<\/p>\n
In reading Ansel Adams\u2019 fascinating book \u201cExamples \u2013 The Making of 40 Photographs\u201d in virtually every example he relates what he visualized and the techniques he employed to capture that.\u00a0 Adams was certainly one of the most prominent proponents of previsualization.\u00a0 In fact, he developed the Zone System so that he could have more control in capturing and reproducing the tonalities he visualized while in the field.\u00a0 Shooting a large format view camera, Adams was often severely limited in the number of sheets of film available to him on a shoot, especially if he had to lug his camera gear half way up Yosemite\u2019s Half Dome or some other remote location.\u00a0 He had to get it right the first time.<\/p>\n
In his article, Kasson, an active fine art photographer in the Carmel, California area, noted Henri Cartier-Bresson\u2019s famous statement that encapsulated his work about looking for and finding the \u201cdecisive moment.\u201d\u00a0 Kasson imagined, and certainly I did too, that Cartier-Bresson wandered the streets of Paris with camera at the ready and when he saw the decisive moment, captured it in a single shot.\u00a0 But when Kasson had the opportunity to view Cartier-Bresson\u2019s contact sheets he saw that the \u201cdecisive moment\u201d was not captured in a single frame.\u00a0 Rather, Cartier-Bresson worked a scene, often taken frame after frame, refining the composition or viewpoint, capturing many moments until all the elements came together in the \u201cdecisive moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Kasson\u2019s own work is characterized by a spontaneity and playfulness, an unpredictability that is the antithesis of previsualization.\u00a0 \u201cI employ a photographic approach opposite<\/em> previsualization.\u00a0 I actually want to be surprised<\/em>\u2026. I create photographic series that make surprises likely, even unavoidable.\u00a0 I love doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n William Neill<\/a> became a proponent of the \u2018Impressionistic\u2019 style of photography that is characterized by blurs that by their very nature are random and unpredictable, again, the antithesis of previsualization.<\/p>\n Not to place my own work on a par with these great artists but In my own experience I have often been surprised at what I discover in an image as I work on it, that the interpretation of the subject not only comes from what I experience in the field but also what happens in the \u2018darkroom.\u2019\u00a0 With Lightroom, Photoshop and the other great tools available to us these days, the message communicated by the image can be the feelings I had in the field or something discovered later in the darkroom that may very well be a dramatic departure from the objective reality of the subject.<\/p>\n So where has this journey taken us and why did I choose the opening paragraph that I used?\u00a0 Starting with the second question, I chose the opening paragraph because so many artists and appreciators of art fall into a position that there is a right way and a wrong way to create art.\u00a0 You must previsualize.\u00a0 Previsualization is stifling and too constraining.\u00a0 You must frame the final image in the camera.\u00a0 You must do the final crop in Lightroom.\u00a0 You must get it on \u2018film.\u2019\u00a0 You can always fix it in Photoshop.\u00a0 You must use a tripod.\u00a0 You must shoot hand held.\u00a0 HDR is evil.\u00a0 HDR is is a godsend.\u00a0 You must shoot a Nikon.\u00a0 You must shoot a Canon.\u00a0 You cannot create anything of value with a PC.<\/p>\n Adhering to one dogma can be stifling but not always.\u00a0 Adams was the master of previsualization and his works are not stifled or unexpressive.\u00a0 Cartier-Bresson was the master of the decisive moment and he worked hard to find them.\u00a0 Kasson\u2019s and Neill\u2019s works are imaginative, spontaneous and delightful.\u00a0 Each is inspirational and moving in its own way.<\/p>\n Back to the first question, \u201cWhere has this journey taken us?\u201d\u00a0 I think there are several of lessons, the first and most important of which is\u2026<\/p>\n Be open-minded<\/strong>\u00a0 Give yourself permission to experiment, to escape from what you may feel is expected of you.\u00a0 Embrace criticism.\u00a0 Embrace rejection.\u00a0 Embrace possibilities.<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK to develop a personal style<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s OK to prefer one approach over another and to strive to master that approach.\u00a0 It\u2019s OK to develop a creative vocabulary that makes it possible for you to express what it is you have to say.\u00a0 Discipline and skill are good thinks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK to do crazy things<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s OK to try things outside the box of your personal style.\u00a0 It\u2019s OK to be brash and foolish.\u00a0 It\u2019s OK to fail.\u00a0 It\u2019s OK to expand the way you see the world.\u00a0 And it\u2019s OK to expand your creative vocabulary and your ability to express what you see and feel.<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK to grow<\/strong>\u00a0 A personal style is not a static thing.\u00a0 As you grow, you discover more things to say and more ways of saying them, your personal style will evolve and grow.<\/p>\n Our art, photography, can be a rich and rewarding endeavor and an ever fascinating journey of self-discovery.\u00a0 Be open to the possibilities and hone your skills.\u00a0 Become really good at what you do best.<\/p>\n Join the conversation.\u00a0 Share your thoughts and experiences with us.<\/p>\n And if you find this article of interest, feel free to share it with others.\u00a0 Email it to a\u00a0 friend.\u00a0 Post it on Facebook.\u00a0 Twit it.<\/p>\n Join me on an upcoming workshop.\u00a0 Click here for more details.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Ansel](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Ansel-Adams-Tenaya-Creek-Spring-Rain-1948-600_thumb.jpg\" "\\"Ansel")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"cartier-bresson-hyeres1\"](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/cartier-bresson-hyeres1_thumb.jpg\" "\\"cartier-bresson-hyeres1\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"header1\"](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/header1_thumb.jpg\" "\\"header1\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"william-neill-aspen-impressions-2\"](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/william-neill-aspen-impressions-2_thumb.jpg\" "\\"william-neill-aspen-impressions-2\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"zabriskie_point_14_120213\"](\"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/zabriskie_point_14_120213_thumb.jpg\" "\\"zabriskie_point_14_120213\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n