You know what's weird? As lovely as the black and white beach photo was in the previous post, it's putting together something like this, that most people would not consider beautiful, that is so much more satisfying (to me). And challenging. On the beach I was appreciating and composing a scene. I identified what caught my eye and attempted to fill my frame with just that. In this case, with this image, I had no idea what I was going to make. I just began "building" the picture. One step led to another until I considered it "done."
Bear with me a second . . . Photographing the beach scene was a meaningful experience. The exhilaration of seeing the light and what it was doing, the mystery of the "ghost forest," the adrenaline rush of trying to find a clear viewpoint before the light disappeared — I won't forget that. Photographing an ink stain, some pieces of paper, and a silhouette of a bird cannot compare to photographing at the beach. But the quiet satisfaction of putting together those photos to create this piece, ah, unforgettable as well, but in a different way.
Obviously I didn't create the glory of the beach scene. I interpreted it. Here, I began with nothing, and created something.
It's 2:30 in the morning. I'm babbling. Don't know where I'm going with all this. Probably should just go back to bed!
©Carol Leigh, befuddled with the creative process but carrying on nevertheless . . .
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5 comments:
When you assemble an image you're a painter, an artist, starting with a blank canvas and constructing an image from scratch (or scratches...). When you photograph a lovely scene, you're lucky to have come across it (even with a lot of planning) and you're an artist to the extent that you have the vision and craft to make a worthy image. I'm greedy -- I'll take both approaches.
You can't beat the satisfaction of composing an image from scraps and found 'bits'. To be able to arrange these in a way that evokes a feeling is such a buzz.
No, you didn’t create the glory of the beach scene. It was waiting there for you to discover it. But you did choose where to put the camera and how the objects within would relate to each other and where the borders would be. You brought order to the chaos and made a moving portrait. Both images are similar in that they began as a blank canvas that your creative vision filled.
I, personally, find creating of photomontages more exciting and satisfying, including the part of finding and photographing what will be called – scratch, and then melting all these pieces in Photoshop.
But I also agree with Diane- interpretation of a scene in your own way and creating a beautiful image is very rewarding, but in a different way.
Beautifully said, Diane. Vision, craft, constructing an image. I like it. Especially the "greedy" part. And Jo, as a painter and collage artist, you do understand the "buzz" and the "satisfaction." Sam, you're always spot-on and bringing "order to chaos" is what we do, no matter the medium, right? And Elena/Russ, yeah, you're just as nutso as I am looking for all the photomontage "fodder" as we head out with our cameras.
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments.
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