{"id":4205,"date":"2018-12-22T05:14:37","date_gmt":"2018-12-22T13:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/?p=4205"},"modified":"2018-12-22T05:27:45","modified_gmt":"2018-12-22T13:27:45","slug":"everyone-can-take-a-picture-but-few-can-make-a-photograph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/2018\/12\/22\/everyone-can-take-a-picture-but-few-can-make-a-photograph\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyone Can Take a Picture but Few Can Make a Photograph"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnything that excites\u00a0me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter,<\/em>\u00a0but making the commonplace unusual.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

~ Edward Weston<\/em><\/p>\n

There are millions of pictures taken every day, every hour\u00a0even.\u00a0 They are fun and spontaneous.\u00a0 They record moments in peoples\u2019 lives.\u00a0 They are shared on social media and sent in emails. And when viewed later, they bring back memories.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to take a picture. \u00a0The dominant camera is the smart phone. \u00a0Just hold it up and tap the red button. \u00a0It takes no time at all and the reward is instantaneous.\u00a0 It requires no particular skills or training.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy; anyone can do it.<\/p>\n

These pictures will fill the internet\u2019s networks and some\u00a0may even end up on peoples\u2019 walls or in scrapbooks. \u00a0But mostly when shared face to face, it\u2019s from the smart phone\u2019s camera roll.<\/p>\n

Making a photograph is not at all like taking a picture.\u00a0 It\u2019s not easy.\u00a0 It requires training, experience, special skills and patience.\u00a0 The rewards are not instantaneous and not everyone can do it.<\/p>\n

Making a photograph does not document the world but rather\u00a0is a window to the world as seen through the photographer\u2019s soul.\u00a0 It is a work of art.\u00a0 When we view a made photograph, we not only see the photograph\u2019s subject but we also see the photographer.<\/p>\n

A made photograph begins with a connection between the photographer\u00a0and some aspect of the world.\u00a0 In many cases this connection causes an emotional response \u2013 joy, wonder, excitement, brooding, awe, dread, power, serenity and many others.\u00a0 In all cases, the photographer\u2019s response is personal and unique.<\/p>\n

In making a photograph, the photographer\u2019s intent is to not\u00a0only capture the subject of the image, the thing that made him or her stop, but\u00a0also the feeling that the encounter created.<\/p>\n

To do this the photographer brings an accumulation of\u00a0experiences and skills to bear.\u00a0 The image is carefully and meticulously composed. \u00a0The elements are selected and arranged to draw attention to what the photographer saw and was attempting to capture. \u00a0Perhaps they also help to communicate why the photographer decided to capture the image.<\/p>\n

Not only that but the photographer can evaluate the use of\u00a0sharpness and blur to further strengthen the image\u2019s message.<\/p>\n

In landscape photography light is a powerful element in communicating\u00a0emotion but it can also pose great challenges. \u00a0Recognizing these challenges and selecting the best techniques to deal with them is another key step in making a photograph.<\/p>\n

Finally, all is ready and the photographer trips the\u00a0shutter.\u00a0 The image is captured.\u00a0 But the work has just begun.\u00a0 All the considerations and effort that has led up to this moment is just the starting point in making a photograph.<\/p>\n

What happens next is the post processing that some\u00a0disdainfully call \u2018manipulation.\u2019\u00a0 But the camera is unaware of what the photographer had in mind or was feeling.\u00a0 Therefore, it\u2019s the photographer\u2019s role to bring this to life in the digital darkroom. \u00a0Through the enhancement of the levels of brightness and contrast and the adjustment of the color palette the image achieves its potential, not as a reproduction of an external reality but as an expression of an internal, subjective reality.<\/p>\n

When a photograph is successfully made it brings photographer\u00a0and viewers together in a shared experience that has the ability to stimulate\u00a0insights into and expand awareness of the world in which we live.\u00a0 This is neither simple nor easy nor quick.\u00a0 But it is fulfilling.<\/p>\n

(118)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making a photograph involves much more than ‘point and shoot.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,1339,8],"tags":[76,294],"class_list":["post-4205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","category-photography-workshop","category-workshops","tag-fine-art-photography","tag-landscape-photography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Nl7-15P","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4205"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4209,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4205\/revisions\/4209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}