All photographs begin with a "spark of interest," something that captures the heart and mind of the photographer. At that moment we either take a picture or we make a picture. That distinction is very important. When we make a picture, we employ a process that makes the lights and darks and colors do precisely what we want them to do and we deliberately place the camera in a spot that shows the objects within the frame in the most powerful way. It's an attempt to somehow make visible the equivalent of what we see and feel, just like Alfred Stieglitz said. The image is captured and stored on either film or onto a memory card. From there the process moves into the darkroom, where another set of steps can be employed that enhances what the camera was able to capture. Or it moves to the computer where the photographer employs software to enhance the image or to create something very different. And all of this is ... photographic craft.
“You can have craft without art, but you cannot have art without craft,” said Ansel Adams.
THE PROCESS DEFINES ART.
Don't get me wrong, I’m not saying point and shoot isn’t capable of creating something lovely to look at. No indeed! Today, any person who has some sensitivity, a bit of knowledge and a modern camera can just aim it and push the button. The chances are very good that among the many photographs there will be beautiful, powerful pictures. BUT they are not art.
Art has always been about the process, a process that first begins within the artist.
There you have it, my two cents worth. I so enjoy my daily visit to your blog, where there is always evidence of craft at work.
