Composition

When anthropologists first started to study hunter/gatherer tribes in the Amazon Basin and the South Pacific, they were amazed to learn that the tribal people had to be taught to recognize people (or any other thing for that matter) in a picture. A lot may be inferred from that statement but this much is for certain – our perception is trained to interpret two dimensional media such as photography. And since we are trying to master photography, we have to master our visual perception to truly understand what photography is.

While I write this I am reminded of how I used to go about photographing things when I was first starting out in photography. I would shoot and shoot and shoot until I was sure that I got it right. I would change shutter speed, aperture, lenses, angles, perspective, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. And more often than not I would be displeased with the results. When you consider this was back in the days of film, the waste of cellulose acetate has a lot more impact to both pocketbook and environment than the waste of ones and zeros we write to our hard drives these days.

I would literally take thousands of shots to get one good one. Today I hardly ever take my camera out. Except for commercial work, when I make a decision to photograph something, I rarely take more than ten shots. What is the difference between today and 35 years ago?

In the beginning I was learning the technical aspects of photography. The key thing was when I would come upon a scene that would inspire me, I would just start shooting without looking for the reason I was being inspired. Convinced that if I moved around enough and changed camera settings or lenses, I would eventually come up with and awe inspiring shot.

Today I am more apt to look at a compass prior to looking at something beautiful through a camera. I ask myself what about the scene is inspiring me and identify those elements. I then ask what I want my picture to say to the viewer. Once I have a clear message, going through the photographic recording process becomes simple, direct, and focused. I usually have to wait long periods of time to get what I want. It's not unusual for me to consult celestial calendars to plan my composition (how to best convey my message).

If we consider the above shot of the East and West Mittens in Monument Valley I hope to illustrate this concept. This sunrise shot is the easiest sunrise shot I have ever done. It is taken from the balcony of my room at The View hotel there. I simply just rolled out of bed and walked out to the camera already set up there and started shooting.

One of the first things that needed to be considered was the position of the sun – just off to the right hand side of the photo. This picture was taken in January so the sun appears to rises from a very southerly position. Another month and the Sun would have been in view changing the composition dramatically.

Now try to imagine the sky without any clouds which is normal weather in southern Utah/northern Arizona. I think you will agree that without the sky as captured, this would be a boring composition. But as captured, there is a wonderful gradient of yellow, through orange and red, moving on to magenta and violet, and going all the way to blue. And then the bands of clouds help repeat that gradient – making a gradient within a gradient – giving the picture a feel of cold on the left and warm on the right with an even transition.

What I wanted to do with this shot was to highlight the radical temperature changes in the desert and the effects of those temperature changes. And the Mittens metaphorically reaching up to greet the rising Sun sets the scene beautifully. And their trapezoidal bases show the results of the never ending cycle which eventually causes rock to crack and fall off in a process called erosion.

This shot was the result of three trips to Monument Valley which actually makes me quite happy. I have been waiting for the right weather for a composition of the Grand Sable Bank for over twenty years now. My point is, if I want to truly create something than I have to put my self into the compositional process and make a clear concise statement. Until I do that, I'm just taking snapshots.

Until next time.