Following on the heels of my own recent post about Horsetail Fall, this may seem like a bit of a strange post. With that out of the way, here goes.
Earlier today I saw a discussion in which someone had asked for some advice about when and where to photograph a particular seasonal landscape subject – the specific place probably isn’t important in the context of this post. Various responses ensued, and they offered different types and amounts of information about the subject and how to photograph it. Eventually I saw a response that included a detailed map that contained many “photo locations” indicated with what appeared to be GPS-level precision and labeled according to the subject that one might photograph from each location.
I’m partly sympathetic to the desire to know exactly where to go and when to go there to find “that shot” of a subject that is intriguing and fascinating. And I also really do understand the importance of emulation when it comes to learning photography and much else. We might see an effective photograph and wonder what went in to creating it, and one way to learn about the process is to attempt to create something very close to that photograph. I may have mentioned before that I carry around a mental repository of images and fragments of images that will be triggered by seeing a particular subject, and the images in my “repository” come from many, many places including the work of other photographers that I admire. In fact, when I photograph certain subjects I often think of very specific images by very specific photographers. But, no, I have no interest in trying to recreate their photographs, and when presented with the opportunity to do so I usually point my lens somewhere else.
That said, while using the process of re-creation as a learning tool has some real value, focusing on trying to reproduce yet another photograph of a familiar subject, from the familiar position, with the familiar light seems to do more to limit ones photographic vision than to expand it. And wanting to know precisely where to place ones tripod in order to get “that photograph” (just like the one the other guy made) is often a bit misguided. In the end, I think it is also going to be unsatisfying for the photographer.
I have to admit that I do sometimes photograph very familiar subjects. Heck, I’ve just posted a string of photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge – and you would be hard pressed to find many more-photographed subjects than that! But I have never asked where or when to photograph it, and from my perspective I come to the subject (relatively) free of preconceptions of what a “good” Golden Gate Bridge photograph should look like. I like to think that this might eventually make it possible for me to create something that isn’t just like all the other photographs. But beyond that, I am sure that I get a lot more personal pleasure from the extended process of learning about the subject through repeated visits, consideration of what does and doesn’t work and so forth than I would if I went and shot it exactly the way that someone promised me would result in a photograph that was just like the other photographs I’ve seen of the Bridge.
To be clear, I can’t claim to be completely consistent in this regard. I do share some information about where and how I shoot at this blog and elsewhere. But I would tend to draw the line when it comes to specifying the precise location from which “the shot” should be made. In the end, I think I’m doing a favor for any photographer who might visit the same place and attempt to photograph it.
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I like to know about good areas for shooting photos, but a lot of my enjoyment comes from exploring a place, looking around, and discovering interesting things to shoot. I may start with the same postcard shot that everyone gets, but then move on to see what else I can see. To me, the exploration and discovery are exciting! Thanks for this well-written post.
There will always be those who want the shortcut, who want to get “the look” and who fail to understand that the real creativity, like most things, lies in the journey. We certainly agree there. I used to paint, oils, and there are those who want to take a photo and project the scene onto a canvas and trace it, to get “the look” while the really good painters go out and paint from life, while it changes in front of them… the ‘plein air’ school. I am in awe of those painters. Give a “tracer” the GPS coordinates and they still won’t be able to “paint from life.” Give a real plein air artist the GPS coordinates and s/he will plant their paint box there and then MOVE THINGS AROUND, to make a better composition. Great paintings are made in the mind of the painter first. I think the same is true of great photographers, so it matters not, IMHO, whether you (or anyone) provides the lat-lon. An artist will find a great photo or make a great painting wherever s/he stands. But that is a lesson some will never learn. They won’t want to learn it. Young souls, me thinks. Thanks for taking the time to reply, in your gentle way, when my post was not quite so gentle. I was venting a bit and you provided a forum. But you are very generous to share what you share here. And your photos are, well, impeccable in my humble opinion. And I am happy to be a subscriber.
Tom wrote earlier: “I immensely enjoy your Point Lobos shots, because I have been to everywhere you have been. I have stood where you stood, and my photos are different from yours. And it isn’t the birds or the waves or anything of the moment. It is that you and I see things differently”
I should have replied to this part of your post earlier, Tom. It echoes something that I believe, at least when it comes to photographs made for their own sake and not to document things. Usually I’m far more interested in how a particular photographer sees a thing than I am in the thing itself.
Dan
You know, I really wonder who you address these thoughts to. For one, I would guess that someone has to be a pretty serious photographer to follow a site like this. You don’t produce freakish HDRs or Photoshop composites, etc. You produce what I would call very lovely and very realistic fine art landscapes. I would imagine therefore, that those who follow you here are somewhat of that ilk. And, by posting this and asking for subscriptions, you want us to follow your postings. If that is anything close to the truth, why not give the GPS coordinates to this group? Photogs like me, who aspire to be as good as you and David Muench, Craig Blakelock, John Fielder (just to name a few) are going to try a shot at those coordinates someday but so what? We are also going to try and out do you, shoot more shots, take advantage of everything we’ve lugged along to do something creative, not just copy your photo. Believe me, if I am on a photo tour of Yosemite, that GPS shot will be about 5 minutes of a week long vacation, crawling and hiking all over that park. I want to create, not copy. What is the harm you are hoping to prevent by keeping the GPS coordinates (that your camera automatically captures) to yourself?
If you were giving a workshop, you would take your attendees to the sites, would you not? Is it just a matter of free vs paid? I begrudge no one a living. Do you really think this is making things too easy, to require someone driven to be creative, to get to the spot, haul all their equipment there, set up (and, don’t forget, they have to KNOW how to use that camera) and shoot a photo or two there?
Or is it rather that this is another complaint against the advance of technology? If so, I think it would be better to just say that. But don’t forget that we all (I assume) are using some amazing technology ourselves, from carbon fiber tripods, to magnesium bodied, digital cameras that shoot 3200 ISO without noticeable noise. Pros keep buying the high end Canons and Nikons, too. The SDHX cards they use are bigger and faster than mine. And so on. I think it is somewhat disengenious to use the technology then complain about others using technology at the same time. Let’s be truthful. We are all using as much as we can afford. We have to. Even view cameraman John Fielder is scanning his films and printing on expensive ink jets (“giclees”) and “light jet” printers.
So, again, what is the point of keeping GPS coordinates to yourself? I use a GPS unit occasionally. Some photographers use the lat-lon in their photo’s caption or title. Brandon Riza, for example. Amazing photograhs… and many are stitched using, gasp, software. He describes it all in great detail in Outdoor Photographer.
Apparently he is not afaid of sharing…
Doug:
Thanks for visiting the site, and for posting your comment.
Quick reply… I don’t use a gps so it isn’t about keeping gps coordinates to myself. I’ve thought about getting one for other purposes, including cross-country travel in the Sierra, but I just haven’t yet seen the need yet. (And with all the camera tonnage in my pack, the last thing I need is another piece of gear!) I do have gps in one of my cars, and I find it quite useful.
It also isn’t about sharing, per se, though it may be about the manner and the amount of sharing. I think it would be accurate to say that I freely share quite a lot of information here – in posts and in comments – and elsewhere without asking for or expecting anything in return. In fact, in my post I referenced an earlier post with a fair amount of information about photographing Horsetail Fall, the subject in question.
It isn’t about free versus paid either, since I’m not doing that sort of workshop. It sure as heck isn’t about hoping to slow the advance of technology – if you knew me you would understand how off the mark that idea would be! I’m all for contemporary technologies, photographic and otherwise. :-)
It is more about what is truly rewarding in photography and how to get there and how to not get there. It is about the compulsion that some (though not all) photographers have to find the exact “best” spot to make a photograph like the ones they have seen before. Of course, if that description doesn’t fit you, then the post must not be about you.
Take care,
Dan
On the subject of GPS and other electronic gadgets. I always say that when the power goes out people won’t even be able to find their way out the door anymore. Read a map buy a guide book (paper) and start relying on your own brain.
Someone (a retired national park ranger and all-around nice guy) who shared a beautiful but not well known spot in with me (on the condition that I wouldn’t direct others to it) also reminded me of an obvious thing: If you keep your eyes open, look around, and think about the geography of a place you can often find a ton of interesting stuff.
It is often stuff in surprisingly accessible places, and these accessible and wonderful places are often overlooked simply because they haven’t been given a name or because there is no trailhead.
Dan
Thanks, Tom. I’m certainly not against using gps, per se. I’m also not against looking for or offering information about photography locations. Heck, I’ve looked for the info and shared it myself! :-)
It is more about a caution about the risks to ones own enjoyment that might come from looking for the right spot rather than engaging in the rewarding process of looking for photographs. And, since others have asked from time to time, it isn’t that I’m trying to “save spots just for myself” either.
Take care,
Dan
I have thought about this a bit, and written two comments that I killed.
I have no problem giving out GPS and other data that tells you exactly where I was and how I was shooting. Part of that is because I shoot fleeting subjects. It is important to document where you saw a particular bird. And if you go back there, there are no guarantees that you will see the same bird, at the same location, doing the same thing. Actually it is a given that you won’t.
But beyond that, the location and camera settings do not make the photograph.
I immensely enjoy your Point Lobos shots, because I have been to everywhere you have been. I have stood where you stood, and my photos are different from yours. And it isn’t the birds or the waves or anything of the moment. It is that you and I see things differently.
That, “huh, I never would have thought of that” moment makes your photos compelling.
I don’t need a guidance to shoot my backyard and I could always go back to shoot it. But when I travel to San Francisco and want to spend less time scouting and more time shooting, I’m, no shamefully, thankful for [a guidebook to locations in the city.]
Good story, thanks for sharing. Moose Peterson and others always preach, “turn around and see if there is a photograph”. I always can’t remember but I try.
Ben
I have a somewhat ironic “tripod hole” story. I was on a one-week trans-Sierra backpacking trip that was passing by Precipice Lake, a location that Ansel Adams photographed in the 1930s, producing a somewhat well known photograph of a lake surface with floating ice with a striking cliff background. I had been there once before many years ago, and was anxious to photograph the spot again.
I arrived and began to photograph, mostly shooting from a spot that must have been essentially where Ansel set his tripod. I photographed there for perhaps a half hour while my backpacking partners snacked and hung out, but I couldn’t stay all do so I finally concluded my shooting. In the end I came back with a couple of “Ansel homage” photographs from this spot that I think are pretty decent.
After packing up, being finished with photographing this lake, I headed up the trail. A couple of switchbacks later I happened to look back at the lake and spot a view I hadn’t thought of, and at that moment broken light began to illuminate submerged boulders along the lake’s shoreline. I remember thinking something along the lines of “Darn! I’ve put everything away – I can’t start shooting again!” But, having made that mistake a few times now, I stopped, dropped my pack, unloaded everything, and made what I think is a pretty original photograph of the lake that is one of my better images.
Dan
Don’t forget tripod holes are important to some people…GPS can find them :-)
Ben
Ben, I’m with you on the “fun” issue. I’ll grant that it can be fun to shoot famous subjects – heck, I do it! But there is something a bit odd to me about wanting to have gps coordinates for the exact place to go to find “that photograph!”
Dan
I’m with you…all I want to know is the general place or spot, half the fun is finding when and where. Yes, I have seen those maps with GPS coordinates all over the place. Pretty soon you don’t even have to go out and photograph anything, just call it up on your computer or handheld and your there no matter what time of year or weather condition…what fun is that?
Ben