LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process

Here's a Thought… #2783 with Brooks Jensen

Removing the Unwanted

After all these years in photography, I still believe the best advice I ever received was "remove the unnecessary." I've often joked that Ansel Adams' most useful fool was a12-gauge shotgun to remove unwanted tree branches from the scene. I remember in an early Lens-Work workshop I had everyone take a picture that purposely had something they wanted to remove. That was followed by a demonstration on the use of Photoshop's Clone Tool. How quaint.

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Here's a Thought… #2782 with Brooks Jensen

Of Course Your Family Loves Your Photography

The first people to see our latest work is probably our spouse, our family, our loved ones. Their encouragement is lovely, but is it trustworthy? I think what most of us want is an honest opinion and useful feedback. The least useful feedback we can ever receive is "I like it." If you want feedback from a loved one, it's best to have a conversation with them about the kinds of feedback that could be useful to you.

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Here's a Thought… #2781 with Brooks Jensen

YouTube Shortcuts

Whatever happened to learning by doing, learning by trial and error, learning by falling flat on our face? Photographers no longer need to experiment. Whatever you might want to do to make an image, you can learn step-by-step with a YouTube video. That's wrong — you can choose from hundreds of videos! Is this a valuable resource or a thief that is robbing us of the very reason to be an artist? Cole Thompson has proposed the idea of "photographic celibacy." Is there a place for "tutorial celibacy?

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Here's a Thought… #2780 with Brooks Jensen

Go Ahead, Be Insecure

If you are fully confident and unquestionably sure of your work, you are probable not taking enough chances. Staying inside your comfort zone does not mean the work is inferior, but it does mean you are not exploring the new. Insecurity is not an attribute to be avoided, but rather a fertile ground where artists receive a nudge from the universe that they are on a productive path. Panic is not artistically healthy, but neither is coasting through the familiar without effort.

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Here's a Thought… #2779 with Brooks Jensen

Looking for Solutions, Not Gear

The other day I was talking about the use of Polaroids in the field and more recently LCD screens to overcome my limitations in seeing two-dimensionally. A podcast listener, Howard Lester, emailed an alternative. His suggestion was more brilliant than I first understood. He suggested just closing one eye. It never occurred to me to look for a solution for this problem that did not involve gear. Why do we always look to gear to solve a problem?

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