photographers?

Question

When you take photos, do you achieve a state of detachment?

also looking for any insightful biographies or autobigraphies that might probe the mind of a photographer

Answer 1

My primary background is photojournalism and at times that can involve being in a state that is hard to describe.

In the most demanding situations, you have to be fully there, in a state of high empathy. That's what will inform your images. You also, at the same time, have to be a photographer. You dissociate into two aspects of yourself and keep them both active, interrelating and at the same time separate. After you are through shooting, you have to put yourself back together in a way that integrates the experience you just went through.

Not being able to do all of that consistently has driven some photographers out of photography completely and more than one has committed suicide.

For other types of photography, I find that I get into a flow state during the planning and actual shooting. I become totally detached afterwards when I am evaluating the results.

Vance

Addendum: After answering the question, I ran accross this book at a friend of mines studio:

"Why People Photograph", Robert Adams, Aperture Foundation, 1994.

Another source, which I don't know why it didn't come to me immediately, would be the writings of Henri Bresson.

There are various motivations for different types of photography and some of the really inlfuencial photographers in each field have written on photography from a personal perspective. Find out who they are and look up what they have written.

Be forewarned, however, that photographers are notoriously poor at talking or writing about what they do.

Answer 2

It's more like I pay even more attention to details, movement, and other cues around me. I am almost hyper-aware of my surroundings, and what is going on around me, so I can see events unfolding. Usually I only have one chance to get a shot before it's gone, so I am a big believer in the "Decisive moment" which is where as a photographer, you know what is happening and what is about to happen, and you know your camera well enough that you instinctively know when you need to hit the shutter release to get the shot you want. Instead of getting detached from the scene I'll try to become part of it, and absorb as much of it as I can, so then I'm more in tune with the cues it presents, and I'll find better angles, and better lighting, more interesting expressions, etc. Also the more in tune you are with whats going on, the less people seem to notice you, and the less they'll pose for the camera. It's almost like I try to hide in plain view, and usually I'm pretty successful with it. I like the story aspect of photography, but people have told me that instead of a straight on tourist/journalistic approach, my best work has a dramatically cinematic feel towards composition.

As for books, I haven't really read too much about photography. I took some classes in high school and college, but aside from the process, I just figured it out on my own: what I liked, what I didn't, what works, what doesn't. Alot of people think good photographers get a jawdropping shot every time they hit the button. This is not true, Out of the hundreds of pictures on my external harddrive (all of which were taken in the last 6 months), there's only about 15-25% that I think are AWESOME, then there's like 50% that I like, but aren't phenominal, and the rest are either quick screwing-around snapshots or shots that just plain didn't turn out.

I dunno, it feels like I'm trying to cram an entire autobiographical self discovery thesis into a space small enough so people don't get bored.

As for books, like I said, it's one of my passions in life, but I've never really read too much on it, I just do it because I love it.

Answer 3

Not so much a state of detachment as a higher level of involvement. I have a job other than photography, which I can do half asleep, and regularly do. Photography requires me to be there, to immerse myself in that photo, and to challenge myself to show the viewer exactly what I want them to see (my sexy tattooed model), and keep them from seeing what I don't (that the same model has had two kids).

Answer 4

I think its more a state of heightened awareness.

Visit your library and look for biographies of Robert Capa, Margaret Bourke-White, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Edward Steichen, W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, Minor White, Paul Strand, Eddie Adams, Alfred Eisenstaedt just to name a few.

Answer 5

i use photography as a form of relaxation and no way do i achieve a sense of detachment more like involvment because i get excited when i see something good, i express my self with photographs and poetry

Answer 6

I don't know, but whenever I go into a camera store I get detached from my money.