(embiggenable) • iPhone
As far as it goes, this statement from Elliot Erwitt is a reasonable idea:
"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place...You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them. ~ Elliot Erwitt
AS I READ / UNDERSTAND ERWITT'S STATEMENT it seems that he is suggesting that, when one is out and about (anywhere) with a picture making device, with eyes and mind wide open, one is most likely going to notice things, picture making fodder wise. At which point it becomes a matter of organization, acka: composition, and then releasing the shutter. With the exception of a picture maker in pursuit of a very specific picture making objective-say, a white fire hydrant illuminated by the late day sun-that is a reasonable description of how many picture makers might work.
That written, the manner in which I work differs in one important aspect...I do not notice "things", rather, I notice "organization". That is, my eye and sensibilities are first pricked by arrangements (the organization) of things."Things" being best described as the relationships of line, shape, space, color, light and shadow, patterns, texture of a select segement of the real world independent of what might be perceived as the referent, aka: subject, of my picture.
In the case of today's picture, the select segment of the real world was that of my kitchen sink. What first pricked by eye and sensibilities was the strikingly intense-especially when viewed against the grey of the sink-color and texture of the bacon and noodle, followed immediately by their spacial and linear relationship to each other and the drop of water, the spot of warm directional sunlight and the repeating pattern, top to bottom, of arching bands of light and dark. All of this "noticing" happened within the span of 2-3 seconds.
However, here's the thing, while I can sit here now and write about what I saw, the fact of the matter is that I did not consciously think about those things, aka: the visual elements, at the moment of seeing them and then making the picture. The only way I can describe it is that I "felt" it. And, most likely, if I had thought about it, I would have missed getting the picture cuz that little spot of warm directional sunlight was gone in a flash.
In any event, some might view today's picture as a picture of a piece of bacon and noddle in a sink. But, of course, I saw and pictured much more than just that.