(embiggenable)
“Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking seeing what no one else has ever thought seen.” ~ Albert Einstein
IN MY LAST ENTRY I PRESENTED A QUOTE FROM MR. EINSTEIN which I adapted-striking out his words and inserting my own-to make his thought more applicable to the making of photographs. I did so cuz Einstein trafficked in thinking, albeit very imaginative thinking (according to him, imagination is more important than knowledge), whereas, according to Walker Evans…
“The eye traffics in feelings, not thoughts.” ~ Walker Evans
I believe, wholeheartedly, that thinking in situ while picturing is antithetical to the pursuit of creative picture making. Rather, relying upon an instinctive feeling-knowledge guided by experience and an understanding of how you see the world-about what to picture and how to picture it-is a much more productive manner in which to foster creative seeing.
And seeing is what picture making is all about cuz photography is a visual art form. iMo, the best photographs are those that excite the eye-the visual senses-not the intellect (aka: the feeling destroying search for meaning). Therefore, in the pursuit of making pictures which excite the eye (creative pictures), a picture maker’s focus should be, in fact, must be, be directed toward the seeing and feeling of the visual characteristics of what is in front of his/her eye and camera. Then intuitively sensing / feeling how those visual elements, when isolated (framing) and arranged (POV)-as determined by when they just feel “right” as seen on a picturing device’s viewing screen-will work when spread across the 2D field of a photographic print.
While the preceding paragraph might seem to be a bit on the heavy side, prescription wise, in fact, to the practiced and knowledgeable eye, the awareness and implementation of such prescription is nearly instantaneous and intuitive-no thinking required-at the moment of picture making.
All of the above written, for me and as it applies my picture making, creativity springs from my understanding of how I see the world (literally, my vision) and how that vision directs my picture making (figurative) vision. That knowledge-and my trust, re: what pricks my eye and sensibilities, thereof-frees me from having to think about what to picture-the world is my oyster-and how to picture it-quite simply, as I see it. Consequently, I am able, picture making wise, to free associate (an aid in gaining access to the unconscious processes of creativity) in response to what I see.