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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