The digital camera offers amazing advantages to the artist-in-training, the photographer who uses all available light. The biggest is the opportunity to see his mistakes when he makes them. This “instant experience” is something new to photography. It’s changing everything we know about capturing light, about taking pictures and creating real art with a camera. With this book, we offer a glimpse of what’s possible in-camera, a new and vivacious way of approaching photography that centers on vision and exploration rather than after-the-fact corrections. We want to give you hope, to offer inspiration, and show you a clear and uncluttered path to follow.
The top image illustrates how the artist visualized the scene, while the bottom photo shows how it actually appeared. Since a true artist sees beyond reality and knows what his gear is capable of, he can easily create something spectacular simply by adjusting a few incamera settings and turning his polarizer. Believe it or not, he can do all of this without the need to edit his images after the fact. Imagine, taking a photo incamera that doesn’t need to be corrected—what is the world coming to?
They raise their camera and capture the spectacular. It’s as if they’re not even thinking about it, yet they are. So well-trained, they make the creation process look like point-and-shoot magic, but it’s not. Meaningful photography requires thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and sometimes an eye for the absurd. It’s about the beauty of nature and the strength of independent resolve, about individual expression and lightning-fast decisions. It is as much about the artist and his love for life as it is about his equipment and experience level.
Experienced photographers will tell you that great photographs don’t necessarily come from great cameras; they come from a clear vision. The brand name of your gear doesn’t matter when taking a photo (just as long as it works). If you use what you have creatively and with purpose, then any tool (despite its cost or age) will get you to your goal. That’s not just insight, it’s the truth. The most important part, of course, is knowing what you want to accomplish when you begin. If you’ve got a vision, if you know what you want to build, then the tools will make sense. Think, build, create, and smile. Know what it is you want to say and make your camera say it. That’s all an artist has to do.
The art of photography is all about light—and there is none greater than the one that shines from a passionate and artistic heart.
One simple, unmodified flash aimed high and to the left of our subject created the perfect, most natural-looking light. Yes, a flash is available light. That’s why we carry one with us.