Another note on pondering the photographing of the pieces
Snapshots: Capturing Essence
I have been too centred on capturing the image of the sculptures, rather than getting an impression of the feeling through photography. I’ll work on it. I suspect that the process and the outcome will be so much improved by treating the new photograph as a new art piece.
While photographing the sculpture pieces, I was intrigued to discover that I was not able to capture the essence. I have been able to document various aspects of the sculpture, yet most of the images lacked a quality that for the longest time I was not able to identify. I took Transformation sculpture to a friend’s professional studio and challenged him to capture the essence. The results were not satisfactory for either of us. The closing remarks from the photographer were, “Maybe a video,” then he added, “but take your still camera with you.”
Days later, possibly weeks later, I had an “aha” as I realized that another approach was required where indeed the still camera would come in handy. I realized that my underlying focus of intention with previous photos was documentation, rather than treating the new photograph as an opportunity for the expression of a new art-piece. This is a subtle yet significant difference. Having expressed that view on the taking of photographs, I have to wonder what essence was captured in the point– and–shoot Instamatic snapshots of the Australian visitor. One could speculate.