Slow and Intentional

I visited the Vancouver Art Gallery on the weekend. There were a few exhibits that I was interested in but one specifically. I was really excited to see Ed Burtynsky was displaying his photographs in Vancouver. Ed Burtynsky is a world renowned Canadian photographer and I find his work very challenging. The reason is this, Ed is not your normal scenic landscape photographer. He has a very different approach to how he likes to photograph. I won’t try and explain his work to you, here is what he says from his website.

“Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on. To make these ideas visible I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis.

These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire – a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.”

Edward Burtynsky

This post is not necessarily about Ed Burtynsky’s work as a photographer, that could be a topic for another time. The reason for this post is something that the gallery guide said as she was taking us through his images. She said that Ed uses a manual, large format camera for most of his work. What that means is, he has to set up the camera and then go through all the processes of getting the settings and composition right on that big camera. This takes time and patience and she said it is a “slow and intentional” process.

Is your photography slow and intentional?

Those two words got me thinking. Working with medium or large format film cameras is not an easy task.  It takes time, planning, strength and patience. It means that you have to be deliberate about what you want to capture photographically. It means you have to be patient, maybe for the right light, time of day, time of year, or best year in some cases! It means that things will take time (slow) and it means you will need to do things with meaning (intentional). This got me thinking. When I first started out in digital photography, I was astounded that I should fill up a memory card and it never cost me anything. This became my goal, take as many photos as possible, cull the bad ones and keep the good ones. Sadly, many of my first attempts were pretty bad. The reason was I was being neither SLOW nor INTENTIONAL. I simply wanted to get as many shots as possible in the hopes that I might get a good one in there. Sometimes I did get a “lucky” shot, most times not. I then spoke to a photographer who was shooting on film for years then switched to digital. He said he treats his digital camera like a film camera and pretends he only has 24 frames to get the shot. I scoffed (internally) and thought that was crazy in the digital age. He went on to explain that this made him a better photographer. He was more deliberate about the shot. He thought about composition and light and what he was trying to achieve. I realised that I never really did that. I just was photographing and changing things until I felt it looked ok. After that discussion I decided to try this method. In short…it worked. Every time I go out and shoot now, I imagine I have only a few shots to get the shot. I work at getting things right first before hitting the shutter release.

Hearing this guide say that Ed Burtynsky shoots in a slow and intentional way, rekindled this idea in my mind. I still do this, but I am now even more aware of how much I need to understand the light I am shooting in. I need to know my gear well, I need to hone my craft and develop an instinctive way of shooting. I need to be even slower and more intentional. I need to have a distinct idea of what I am trying to shoot. Doing this has made my photography better. It has helped me get better results and more predictable results.

Mastery?

The word mastery evokes so many different ideas for me. My goal is to be as masterful in my photography as I can. That means, my ability and insights into photography have become instinctive. In a sense, being a master of you craft means that you don’t make as many mistakes and it is easier to get the desired shot. I think of golfers like Ernie Els or Tiger Woods. They have honed their skill in golf to such an extent, they can make the golf ball land pretty much where they want it to land. They understand their equipment, they know their capabilities, they are also slow and intentional before they swing the club. This is mastery.

How does this work when you are photographing?

More and more nowadays, my thinking is “quality over quantity”. I don’t try and fill the memory card with images that will simply sit on my hard drive and never be used. I would rather have 10 good images of which 5 are usable than have 50 mediocre images. I have become very specific when I am photographing a scene. I look at the lighting, composition and colour in the scene. I then think about what I am trying to convey in the scene. Do I want it to be dramatic or serene? Do I want it to be minimalist or busy? What are the predominant colours? Do I need to over expose or underexpose? Will I use HDR or shoot a pano? These are the things that I try and answer when I am photographing. When those answers become instinctive, then you will spend less time thinking about the image you want. Then the exciting part is about getting that shot.

This is my though process and I would be curious to know what you think. Do you have a process that helps you get your shot? Do you shoot and hope for the best? Are you more deliberate? Let me know in the comments what you think!

If you are interested in buying any of Ed Burtynksy’s books, click on the links below: