Vision is the key to photography – thanks for sharing it so eloquently.
Put me in the hat.
Thanks for your inspiring posts
Yes, put my name on the list for the Fuji Camera
I have been following you prior to the Landrover, Jessie. You have a wonderful way with words and it comes across in your images.
You’re a wonderful teacher/mentor.
Thank you for the opportunity to put my name in the hat.
Paul Hammesfahr
Paul H
I am always inspired by your comments, but I must say that “Vision isn’t Everything, . . . ” was one of my favorites. In so many ways, it feels like I must be missing something when I can’t find my “Vision”. Almost to the point of what is this crazy Vision thing anyway, since I can’t seem to find it. Perhaps I need to “dig, dig, dig” more?! I know that those words in you blog,” dig, dig, dig, click, click, click” hit a spark that perhaps will light the fuse that will lead to a glorious firework going off in my creative mind and I will find “treasure” as I keep digging and searching! Thank you for your insight!
Dear David,
You have a way to express things so clearly and poetically.
Thanks, I’m always inspired by your writing.
Dirk
Phew! Gee! Non-plus c’est moi!
Roughly translated as “Fujinon+ – that’s mine!”LOL!
Great experience from the coalface…
Vision and intent = vintent;) Crazy giveaway David:)
I so miss the fog, whether real or metaphorical !
This pug photo never gets old though. Kinda looks like me when not being able to travel for a year 😛
Over the past couple years, for a host of reasons, I’ve drifted in and out of active photography, but I’ve found that it’s often the inspiration and perspective you share that sparks me to “jump back in” and approach my passion, renewed energy and so often a different take on the world of photography.
Thank you for sharing your passion with the world!
“Dig, Dig, Click, Click, Yep, Nope, Hmm” For years I have worked this way. But until, my husband decided to come with me on several explorations locally during the pandemic, I didn’t know that I did. After the third trip he said “Good God, is this why you are gone so long when you go out?” “I guess”, I replied. He said, ” The joy on your face is apparent, but the boredom watching it for time on end is too much for me.” Now he takes a book:)
Chance for a new camera, hmmm. I am so afraid I will go down a photographic rabbit hole. Wonder if I like it better than my current gear? How expensive will that be? What if I hate it? How awkward. What if I get into that gift cycle? You know the one. Oh my God, the Smiths gave us crystal goblets for our anniversary, what should we give them? Maybe I am overthinking this. Yep, I think I am. Throw my name in the proverbial hat. Or we could just talk about:)
Thank you, once again, for distilling your processes and making me feel a little less lost in that journey to the image I was looking for! And also for offering up a chance to feed the gear demon that lives within!
One of the most valuable things about your postings is how you clearly explain the WHY one ought to take photographs. Each photograph becomes a history of your vision and experiences along life road. Each photograph is unique, and personal.
I really am trying to be more intentional with my photography. Storytelling is key. I’m also starting to think there is value in revisiting pictures taken in the past to see if you can see new stories in old photos after letting them sit for a few months.
As always, good advice for making better photos.
Yes! The distinction between vision and intent is a great one! Hoping this will help me make stronger images. And please please throw my name in the hat for the Fuji!
Please add my name to the hat.
Thank you,
Gordon
At first glance, it might seem that the whole “..dig, dig, dig…..click….click….click” routine would be out of reach for those of us who use film (and don’t have 12 rolls with us). But a simple viewing card, or any way to visually isolate potential subjects and compositions from the chaos before us, is a good way of doing the “dig…dig…dig” part. Most of my time in the field is merely looking through a piece of cardboard having a window cut out of it that mimics my 6×7 or 4×5 framing perspective. Heck, sometimes I even close one eye to avoid depth perception issues. So, all your good advice is just as applicable to film shooters.
Excellent comme d’habitude, si juste!
Practicing
dig, dig, dig
can sharpen your shovel.
And along with the
click, click, click
becomes visual meditation.
Thank you for your thoughtful essay, David
and throw in my cap for the 100f.
I love this! Some photographers boast about how few throw-away images they take. That’s never resonated with me. I can’t help but wonder how many great images they’ve missed out on. I love that you promote experimentation. I haven’t felt like taking pictures in a while. It’s time to get back to it. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
I left a comment and I forget to place my name in the hat for a camera. Again thanks for your wonderful article and a possible camera gift.
I try and go out with a concept when shooting. Now that can be a total failure however i find that if I have an idea its generally more productive. Sometimes i am looking for one thing and then some offshoot that I really hadn’t planned on emerges and it expands my horizon. Just that change of though process is what’s really interesting.
Yes please place my name into the hat. I know an older person in my camera club that could really use a new camera and just can’t afford it. It would be fun to pass it along.
Afternoon David, great article, as usual.
Adding my name into the hat 😉
I am a new photographer. Frankly, your photography approach and creation approach in general help me get out a my panic mode and start a creation process. Thanls so much.
As always enjoy your perspective!! And Good luck everyone on winning the camera!! Brian
Another great post Mr. duChemin! I couldn’t agree more with your point of view. When I started photography I used to photograph anything with no purpose at all, just to make the photograph, a simple snapshot. Then I started to be more conscious about what was going on what my subject could be or what I wanted to be and though my photographs where technically better there was still something missing. After reading the book “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” everything changed. Now when I go out and shoot I always have some kind of a project in mind ( I have the Why in mind ), but what I don’t have anymore is the What and How. I try to have a beginner’s mind, an open mind. I know why I want to do a project but the how and what to photograph I leave it blank. To quote the book, “the mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all possibilities. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything.” If I want to create something new, something different I must be open to new ways, new perspectives , new point of views. It is easy to think of something and immediately create a mental image of how you want to photograph it, what lens to use, even what kind of editing you are going to do. What is difficult is not think at all, just be in the moment and see everything as something new. Vision is great, Imagination is also great but the creativity of a beginner is out of this world. I know that every one of us is different and thinks differently but this kind of thinking has helped me a lot and I wanted to share it with you and the rest of your readers.
Thanks again Mr. duChemin and all your readers for their great comments!
Insightful as ever. People see “Craft & Vision” but in reality it’s “Crafting your vision”
Please throw my name in that hat of yours.
Paul H
I am always inspired by your comments, but I must say that “Vision isn’t Everything, . . . ” was one of my favorites. In so many ways, it feels like I must be missing something when I can’t find my “Vision”. Almost to the point of what is this crazy Vision thing anyway, since I can’t seem to find it. Perhaps I need to “dig, dig, dig” more?! I know that those words in you blog,” dig, dig, dig, click, click, click” hit a spark that perhaps will light the fuse that will lead to a glorious firework going off in my creative mind and I will find “treasure” as I keep digging and searching! Thank you for your insight!
I am always very excited about your new newsletter. He gives me so many impulses every time, thank you so much, David! And “yes”, I am very happy to take the chance to get this wonderful camera!
I wanna win !
Hello David!
I just discovered you and your work through the blog of Laurent Breillat, which I’m taking the courses.
I have to say that I connect a lot to your photographs and also to the way you talk about photography. It’s very inspiring for getting out there, walking around to dig and click!
I just bought your first book “Within the frame”, can’t wait to get it and start reading more about your vision.
Learning this new art and skills is perfect for me to go through the pandemic and lockdown by getting a new way of expression after painting and illustration.
So just wanted to say thank you.
Baptiste
Whoops, forgot, you may as well throw my name into the hat, no downside to that….
Merci pour la générosité et l’inspiration 🙂
Marc
Great insight on vision and inspiration in this blog post! Thanks for sharing how you work…
You got it David duChemin. A lot of people, including myself were afraid of the fact that for many of us, the intent is not clear or absent. It’s really helpful that you made a link with the Sketch Image concept to discover or refine a Vision that was unclear at the beginning. I have been a fan for many years and I’m still learning a lot from you et me motivation to continue increase. Thanks a lot for that.
YES please, put my name in the Hat for the Fudgi.
I like the idea of digging to find what the picture is about. I’ve thought before in terms of ‘if I had to explain what I can see here, what would I say’. The digging to find it is a great idea because, like you say, you probably can’t describe what you can see until you’ve found it.
David,
Thank you so much for your weekly packets of inspiration! I have really been loving your podcast, since I discovered it a months ago. I would also love to be entered for the camera giveaway!
Thank you,
Jeremy
So happy to her that my dig…click….click….dig is what you go thru with shooting. Thanks for making us feel better about our photography!! The Fuji would be a wonderful camera for street photography.
Always an encouragement to see that even the pro’s have to work hard towards their goal – even though they might not have to struggle so hard to achieve it, they have done the hard work over time (think of all the hard work going into becoming a master in any trade).
It’s all about the magic ….
Hello David!
I often return to your books and blog posts for inspiration. Thank you for your continued words and thoughts. We met a few years ago when you came and spent a week at The American School in Switzerland in my classroom. Now I am retired and find myself walking daily with a camera in hand on our northern Minnesota property. I have shot the same textures/patterns I see on my walks all the time, and I consider these sketch images. I know what I want, but as the weather, my lens choice, and lighting change. I just keep exploring and ‘digging’ as you say. And, yes, please put my name in the hat!
Bingo!
That pulls it all together -as almost always, you once again manage to inform and inspire.
I’ve been stuck on starting with vision. What is more natural (for me) is EXPLORE, sketch, respond/react and identify/nurture the developing vision (and often repeat often)
Now we’ve been granted permission, and affirmed the it does make sense! (in fact, that we have always had that permission dn that it has always made sense…..!)
“Click, nope. Click, nope” Truer words could not be spoken. The courage to keep trying. To keep looking. To adapt your vision. That’s where you get the keepers! Thanks for sharing that it’s not always supposed to be there before you pick up your camera! I
I’d love a shot at at the Fuji! Put my name in that hat please!
Really good advice!! Glad I am not the only one fumbling around looking for that one “thing” that will bring my vision to life.
So, I have to dig now????? My camera is the wrong shape then!!!!! Please throw my hat in your name!!!!! Sorry I’ve got distracted while digging!!!!.
All the best David and thanks a lot for your teachings.
Love Love this shot, & the article of course. Your use of colour to draw our eye to the relationship to the 3 RED part is very subtle and of course even though it’s NOT the only red part, you are glued to the dog! And do I even need to say Yes please to being in the Fuji draw
Thanks a lot for that interesting and inspiring article. I really enjoy reading your blog .. and I absolutely like your podcast “A Beautiful Anarchy” – always a part on my way to work and home!
A Fuji X100F .. oh yesssss, I would like that 🙂
I’ve approached my camera club about getting your virtual presentation. I sure hope they do it. I know everyone would really enjoy it. Thanks for your continued inspiration.
Very insightful and interesting article. I downloaded the Deeply Wild monograph, too, and enjoy it. Thanks and I hope to win the camera!
Whoops, forgot, you may as well throw my name into the hat, no downside to that….
Thanks for this, David! I usually go out shooting with no idea what kind of keeper images I’ll return with. It’s always been the case for me, but it took me a long time to realize that it was actually a good thing. Vision and intent should certainly not preclude play and surprise. And yes, I would love a new camera to play with!
I’m relieved to know that it’s normal to not have a full vision of what photos I’m going to take. With the stress of the pandemic I haven’t been out much. I hope that spring will be better. I’d love to be entered for the Fuji. I’ve been hoping to upgrade my old D90 for some time, but there’s always something else that’s more pressing to pay for.
please put my name in the hat for the Fuiji camera
Wow … there sure is bunch of comments! How many do you “really” think are here to just win the camera? I think winning the powerball lottery might be easier.😎
All that aside you are inspiring in fact I just revisited your videos on workshops you put out after your Vancouver workshops many years ago. Still very relevant!
Are you planning any workshops or in person appearances in the USA preferably the Midwest … Minneapolis? Chicago? I am confident you would sell out like a Beatles Concert!
Hoping to meet you in person … better yet walk about with you and the Fuji X100F in hand.
PS I already have one and if I win it would go to a youth group of budding photographers.
Love your newsletter, posts and books. There may be others who share your down to earth perspective of photography but I am not aware of them.
You give me advice, things to think about and a fresh perspective on my photograph that is NOT about getting new gear.
I have been a fan of yours for years and hope to for many more.
Thank you for your sharing of your work, wisdom and experience.
Starr 🙂
David, this article is so helpful in inspiring the quest to find the images I really want to make.
Thank you so much David.
I’ll keep digging and clicking for the love of photography!
please put my name in the hat for the Fuiji camera
I always look forward to your content and you seem to know exactly what I’m thinking about and/or struggling with. I’ve been a fan since your book A Beautify Anarchy so thanks for the years of inspiration! And yes, count me in on the Fuji!
As always very good thoughts!
Please put my name in the hat.
David, you are a great communicator as well as photographer. This clarification helps, a lot. While learning through the Compelling frame, I was struggling with just that concept. The Compelling Frame, has helped me to think about taking photos, trying to intuit how to take the photo so that The”audience” would see/feel what was important to me in that moment. Knowing that there is an element of working towards letting the moment/situation present itself to you then work towards your intent is extremely helpful. Thank you!!
Oops, throwing my name in the hat, definitely!
Incredibly insightful! Thank you for many years of inspiring words and images!
David, read all your books, been learning from you since the early days. No question, you have helped me make stronger and stronger images. My very best. I would love a new point and shoot.
I can always count on you to give me something interesting to think about. Keep on writing!
Thanks again David. You have clearly disclosed the photographic process of discovery. I find it reassuring to know that I’m not alone in this foggy exploration. Where I initially don’t know where I’m going but through a process of working a scene or situation, I find interesting and possible pathways and maybe something special along the way.
I think this is a very important topic and as always you make it simple to understand. In the end, those “one-off” lucky shots are just that….lucky shots. The true growth, excitement and creativity in photography comes with a lot of hard work. And for me that is actually the fun of photography.
Mmm, so many honest comments 😉
The “bell curve.”
Not here for a new camera (though it would be nice to replace my Kodak Brownie…) I think one of the biggest failings in these digital days is many folks’ need to “free up space” on the card and ditch those “sketch” images and only keep the keepers. As one who came here from the “wet” era, those contact sheets that I produced from the newly developed film were magical because I could see the “sketches” that were basically a logarithmic “bell curve,” leading from junk up to that magic image – boom! They were something to learn from and something that doesn’t exist if you zap the non-keeper sketches with your delete button immediately or soon after the shoot.
One of most enlightening exhibits I’ve seen was during a visit to NYC about ten years ago. I think it was at the Int’l Center of Photography and it was an exhibit of award winning photographs paired with the contact sheet that lead to the final image. The contact sheets were almost always marked up with circles, x’s and cropping line and finally one -just one – image was THE one. And it was enlarged and shown as the exhibit image. But you saw them all. You saw the progress.
It’s easy to create contact sheets with photo apps. And if the contact sheet sketches are useless, you don’t have to save them, at least until those sketches start to approach the final image. But you have to view them first, not just on the screen on your camera or laptop, but in context, over time as the image grew after – sometimes long after – you made the images. You see the progress – the bell curve – and sometimes something will jump out at you that you missed the first time around.
I am deeply grateful for your writing and photography, David!
Another insightful piece David…thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. I find myself drawn to certain subjects repeatedly because my images from previous visits didn’t speak to me. I’m wrestling with a certain old school that I am going to have to revisit again (4th time) to see if I can get it right…
I’ve been looking to upgrade my current gear so I’d love for the chance to win the new Fuji!
I echo lot of comments on this post. We have seen you conquer some of the biggest setbacks and continue to give to community and us. I am very grateful for all the guidance and inspiration that you send our way.
Throwing my name in the pool as well.
Thank you,
pk
Glad to know I’m not the only one who wanders around in a fog!
And I forgot. Please put my name in the hat please. Thanks!!
I’d never heard of sketch images-the phrase-before. But what a good idea! I struggle to create a series of images that tell a story. And arriving at a location, the struggle becomes real and immediate. What, and how, to photograph-my vision-compared with what I see, without destroying the simple pleasure of being somewhere I’possibly have always dreamed of being. I don’t want to lose the pure joy of being in that dreamed of place, but don’t want to waste any time documenting it. I want that joy, that feeling to show in my work. You gently move me toward that goal. This is the reason I I follow you, you understand, and encourage in a way no other photographic mentor does. Thank you.
Oops, throwing my name in the hat, definitely!
Thank you for the chance to win the camera.
Thank you David for the steady stream of lessons and ideas. Please toss my name in the hat for the camera.
I love the idea of embracing the process and it’s imperfections. I need to remind myself constantly that I won’t get the first shot Everytime a sometimes “vision” comes through the mess.
Would love to be a part of the 100f raffle – thanks
Josh
Ooops, I forgot to throw my hat in the pot when I left my comment. 😳
David,
This is one of your very best and most elucidating articles. I am an inveterate shoehorner, and its a habit that I have to change. The word, “intent,” is much more informative than the word, “vision.” Thanks for a superb article.
Thank you for this topic. I too struggle with this. And when I hear artists speak about it I feel there’s something I’m missing or not doing. That’s why I hear you because you’re so honest and open about it all. Then I get back to being in the moment and who the hell cares anyway place and I’m a happy camper. Thanks!!
Hi David,
I’m quite relieved to know that not everyone is walking around with a preconceived vision to shoot. For me, it often seems like the creative right side of my brain has whispered something to me, and that prompts me to bring the camera to my eye in the first place. Each successive click is a way to engage that right side, until it finally tells you that you’ve got it. You just have to give yourself permission to walk around and respond to those first whispers…i find that’s when the best images tend to happen…almost like magic!
Winning a new Fuji would also be quite magical 🙂
Oups…forgot to mention to put my name in the hat! Too curious about FUJI…would be great indeed! Thanks!
Your Emails are some of the only ones I look forward to. Keep up the good work.
Throw my name in the hat.
Sooooo, first of all, love the wild & crazy shirt! Second, also love the “walking around in a fog,” it’s an app description of what I do when I show up someplace and plan to take some shots, just empty my head and begin looking around, then begin the process of looking through the view finder until I find an interesting composition, moving around to find the best perspective. Not always the case, as sometimes one has to be spontaneous and capture an image that won’t be there in the next second, but other than that, for sure. Lastly, that’s a great image at the top of the page, that pug has got his/her eye on you!
What you talk about is related to any type of photography, street, portrait, architecture or landscape. Somewhere this idea and approach to finding that image is part of my work. I’m not a photographer making a living at photography but I am passionate about photography. There is a spiritual aspect with photography for me, my way to venture into a sacred place and allow myself to be transformed in some way. This sentence is my take away from your writing, “The freedom to enjoy the search and the hope of discovery and to dig wherever I please leads me to make photographs that are not only stronger (and yes, more closely align with my vision once I unearth it), but I also enjoy the process more.”
I’m not around people, only Nature and dogs, or my husband working on our farm, I often think what he is doing is interesting, and I take pictures but wonder if others would find them interesting.
I find some of your images very interesting. It’s often good to shoot what you know, and you do it quite well,
in my opinion.
My name, hat, throw in please. 😊
It’s amazing how you so often give voice to my own thoughts. Thank you for your great writing and mind reading capabilities, David.
This has to be the best description of the process that I’ve read and it’s strangely comforting to know that even you have to dig with that shovel to get to the treasure. 🙂
Yes please put my name in the hat.
Thank you, David, for this – it is both inspiring and practical – a great reminder of the importance of being present to the moment, and to take curiosity seriously enough as to explore the scene, the moment, the place, the light, in depth with time – and with fun! And the Fuji x100F would a great tool to dig around with 🙂 so please put my name in that hat. Thank you!
Hi David
For years I tried to improve my technics leading me to more and more frustration at the point I was about to give up my photograph gear. I forgot the essentials. Then I discovered your blog and teaching (thanks to Laurent Breillat) and it has been inspirational to me. Thank you for this.
Hmm…recalling a line about wandering through Paris with nothing but a Leica and ennui….(“Use a Tripod”).
For all the things I feel the need to steer in my life, creative efforts most often fall into “shoot first, figure it out later,” occasionally rewarded with “a better lucky than good” result. It’s not an intentional laziness; more frustrated acceptance of an across the board ability to see, hear and intuit what’s around me pretty well, unsupported by the requisite ability to learn and hold on to the technical skills needed to make things with higher level process and intent. So for me, creativity is best accepted as something therapeutic versus artistic pursuit. Doing so opens up other modes of internal experience perhaps more than outward expression by way of product. But I have to be able to reconcile the want & disappointment of not being able to take things to a more technical level.
The point of saying this is not to depress you. Are there other places to consciously go, or let go of in your process that would allow you to experience a sense of place or scenes differently?
Remember Jon Imber’s Hand.
I’d love something smaller than my D7100, but wouldn’t want to deprive a hungrier photographer the benefit of the Fuji. Put my name in for a good point and shoot. 💕
Process by way of
subtraction
absence
loss (as in Imber’s case)
I’m a retired clinician & was a pretty damned good diagnostician. I don’t go into the grocery store or to a birthday party looking to notice & define things about people. But it is rather difficult to turn that part of my brain off. The challenge of conscious drilling down and digging is managing convergence. Fortunately, just as language is generative, so is creative vision.
If something about what I’ve written makes sense, I trust you’ll find it.
Hi David! Nice to meet you. I’m a rookie here with just a little Canon Ixus. I primarily try to capture the beauty that I see around me. It’s a great feeling when someone responds to a particular photo. I couldn’t begin to call it vision. It’s just the way I see the world.
Thanks again for your great advice.. I do prospection of sites I want to photograph.
I’ve develop a pattern and use the weather forecast to plan the time of day I will go back to the site. A also ride inthe area even if there’s not light our opportunites and use differents lenses our position to be ready.
Sorry for the poor english
Claude
Something I’ve found interesting about my vision, is that sometimes I tested the waters on a way of seeing years ago. Occasionally I look back at a series of images I shot years ago and find the beginnings of a way of seeing that has become part of my every day now.
Thank you, David. So many of your articles are like a little thump (well maybe more a kind tap) on the head for me. I appreciate them all but this one really resonates.
Thanks for another engaging post, David. You’ve helped me grow (Evolve? Mature? Reinvent? ) my photography from spray – and – pray to thinking about what i want my work to say. Haven’t exactly arrived at the destination yet, but I’m enjoying the journey.
Hi David – Alway really enjoy your musings on photography and life! Would sure be fun to win that X100f too!
Great stuff, always a pleasure to read. Many ideas and thoughts to take away
This blog post cleared up the concept of sketches completely for me. It’s also nice to know I’m not crazy to keep hacking away at an idea or feeling that an image exists even if it doesn’t appear easily. I’m enjoying working my way (slowly) through the Compelling Frame at the moment as well.
Add my name to the list for the camera too!
Fuji X100F? Yes please?
Sketch images are important if you are looking to create a body of work, a series, a project, a book. I realize that that vision can occur at any point in the process, but it’s good to go in with a more focused idea in mind.
February 7, 2021
Alan Morris
David, your article perfectly amplifies on words I was told when I first started shooting with a Nikon D-100: “work the scene.”
“One and done”, as you say, is not the way to get the most from a scene noras a means of getting to what you want to say.
Stay safe and one day we can travel again. Yes, add my name to your drawing.
The idea of sketch images makes sense to me when shooting static things (an interesting tree trunk for example) or repeating things (people strolling by wherever I’m sitting), but not when things are transient. If I’m out for a walk or on a tour, then my time to plan is measured in seconds.
Any ideas on how to sketch for those situations?
Great Topic David, I find that often when going out with intent I do not find what I am looking for but come home with something else! Those serendipitous moments are usually more successful when I use my own vision, often returning to a place with a different approach.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts., David.
David – thank you for the wealth of inspiration and education that you share.
I’ve been interested in photography as a hobby for many years and with the world of Instagram and YouTube this hobby is even more pressing for me. Please enter me for the FujiFilm x100F! Thank you.
Thank you David for the information. I really appreciate all of the time you spend on your blog. I really learn a lot from you.
You are always so generous with your knowledge and insight. Thank you.
Hello David, I enjoy reading tour comments and agree very much with your angle. I’m 81, in fairly good health up to now. What with my age and present lockdown, I dont get to practice photography very much, so my technical skills arent too developed.
Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina. And yes, throw my name in the hat, please.
I enjoyed your post, makes me think I don’t spend enough time in one area sometimes. I move on sometimes too fast.
Your blog on camera clubs and comments was really interesting since I’ve been active in the camera club world for over 30 years. I’ve been active in my club and the conference of clubs we belong to and have seen a lot. Camera clubs are not for everyone and they can be really different depending on the members of each one.
Oh yeah, please toss my name into your camera hat!
Thanks!!!
Thank you for always inspiring and challenging us as photographers! Please put my name in the hat too…
Thanks David. You always feel like a breath of calm in the middle of a maelstrom. I appreciate the change of perspective.
Your books, articles and comments have helped me be more deliberate. I often have an idea or vision of what I want, but I don’t let it confine me. I let the thread run and sometimes end up with something completely different. If my vision doesn’t materialize into anything at all , it’s ok, I learned from it. If I don’t have a vision, it’s ok too. Perhaps something new can creep in. Your teachings have changed my life. I love the idea of being an artist, a human with faults and sometimes lacking the answers, but having faith the mistakes will lead to doing something better. Finding the voice and expressing it isn’t easy, but loving the process, the frustrations and failure included, is so important. Nurture the flame, never let it be stomped out. Thanks David for all this.
Dena
The best part of this giveaway is learning that you post these blogs here. I’ve been struggling to read your blogs in my email app, with it’s tiny type. I’m laughing at myself now, realizing I could have been clicking a link and finding the blog in a much more enjoyable format here.
As for the post itself… I feel that our vision may guide and influence what we see as we explore. I love to explore and shoot swamps and cypress trees near home in Florida. My wife enjoys mushrooms, close-up and macro scenes. We can both explore the same place and come away with wildly different omages that we both lovenand enjoy, because our vision informs what we “see”. I may not even see the mushrooms that she spends an hour finding the right composition and waiting for the light. And while she’s doing that, she doesn’t “see” what I’m getting so excited about when the light is creating interesting shadows on the bark of the tree that I’m shooting.
It all works.
Such a great concept and helpful details about how to execute it. I have quite a few of your books and am always happy to see, and read, more. Nice of you to offer a Fuji camera to two lucky people.
Thanks for putting me in the hat. Love the content
What a fantastic article.
I’d love a small and light camera. With 6 little ones it would be nice to be lighter and faster!!
I love the Sunday morning email from you with a new idea on photography. I’m using the “sketch” idea more and more. I even got bigger memory cards so I can “click” more.
thanks
Sorry, throw my name in the hat for the camera.
Thank you for your blog posts. Glad to know that we all need to dig to find photos.
Like so many others, it is somewhat of a relief to know that you struggle, to a degree, to get the photo just as you want it. I’m grateful to my extremely patient hubby who puts up with my frequent attempts to try to get the photo that I want. Sometimes it works, other times I just keep going back to try, try again. I do love having a vision, but seeing how that vision can change as I click away. It’s always an adventure to me.
Please toss my name in that hat for a chance to win the Fuji camera. Thanks, as always!
Thank you David for years of your continuing instruction and inspiration.
David, I just started receiving your articles and this one really hit home. My husband doesn’t understand why I take “20 photos of the same mountain” but your idea ot ‘sketch images” makes sense! Thank you for your article.
Great topic. Struggling with terms is important as no matter the term is becomes trite and loses meaning. I find intent a good one for me. I always enjoy the way you approach the process and helps me become more thoughtful about what I do. Thanks as always. As another comments, I appreciate your being a philosopher photographer.
Please enter my name in your drawing.
Thank you, David, for your posts. They are always great at re-invigorating my desire to more fully explore what I can achieve from myself and my camera. Please keep them coming!
P.S. I’d love a chance to win the Fuji camera you are giving away!
Great post! I always learn something new!
Some of my photos that I am pleased with are serendipitous moments that I have captured, but many are the result of multiple clicks and multiple ideas. Thank you for the glimpse into your process. I have heard many good things about the Fuji X100 series. Please put my name in the hat.
Thanks David. I’m a big fan. When I first started taking photographs seriously, I asked the pro I was with how to take them, what do YOU take, etc. He said, ‘Well what do you want to say with this photograph’. I had no idea what he was talking about. Now 15 years later, I sort of understand the concept but often don’t have a crystallized image in my head so I explore. I’m heartened that a pro like you does much the same thing, although with more clarity. Thanks. I’m going to keep exploring.
Your blog posts, videos and emails have definitely kept me motivated in these weird, crazy times. Thank you!
I’ve been following your writings and your videos alt least since 2014, and much appreciate that what you have to say about photography is gear free and focus mostly on the workings of the right side of the brain and not soo much on the tools.
Nevertheless we also need tools, and that Fuji X100F is really a nice one. Soo there goes my name to the draw.
Thank you for your work my photography philosopher friend.
PS: I have submitted another comment, just a minute ago, but the email was wrong
This is what I needed to hear on this frigid morning in Minnesota. Between COVID and winter, I haven’t been venturing to new places. The same old surroundings make finding that vision more challenging. Thanks for the encouragement to do sketch images to find that vision hiding in those same old locations.
Thank for the opportunity for the Fuji. I put my name in.
I appreciate all of the time and energy you send out into the world around photography and bettering oneself. This was a beneficial ready and a great way to start a Sunday before a hike. Please put my name in the hat for the camera, the Fuji ecosystem has always held a portion of my attention.
Thanks David for your insight. A while back, I found your concept of sketch images truly liberating as I found the joy of working a scene and “possibly” discovering an image at the end. I must confess that my typical process is to grab my camera and a lens, choose a destination and head out in a fog:). I have struggled with the concepts of vision and intent, and found that I rarely achieve my preconceived vision. Or if I do, it usually is not a keeper. Now I have the freedom to wander in a fog and dig!
I’ve been following your writings and your videos alt least since 2014, and much appreciate that what you have to say about photography is gear free and focus mostly on the workings of the right side of the brain and not soo much on the tools.
Nevertheless we also need tools, and that Fuji X100F is really a nice one. Soo there goes my name to the draw.
Thank you for your work my photography philosopher friend.
This post really resonates for me. I think it’s the combination of exploration (and thus adventure!!!) that draws me to photography. I’ve always felt this, but this article defines it for me. Thank you.
Good mantra, Dig, Dig, Dig. Name in the hat please.
Love your blogs. They keep me motivated, which helps keep my interest in all things photographic high. Also, because I tend to “leap, before I look” your recommendations are helping me slow down, really “see” , and work on determining my intent when photographing a scene or subject. Thanks.
Give away a camera? That’s brilliant! I’ll have to find a screaming deal on a camera to offer my students. Remote learning is a drag, but if students with ‘A’ grades get entered into a drawing? Well…that’s interesting! Thanks for the inspiration!!!
I was feeling so unmotivated this Sunday morning, and then I opened this. I’m heading out to dig with my “shovel.” Thank you, and looking forward to your talk in April for the Maryland Photography Alliance.
I needed this today. Thank you!
So interesting to think about sketch images – it is sort of what I do, but I’ve never thought about it in that way. I’ve got cross because it’s ‘not working’ and ‘I’m just taking rubbish pictures’, so thinking of these as sketch images which can lead me towards a more successful image is a really helpful idea. And with a small Fuji camera which would be so much easier to carry around than my wonderful but heavy DSLR, the sky might just become the limit!
David, you have been one of the biggest educators for me in order to evoke my intentionality. To help me open my eyes and “see” the world around me with curiosity. To make me aware of the WHYS behind each decision.
Thank you, and i hope you meep inspiring.
On the dark side of exploration, I suspect there are people who simply click compulsively, collecting shots like some people collect baseball cards, without ever questioning the result or iterating the question to arrive at a deeper meaning. And include my name in the hat, please.
Very interesting point of view. It’s been almost a year since I picked up my camera. Maybe now is the time to do it, thanks.
And, yes, please put my name in the hat…
The digging, of course, is the best part of making a photo. It’s not the most fun, nor the easiest, nor is it guaranteed to deliver a desired result. But it’s the only way to improve. And sometimes, by digging just a little deeper than we thought possible, we get a glimpse of what we can become.
I’ve been always lookin for the best way to transmit what I’m feeling when I’m shooting a picture, and always I’m finding things that I forgot to consider, for my brain is very easy to give to me the “happiness of the ligth” but is not that easy when I want to transmit that feeling to somebody who is analyzing my “message” for that reason I’m here reading you, because I want to learn from another eyes and another soul Thanks for your knowledgement!
PS: And yes! I’d love to win the X100F,
Forgot to mention that I would like to be included in the Fuji raffle. Thank you and be safe!
you are the inspiration that I need and I often pass on your stuff to those who will benefit. i was watching a movie the other night “the Dig” and was so blown away by the photography. it is incredible. try to watch it. the vision from Mike Eley the cinema photographer leads to a whole new way of developing emotions. I will be using some of his style in my work, and i trust it will open a few more doors, just as yours has for me. please keep up the great work, dont stop sharring.
thanks
Doug…oh, btw, a Fuji Cam would look nice beside my Nikon D2H
what a pleasure to read you. I’m new to photography and I learned a lot by reading your book “the photographer’s intention”. I particularly like your explanations accompanied by concrete examples, not to copy it but just for one of the many ways of doing things.
I don’t speak english however i saw the last facebook live you did with Laurent Breillat, and i like your easy way to talk about your passion. Thank you for everything you share !!
Thanks, nice write up and I so agree. Funny how feelings just resonate when put into the right words.
I love this quote, “I rarely start at the sweet spot; I’m digging for treasure, and my camera is the shovel.” I often find my “treasure” is something unplanned.
I have always appreciated your ideas about vision, intention, and getting to know the people and places that you visit with your camera in hand. I get the sense that often a deeper vision emerges as you get to know a particular place and see how you are connected to the rhythms and energy of the place. Thank you for the beautiful way you share your wisdom and skill with us. I would love to receive the gift of this new FUJI camera.
Your process matches mine to a large degree. Thank goodness for digital or there would be a lot of wasted film!
This was one of the more heart and honest pieces of yours that I’ve read. Wandering around and exploring and…wait, I have a camera in my possession! Good advice to beginner and seasoned alike. Thanks David.
The sketch image concept not only applies to the image I am taking. The process when done mindfully and analytically refines my eye for future images. And very strangely, it is freeing to no longer see the “not good” images as a waste of time but part of the engagement with the scene. After all I spend a lot of time thinking about things, I don’t see the hazy beginnings as a waste.
Thanks for your words.
Thanks David. Very inspiring, once again ! I will definitely try and make more sketch pictures next time and enjoy the Dig & Click method.
Could you put my name in the hat for the Fuji ? Thank you !
Reassuring to know your creativity doesn’t just arrive to you without a lot of work. I have always had to work hard at creating good images and good to know even the best photographers like yourself do as well. The little Fuji would be great to have and carry all the time!
Made me think – which is awesome. And I related because I feel like I’m supposed to have a ‘vision’ when I start to photograph a client’s horse or dog and I almost never end up where I thought I would be.
(Yes, throw my name in for the Fuji too, please)
Your realistic, down-to-earth approach not only to photography but to life is so inspiring. Thank you for sharing your insight.
I could not agree more with this post David. Motion, movement, action begets ideas and sometimes we need a little patience along the way. It’s also worth noting – especially for us amateurs who do not make our living from photography – that the entire photographic enterprise is more enjoyable if the process is more enjoyable. Too much focus on the end result often leads to frustration.
Oh and about that Fuji…
Absolutely connected with your statement, “The longer I photograph, the more the exploration itself means to me.” I couldn’t agree more , and that impression fully resonated with me. So glad you captured it so wonderfully!
The topic resonates with me. My family went through some dark years and, for a while, my photography was set on the shelf. Still shooting as a side job, but the purely recreational, exploratory, stopped. As brighter days have returned, developing vision, or a common thread I wish to pursue has been a challenge.
Quite often, and this is reflected in our taking our Jeep to parts unknown…to us at least, exploration is key. Not knowing what’s around the corner. And, it’s reflected in viewers of my photographs and videos. If it’s a shot of someplace they have, think they have seen, “nice picture.” The shots captured while exploring, “Wow! Where was that? How’d you take that picture? Cool!”
Exploration of ourselves, of our surroundings, is the foundation for many a pic.
David: I really enjoy your Sunday letters. This one really hit home. I like the idea of sketch images and being able to learn from them. Telling myself that I am taking sketch images takes the pressure off and allows me to get into the minute. This prompts ‘what ifs’ that direct me to try different approaches. Every image is not perfection! Giving myself permission is the key. Thank you. CarolAnne
As always your blog, ebooks and books make me slow down and think more when I am out shooting. Is there more to scene in front of me that I can bring out by my ‘interpretation” of the scene is what I try to do, Capture the moment and the emotion.
Thanks
Eric in Everett,WA
Very inspiring article, David. I like the analogy of digging for the treasure, the perfect shot, after many trial and errors. That is exactly what I do. Thank you for the insight and encouragement to keep on learning.
Please add my name to the list for the Fuji camera.
Thank you for your constant inspiration. I particularly love the podcast.
I love the concept of sketch images. It helps me when I am out wandering with a camera. Removes the pressure to “create art” and let’s me play around to see what inspires me and dare I say it: To see what clicks 🙄
David
As usual, you have provided insightful commentary on how to approach this art form we all love and pursue.
I used to have a photography teacher who drilled into us her WAIT principle- Why Am I Taking this? Your take is a modern interpretation of the same idea! Thank you
And please put my name in the hat for the camera draw!
Hey David, thanks for this post. I’m definitely one of those people who often wanders around in a fog (at least, photographically speaking), thinking there must be something wrong with me because I don’t know what the heck I’m trying to do. It’s nice to be reminded I’m not alone!
This email (like all your others) is terribly interesting. Great to find out how each person works differently and how different the process is before saying “Got it !!”
I’m about to retire and need a good camera when I move to Nova Scotia….
David
Not only a nugget of inspiration but a whole book in a short post. Still clicking, digging, and sometimes cussing.
Oh yes – put my name in the hat. Thank you.
Your emails are a breath of fresh air for me. I have gotten too bogged down with “stuff” (gear) and the never ending edit that I have lost my joy of photography. I looked through some old photo albums with poorly processed images and found myself smiling at those memories. I had a crap camera and bargain processing.
It’s so easy to get lost. Thanks for your passionate reminders about what matters David!
Thanks David for your inspiring insights.
There’s always some work I have to put in before vision becomes what I want.
Please put my name in the hat for the X100F
This is such an important point and I think we all struggle with this in our journey. It took me a lot of time taking other people’s idea of a good photo was supposed to be before I was able to to get to the point you are describing above, where I could just enjoy the process of discovering how to use the camera to uncover what I was really seeing. Knowing that the photos I was taking just didn’t look like what I was seeing and weren’t expressing my feeling about what I saw. It started as an awakening with street and travel photos but it made me feel at home when working this way with portraiture. Thanks for your insight and reminders, David!
…and a new camera would be a blessing! forgot to add in my original post 🙂
– Aaron
Thank you David for your inspiring words. I’m often wandering around in a fog. At least I know I’m not alone. My biggest challenge is digging in the same places near my house over and over. And the Fuji X100F – that would rock!
I enjoy your posts David. I always come away with a good reminder or new tip to integrate into my work. Another camera? Sure!
This is an amazing article (as always)- I look forward to your posts and books.
Also add my name to the drawing- Fuji x-series cameras are great!
Thank you for the perspective. I do feel like I need to get the image right the first time or know in advance what will look the best. I know I am getting better as my practice evolves and deepens. But darn it it still takes more than one click. Maybe that is how it is supposed to be. Not good or bad just is what it is. Then there is only the joy of the moment. Its where the human and spiritual meet.
Enjoying the Compelling Frame course currently and so glad finally taking a moment to study the masters and reflect on my purpose.
Hello David,
It’s been awhile! Hope all is well! The venice photo brings back great memories of times well spent there! Love the way this photo makes me feel! 🙂
Best,
Craig
With this post the shovel definitely went thunk on the buried box of treasure! My own explorations usually end after a few discouraging shots or after the first promising shot. I’ll try to dig deeper. Thanks!
And please enter me in the drawing for the camera.
The timing of this blog post has been perfect. I notice that being intentional has not been the one thing I have mentally engaged in. I have been studying this whole notion of being intentional over the last five days because of my current 30 day project using only The XF 18-55mm with my Xpro2. One camera and one kit lens. It has really slowed me down. Vision, Intention, Emotional Content, Narrative. This is where I am right now, do I need another Camera? No I don’t, would I like to be first out of the Hat 🎩 of course I would. How’s that for intentionality? Cheers David
#30daychallengexf1855mm
I thoroughly enjoyed your St. Louis camera club presentation, particularly on finding one’s vision.
I would appreciate putting my name in the hat for the Fuji giveaway. Thank you
Always enjoy your insights, David. But I still wander around in a fog most of the time, despite your efforts. Please throw my hat in for the Fuji.
I really hope you put all these names in an actual hat. Thanks again for all your work in helping folks get better at doing what they do.
Thank you once again for a Very inspiring article on envisioning the process of creating images that tell a story.
The fog and the cussing… and sometimes the bitter disappointment when the glittering story you see and imagine just won’t transfer to the photo.
I’d love a chance to win that Fuji X100F! I gifted your book ‘Within the Frame’ to my son for Christmas – wouldn’t it be fun to pair it with a new camera!?
This page of your blog really resonates with me because that is exactly what I do. Sometimes I get the perfect shot the first time but most times the first shot leads me to the other shots which eventually gives me a shot I love. Thanks for your blogs and instagrams, they are inspiring & reinforcing.
Thank you for all that you share. It has helped me fulfill my passion for photography.
So happy to have my method of digging corroborated!🤪. Love your musings…
Yes, please put me on the Fuji list – I am a happy committed Fuji user!
As a new retiree learning photography, your words really help me! It has been a journey that has captured my heart! Who knew? I use an old Canon that was my daughter’s for her high school senior project…low these many years ago! I would love to drop my name in the hat for the Fuji! Thanks for your fabulous books and emails/blog posts. They keep me inspired!
Thank you David, I love receiving your Emails, always something inspirational to get me excited again and at this moment its what we all need.
A picture says a 1000 words
Thanks for the inspiring articles, David!
Thank you for always keeping us tuned in. I am getting older and sure could use a lighter camera! Please sign me up!
I feel much better about my “process” of making photographs after reading this post. I love the process of wandering around a subject, trying different shots, and once in a while getting a shot that I really feel good about and says something about what I value and love. It might be the color, or the mood, or the subject, and sometimes the process starts with one of these and the shot that I end up liking the most is another. In short, it is as much about the experience of going out to explore and think about the subject and location as it is the actual taking and creating a photograph. COVID has made this experience a lot harder to do but I have found subjects closer to home that suddenly are more interesting. Thanks for your insights and ideas.
I think you should always take your time to explore and take shots from different angles with different camera settings, because you could easily miss the composition that you want and then you are missing the story that you are trying to tell. It might mean that you have to revisit the location more than once at different times of the day and different times of the year especially with landscapes. The key thing is to have patience and not to rush. I would like to throw my name in the hat for a chance to win the Fuji X100F. Thank you for sharing your great insight into your way of thinking. 🙂
David, your insight always gives more clarity into the craft. Thank you!
Also, would love that x100f!
Vision and Intent!
Thanks. Please add my name!
enjoy your books and blogs. I must own 15 plus and sitting down to read Soul of the Camera
Hi David,
thank you so much for your patience a (heartistic) investment as well as your didactical skills making the young (and older photographers) to reflect and improve the mind & skill set before the next photo action!
I would put it probably this way:
Vision+knowledge+effort+time+more effort+good luck+bad luck+(self)reflection+more time&effort&good luck+better vision, etc. = more or less satisfactory result
It starts with a Vision but it doesn’t end up with it! What is further needed are Emotion, Intellect and Will (as you describe it in other ways!)
Keep on inspiring the photographers and people from all over the world and yourself, too!
Best regards
Roman (Fuji x100f)
Just to summarize my previous suggestion:
Vision + Intention = more or less satisfactory result
And David, I would be more than satisfied with the new Fuji!😉
Thanks for your articles. You always leave me with something new to work on. Thanks!
While I do love the tech stuff, I’ve noticed that I getter better results when I’m pro-active than re-active when I take my photos. It’s difficult to describe, but instead of just taking photos of what I see, I’ve started to explore what I see. I’ve also started to revisit places/subjects. I’m not sure I understand what I’m doing but I like the result 😀 You and a couple of other photographers have made me think more about the content and less about tech and “perfect” images, and I’m very grateful for that.
But as I said, I love tech and I would really like to see why everyone seem to love Fuji, so I’m also in for the drawing.
I’m from Germany and I have read some of your books, translated and edited by D-Punkt-Verlag, Heidelberg. I think i`ve learned a lot for my work as a photojournalist und nature photographer. W
Glad to hear the struggle is universal (though I had suspected it, not least because of your book titles and the amount you’ve written on the subject).
For me, the struggle is a bit further back. I can usually see something in my mind’s eye and when it does not spring forth from the LCD on the back of my camera—when it starts as a terrible ugly—I am too quick to chalk the deficit up to the idea being bad as opposed to my expression not being well developed enough.
It is hard to inhabit that ugly space while armed with your perfectionist habits and a shield made from the hours and hours of research, the days spent imagining. But I try to stand there, looking deeper into the idea and my approach and I keep fighting my way towards something that will make me gape at the beauty of it, the astonishment that I thought of this thing and then made it come to life.
When it doesn’t work, it is hard to stand in their and not take your own failure personally. To think I have spent so much energy and time on something that I know deeply to be worthwhile but to be foundering trying to reach it.
I find myself thinking of this Ingmar Bergman quote when it is truly going horribly:
“I throw a spear into the darkness. That is intuition. Then I must send an army into the darkness to find the spear. That is intellect.”
The spear is usually out there but my army just needs more time.
David,
Thank you for this post. You so remind me of the restless start, the exploration, the adventure, the excitement in the “hunt” towards that ‘gotcha’ moment. Just exhilarating. The stuff that pulls us back out there with our camera again and again for more.
El
Throw my name in the hat for the Fuji camera drawing please.
Thanks for the wonderful community you’ve built David!
Dig, dig, dig. Click, click, click. Digging (clicking) for treasure…..what a fabulous contextual framework for budding photographers. Thank you!
Please throw my name in the hat….a Fuji X100F would be such a treat.
Thank You for your words of wisdom and generous heart.
Linda
I’d love to win the X100F to give it to my wife.
Thanks for the inspiring articles, David!
I’ve always admired photographers who seem to have a strong, clear and sustained vision, even if that is simply the result of effective editing. Thanks for pointing out that vision does not have to be perfectly clear all of the time. Please add my name to your hat. Does the winner also get the hat?
Yep. That’s me alright. Exploring in a fog, making sketches until something strikes me. Oh, and please enter me in the giveaway. 🤓
As I face the fact that spring is not yet here, color is absent in the landscape and in the lockdown life we are leading at the moment, I was relieved and inspired to find that not only do others face the dearth of ideas and “vision”, but that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There has been so much loss and lost over the past year that positivity is dear and will be appreciated for a long time. Please put my name in the evergrowing hat!!
I’m hoping to get picked for this Fuji camera. I have never owned a mirrorless camera.
Your words are quite reassuring. In my 4 years of making photographs I most love the exploration and experimentation. I often have no idea what I will photograph when I start out. Yes, I am often disappointed when I get back to the computer and see that so many of my shots are not worth keeping (I’m assuming that will improve as I become better at the craft). It doesn’t deter me though, because that feeling of everything falling away except for what I’m seeing – that “one-pointed” focus – feels so good.
Yes! I’ve always wanted my name in a hat so please throw my name in there. Many of my photographs are scenes I stumble upon just doing what I happen to be doing that day. Shopping. Hunting. Exercising. Picking up takeout. But when doing what my main focus in photography is I agree with what you’ve said here. Temples are what I shoot and it takes time to explore and experiment and and try new angles and vantage points and distances and times of day and different weather days and on and on.
Very inspiring! It’s always about the process and all the things you learn mostly through failure. The beauty comes to those who believe in their craft and don’t get discouraged during the process. Thank you for this reminder!!!
And I would love for you to put my name in the hat!
I love receiving your emails, they are always a great reminder to stop and pause. While most of my work is in studio portraits now, I can always find a few good nuggets in there. Would love to be in the drawing for the Fuji! Thanks.
Another great read, as usual.
So really, vision is still everything, but what you are saying is that it’s OK to start without knowing what it is! Which most days is pretty much what I have been doing. Your comments have caused me to think more critically about my process – and validate it.
Thanks!
Loved this post as always. It’s true that most of time I go out because I feel the need to photograph even though I don’t have a clear of what exactly. That’s why I wander (and wonder!) a lot during my shoot walk and I love that. Sometimes it’s a “bad” day and we go back empty handed but the intent was there and the time spent will eventually be worth it. Can’t wait to travel again and wander in new places.
Of course, you can count me in for that beautiful X100-F
Thanks again for all your work
Thank you SO MUCH, for your photography, you’re such an ispiration to me.
All the best for your future.
It interesting to read your thoughts about intent, vision, and scouting. I agree and since I began ing film a few years ago and even pinhole cameras that searching and scouting first has become even more vital. Thank you for the generous giveaway as well.
Another good post that makes you think about the process.
Just yesterday I was on a walk with my wife and I had my camera with me and she asked what I was looking to photograph, and I told her I’d know when I saw it. Kind of a variation on the sketch image approach but it shares walking around in the fog 🙂
…and please add my name to the Fuji drawing!
Thx, David, for generously sharing your knowledge about how to make great photos — and not just great in a technical sense. I enjoy your writing and love listening to your podcast! Very inspiring.
Thx also for offering the Fuji X giveaway! Count me in, please. 🙂
Great article! I love the concept of sketch images and love to see great photographers sketches in a book you once recommended, Magnum contact sheets! I try to use this method out photographing but often don’t dig enough! I must try to enjoy the exploration process more and not get hung up on striking gold!
Thank you for continually inspiring us!
Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your blog and posts. You inspire me to be a better photographer and open my vision with each post. I am always excited when I see something new from you and appreciate how it makes me develop a new or improved vision. Thank
Thank you for the entry as I’m a Fuji photographer.
Thanks for sharing your process! I often click, click, click but struggle to determine what isn’t working and give up frustrated. I’ll try harder to do the work next time.
The more I comment on our camera group images the more I talk about intention, so I agree with you that vision is perhaps not the description we need. I think more about working the scene to get the most out of it which is me changing my intention as I do so.
Good article. And it would be also nice to win the Fuji.
Greetings from germany
Thomas
I admit the idea of walking around with a vision – an image that I’m seeking to make! – is far more intimidating than the notion of digging, not hit or miss, but to find what’s there! Thank you! (And a different camera would be intriguing.)
Always great insight and inspiration
Totally agree with this post. For me, the beginning of the process that triggers the feeling to eventually apply your vision, may have multiple aspects. The shooting of moments and framing using the camera like a sketchbook is so appropriate. I more often start shooting and then start writing notes on my notebook on inspiration triggers.
Hei don’t forget my name in the hat!
Cheers,
Gianluigi
As so often, you have hit the nail on the head. Thanks
Another great column! I get some of my best shots at events and on the street by plopping down for awhile and sitting there to see what unfolds. Exploring and pausing are my keys to walk then sit and wait.
Thank you for this affirmation that you don’t need to know 100% what your photo will look like before taking it. That takes some pressure of the idea of having a “vision”. For me, your idea of a vision sounds more like an invitation to not go for the thing that comes to your mind first- the knee jerk response to a familiar visual- but rather to explore less obvious of comfortable ways of looking at it. And seeing it rather than looking through it.
Thank you for your work.
inspiration is a blessing and always apppreciated put my name in the hat please
David, I’m not sure what I would do without these Sunday morning inspirational messages. They are better than the Sunday sermon! 🙂
Your posts are always inspiring to me. I’ve read most of your books, and bought “The Compelling Frame”, but haven’t had a chance to get started on it yet. Looking forward to it. (Winning a new camera would just be icing on the cake!)
Thank you!!
It’s always great to read of your wisdom, David!
Thanks for the interesting article David. Reading along I realized that my process is very similar to what you describe. The one thing I could add is that I do a lot of exploring and never even touch the camera even though it is right there with me. If I find something that would be interesting in different light, weather or time I make a note to return. I am drawn to nature and wildlife photography and find that just being in a specific environment with the sights, sounds and smells is a big part of the whole experience. I sometimes worry that because of this the images that I do create may not have the same meaning to anyone who did not experience it with me (the normal scenario I’m afraid).
Also, please enter me in the Fuji X100F draw.
Thank you for continued contributions and insights for the photographic community. I appreciate your perspective, your expertise and your willingness to be you creative, vulnerable self.
And yes, I’d like to win a camera too.
Funny because as I was reading through, it occured to me that from a young I was fascinated by the work of archeologists…..and yes, what you describe is exactly how I feel…..dig, dig, dig, click, click, click until you find! Thank you for putting it into words that resonate with many of us I am certain.
David. I am reading this as the snow is falling outside my window. I only need to put on my coat and go exploring and who knows what treasure i might find and if not thats OK too. Its all about the process of explorationn!
David, I’m not sure what I would do without these Sunday morning inspirational messages. Better than the Sunday sermon! 🙂
Thanks for some morning inspiration. Digging and clicking until you find the image that was just waiting to be found. The joy and frustration is in the process and the process leads to the discovered image.
Please enter me in the drawing for the Fuji camera.
I’ve been caught up in learning the technical aspects of photography and found it wasn’t getting the results I was looking for. Now I’m trying to spend more time on composition and intent. Your blogs are helping look for direction and focus in my photography. I’m slowing down and looking before I click.
Hey David… Winnipeg is finally into winter… temperatures that feel like -46 yesterday, projected colder today and tomorrow… but I still drag my butt out with my camera wrapped inside my XXL parka to keep the battery active. Yesterday I went with my vision, which basically is my passion for winter and the beauty it provides… My intent however was to capture what it feels like to photograph snow when your fingers are so cold you can’t feel the buttons, when are frozen to the point that the pressure under your fingernails feels like they are about to explode… but in spite of the bitter weather, it is an incredible experience to be out with the camera when you know most people are nestled at home sitting around a television… and yes I would LOVE a Fuji x-100F too
Great insights, as always. Much to ponder and learn and apply.
I’d love to enter the contest. Thanks!
I found the post inspiring. I tend to think of myself as an ‘intuitive’ photographer rather than a patient planning one. My problem when traveling is probably a lack of time spent alone, concentrating / ‘digging’. On one hand, it is sometimes impractical/unsafe for a woman to be wandering around alone. On the other hand, it is hard to ‘dig’ when you are with people who are NOT ‘diggers’. Anyway, I enjoyed the post and will try to keep it in mind and apply it whenever and wherever I can. Thanks!
I forgot to say throw my name in the hat!
I really enjoy your insights, David. Your writing always makes me think.
Also, please add my name to the list of entries for the camera!
I think we all need to be reminded of this from time to time. It is so easy to get caught up in everything that we forget to slow down and truly explore what we see. I am slowly working my way though several of your books again. Always a refreshing read, and the opportunity to win a Fuji just tops it off.
Dig, dig, dig, click, click, click are now words to live by . I get so much pleasure from the exploration and searching for treasure. Thank you for the affirmation and inspiration.
Please put me in the draw.
David. I am reading this as the snow is falling outside my window. I only need to put on my coat and go exploring and who knows what treasure i might find and if not thats OK too. Its all about the process of explorationn!
Solid insight as always.
I photograph seniors and high school sports. I love when we have an idea (an image to be used on a banner, for example) and I go through the process you described: “(click)…Hmmm. Let’s try this. (click)…Huh!. What if… (click)…Oh! Interesting! Lets try… (click)…Ooooh! We’re close!, etc…)”
The analogy of digging is spot on. The exploration is almost as fun as the discovery!
Long-time follower–Thank you for your generosity in helping to inspire me and others over the years!
I look forward to your blog and am always inspired. This one really hit home as slowing down and being patient is something I have to work on all the time. With practice, I hope this becomes second nature as results show when I do slow down and shoot wiht intent.
Always enjoy your articles.
Thank you for the reminder to not get inpatient or discouraged at the beginning of the exploration process…. to push past to that moment when it all comes together. ☺️
And yes… please add me to the Fuji hat! Thanks!
What a beautiful reminder that art is not always a set destination but a journey to find the best way to express an emotion or story. Thank you for that! And please throw my name in the hat for the Fuji!!
Love your words as usual… And sure, I’d love to have the fuji, I’ve already get an room for her in the house 😁.
Thanks David
Thank you for all the great and helpful info!
Sketch images are a great tool. I don’t always do enough digging. No gold, but sometimes I find interesting rocks.
And also throw my name into the hat.
Thanks for all that you do!
As always, such motivating words of wisdom! And I’d love to win the Fuji camera
But it’s so hard to be patient!!! I’m currently taking a class on creative approach and this topic totally fits it. Needing to keep digging before finding the one that works resonates with me so much. I would love to with a Fuji .
Hi David!
I love your books. They give me a lot of idea… thanks for help…
Alain
An incredibly generous body of work, both in the images you’ve captured and equally so, the years of writings and insights that kept you going, which has kept so many of us inspired to keep shooting.
Hi, David –
Thanks for these posts & emails. I’m working my way through The Compelling Frame and it’s an eye-opener! I appreciate your work on all this.
Your articles are so insightful and helpful. Keep up the good work David.
Thank you.
Thank you David for your help!
As with most of your posts I find myself reading and saying, “yes, yes, yes, very much yes.” Thank you for the grounding wisdom, and the opportunity to snag that Fuji. It’s been on my wish list for some time.
I admit you got my attention when you said vision isn’t everything. As a long time reader of your books and participation in several courses, I knew there was wisdom ahead. Some of my favorite images were not what I was out searching for. Many become inspiration for poems giving my vision a voice. Thank you again for your words that always hit the mark I didn’t know I was searching for.
Greetings David
Thank you for your continued inspiration and highlighting the importance of intent, especially in artwork and photography. I feel like everywhere we turn, vision seems to be the point that is always made but intent, that is oh so much more special!
Kind Regards!
Your post rang so true for me. It is only through wandering around and experimenting that I discover my vision. Thanks for your posts, and podcasts. I always enjoy and learn from what you have to say. And I would love to win the Fuji!
Lovely read, thanks. Would love to explore with that little Fuji 🙂
Luck is when opportunity meets preparation isn’t it?
Paraphrasing this, success is when experience & knowledge support vision.
Thank you for this and for all your generous inspiration. And thank you for reminding me that I have to do the work to make something happen.
And yes- I would love to be entered for the Fuji giveaway!
Vision and intent are internal, the image is external. Connecting the two is sometimes what makes things a challenge. It’s why I find it hard to respect those that shun post processing. For me, the more effort I put in connecting my vision with my intent the better the photograph and that often involves time in Photoshop.
I just today finally shared a photograph that–I kid you not–I’ve been working on (on and off) over a year and a half. I’ve had this image in my mind for years and having photographed the flour, I now needed to add the salt and water. But only just the right amounts would do. I’d return to it from time to time over the days, weeks, and months and I am now pretty damn happy with it.
Was I happy with it out of camera? Absolutely! But I knew that it wasn’t quite up to my vision which I guess is a kind of ideal.
As always, thank you for your thoughts David.
PS: Consider my hat thrown in!
Hi David,
Thanks a lot for your insightful posts and emails, as always helping us become better artists. And I’m not gonna lie, I’d love to win that Fuji too 🙂
Kind regards,
Alvaro
The only time X marks the spot is in a “Coyote and the Roadrunner” cartoon.
And we know how that worked out for Wile. E.
Hi David!
Please put my name in the hat. ❤️
I’ve been ‘sifting through the soil’ for 30+ years in the hope of achieving A Vision, and it hasn’t happened yet. But you know what? I enjoy the process anyway. I’ll keep sifting!
David, I appreciate your exploration of this topic. When I re-introduced myself to the camera I was in a hurry to capture the image, check the box, and move on. I have since learned to slow down and explore what is possible as I look through the viewfinder and all around me. I have come to believe my camera is my voice and microphone and ask myself what is that I want to say in creating this image.
very interesting ideas and I will study them and probably start using them in my photography.
Thanks.
Dear David,
thanks a lot for all your work – I thoroughly enjoy each post! And find myself in so many things you describe… 🙂 Stay safe, Martin
Oh, and by the way – I wouldn’t say no to a new Fuji X100F… 😉
I’ve been reading you for about 5 years. One thing you always told us, is it’s not about the gear, but the process and the intent we put in our photographs.
You encourage us to stop making snapshots and making a photograph. That’s the most important message.
For the past 5 years, I was in camera club. Last December I decided to quit, because I was looking to please other people, not me. So now I am taking pleasure in learning and playing with a camera for me first of all.
I’m interested in the process of photography not winning a competition, I’m to old for that.
Right on Yves – totally agree. I dropped all social media for the same reason; I was having trouble listening to myself. And I too am too old for that 😉
Great food for thought, thanks as always for the inspiration!
wonderful article and yes so true.. i have discovered that i love going back to the same places often,, and you have confirmed for me why i do that..
Always eager to find your next update!! big inspiration and motivation for us mere….mortals!
Thank you very much for this, David. Be sure that I will just keep digging.
Been following you for years and you continue to inspire me. Always look forward o your posts.
Thank you for this post/email. This very question has proved a great big stumbling block in the last month or so when I started on working through “The Compelling fRame”. I’m still stuck on the first lesson for this very reason although I’m slowly digging (ha! See what I did there 😉 ) out of it with the help of some others in the community.
I’d love to try my luck with a Fuji so please add my name to the hat, it might help me dig even deeper.
I do the click and dig method too! Your articles are always sweet nuggets about the creative process. Thank you. And yes, please put my name in the hat for the Fuji camera.
Great post, David. “Exploration usually has to happen before expression.” Love this. Vision is good. Experiences are better. 🙂
Wonderful approach which encourages me to stay in my own way – thank you for each little thought, dear David! Regards from frosty Germany.
Thank you David, for your many years of contribution to the art of photography. Take joy in knowing you’ve impacted the creative lives of countless people and made the world a more beautiful place.
Your posts always inspire me. Thank you for appreciating art and beauty and practicality and life in general. This world is so difficult, but you, David are a bright spot counteracting the darkness. And yes, I would love to win a new Fuji camera, since mine is ageing, just like me!
I love your click…..click….click sequence! And I would love to win that Fuji.
Thanks for sharing your love and heart for photography. As always – I love your honesty and insights.
Ewien
Hey David, thanks for the constant inspiration and for the love you have for the beautiful city I have the luck to live nearby, Venice.
Looking at the pics you take motivates me to enjoy it more and more.
Un grande abbraccio
Francesco
Bonjour David!
Remerciements sincères pour votre gentillesse.
Christophe
Thanks! Always a great read.
Great topic and this is something I struggle with personally. Being patient with the process seems to be the key. Yes, please put my name in the hat! Thank you!