Vision is a uniquely individual thing. It's what each photographer brings to the craft of photography; it's the amalgamation of a lifetime of experiences and emotions we apply to an image to express what we think or feel about our subject.
When I began the journey into digital photography, I was a staunch and strict realist or so I thought I was. When I would be processing images from the beach, for example, Peter would suggest that I add a little more contrast or perhaps a smidgen of saturation to give the picture some "pop", as he called it. I argued, loudly at times, that "it didn't look like that" and I would securely park my sliders where they were, rendering an image that reflected what I truly saw with little to no vision added.
If the day was a hazy, slightly overcast day, with lots of people on the beach and in the water enjoying everything the seashore has to offer - I would ensure that my final image conveyed that hazy, gray-overcast look rather than the bold brilliant emotions of families enjoying each other at the shore.
Sadly, I maintained this position for way too long.
Over the past several years, I have read a lot about photography and photographers, the craft of photography and the art of photography, and sight versus vision. If there's one thing I have learned it is that the camera is a tool to record an image. It is a piece of equipment and as sophisticated as cameras have become, they will never see what we see, as we see it, with the awesome human eye. It's simply not possible. So, given that, straight off the bat, images we photographers create don't really look like what we saw. Once I accepted that, I became a much happier person let alone photographer.
If you've followed my work for any length of time, you know how much I love the ocean. It's been a part of my life since I was very young and I'm drawn to tidal waters - being an Aquarian probably helps. I have taken thousands of pictures of the ocean's waves, crashing upon the shore, cresting perfectly for a waiting surfer, depositing their foam on the beach, and making patterns in the sands. Many of these images are amongst my favorites but somehow I always knew, although I hadn't truly acknowledged it, that I hadn't yet captured the mystical beauty and power of these waters I so revere ... until this past January.
Peter and I were in Puerto Rico and I decided I would try to get inside the waves. When I saw what I'd captured, I was exhilerated because I finally saw what I feel about the ocean and all its moods. My vision of the ocean and its waves is one of color, texture, character, power, and motion, and I am now learning how to create images that I hope will convey what I feel about this subject to anyone who views them.
Food for Thought: “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”
― Ansel Adams