Scenes of Vermont Forums

I was thinking about Blog topics this morning for my website and came up with this idea -- and thought it would be an interesting topic to hear about from others here, particularly given the rapidly approaching foliage season.

When you photograph, do you have a vision, or an approach? What is the "process" or thinking you go through? How do you approach a subject (not physically, necessarily, but how do you go about showing, framing and photographing it)? Does your approach involve a particular focal length lens (or range)?

When I go out with my camera I empty my mind (not difficult for me) and just look around until something catches my attention. Then I look around the subject both near and far and see if there is anything that will enhance the photo. I'm not one to photograph just the object. Then I may take 5 to 10 photos at different settings. I really don't go out with any subject in mind. Well, except for a foliage moose. I've been trying to get a big bull moose to walk under a bright red or orange for years using prays and moose dances but no luck. Any ideas?

I don't know pwt, have you thought about dressing up in a moose costume and then doing your moose dance? Or maybe stealing Currier's stuffed moose and using that as a decoy right under a bright red or orange?

10 pretty good tips on that site, Carol. Kind of reminds me of the fundamental rules I learned when I took the NYIP course.

I think your development as a photographer mirrors what a lot of us have done. We start to think of a photograph as a "process" instead of a snapshot. My NYIP instructor who did my critiques made the point early on that we don't "take" photos, we "make" photos.

For my own part, that generally means I need to either photograph alone, or with other photographer-enthusiasts. With others (like my wife and kids), I am likely to get, "didn't you already take that shot?" or "How many photographs do you need of that?" I have a tendency to find a photo and "work" it until I feel I have exhausted it (and not feel near so bad throwing away pixels I don't want to keep, as I did throwing away those slides I had paid to have developed ).

I like that thought, Phil. I will have to try to incorporate it next time I am out. I tend to have "visualized" a shot I want to get before I even get on location. Sometimes that is good and planning is always helpful. But I am sure that that mindset also means I miss things that are right there, too.