On Photography

It takes constant energy and determination to eliminate the mundane in hopes of discovering the extraordinary.

For you, jogging in place, having a cup of hot coffee, or even meditating might help as a warm-up to your camera and creativity. Find out what works and just make the time.
I am convinced these light shows occur more often than we think, so the question becomes: are we motivated enough to find them?

One of the final ingredients is time. With time, you can pursue your personal story. Like everything in life, it takes time to make something truly exceptional.
Like a perpetual river flowing to the sea that changes velocity, volume, and occasionally, direction, so do these methods: Panoramic Imagery; Tilt/Shift Lenses; Still Time Lapses; Shooting into the Sun.

My one captivating thought was an overwhelming desire to recreate the emotions I was experiencing, not the scene in front of me.

No matter how little we know of a place, visions come and we must not be afraid to follow them.

Every time I go off the beaten path, I am reminded of many people, both in my family and others, who have chosen the road less traveled.. I really don't think photography is the only reason I go, but rather it is the glue that binds all the experiences together.

The objective should not be to capture reality, but to share your story or experience.

I prefer capturing landscapes that appear so surreal in reality that no surreal processing is required.
( Muench, Marc: Exploring North American landscapes: visions and lessons in digital photography, 2011)                                         Flamenco guitar Playing and Photography
 
I didn't start using a camera until later in life, and I became a fine art photographer in almost an indirect way.. For many years, I played flamenco guitar, having learned the instrument from...

I didn't start using a camera until later in life, and I became a fine art photographer in almost an indirect way.. For many years, I played flamenco guitar, having learned the instrument from  several teachers in Spain. Unlike classical guitar, which is governed by an established set of rules, flamenco guitar is more spontaneous as it  works to color and shade the performance of the flamenco dancer. You have to be sensitive to the mood of the dancer and provide a musical backdrop to the performance that is both dark and light. Flamenco guitar is instinctual and moved by emotion. It ended up being a great training ground for how I approached my photographs.

Michael Levin in Why Photographs Work, Rocky Nook, 2011