After writing these posts since 2011, and having one come out every five to six days, I hope I still have enough followers left to keep on enjoying them. I know I still enjoy writing them.
About that same year, I was teaching with the BPSOP, and it had to shut down because of the passing of its founder Bryan Peterson. However, I’m still teaching my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” classes and conducting my six-month private mentoring class. For those interested, you can contact me through my website.
One of the quotes I’d like to talk about today comes from one of my favorite photographers Ruth Bernhard, who once said, “If you are not willing to see more than is visible, you won’t see anything”. In other words, you need to see past your first impression.
For me, a lot of that comes in ‘Pre Visualization’. I’ll look at something, a scene, an object, a person in their environment, etc., and not see what is visible. What I’ll see is that which is invisible to others. I’ll see it in my mind first and if I can see it there, for the most part, I’ll be able to record in in my camera.
For example in the above photo, while driving through the countryside in Holland, I saw two men working next to the road. They were wearing protective clothing but what got my attention was the triangle that was on the front of their jackets. the people that have studied the elements of visual design with me, and hopefully remembered them, would remember shape as one of the elements.
The four basic shapes are : circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles. For those that have never taken one of my classes or workshops would see a triangle because that’s what’s plainly visible on the front. They wouldn’t see the importance of it, they wouldn’t see anything else…more’s the pity. It’s the triangle that keeps the viewer interested in the photo and the reason why he/she will stick around longer looking at it. I don’t know about you, but I want the viewer to stick around as long as possible admiring my image.
Visit my website with several new images: www. joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Keep a lookout for any new workshops as they fill in a few days. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB