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| by Michael Reichmann, December 2003 |
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In Control
Photographers are control freaks. Everything we do seems to be about exercising control over our tools and processes. Shutter speeds, aperture, choice of film speed, focus, focal length... you get what I mean.
Each of these controls permits us to vary the way in which the image is recorded. Some of us relinquish the majority of these controls to the camera's automation systems; while for others, deliberate settings are critical to achieving complete control and artistic expression.
What Matters Most
I maintain though that regardless of the approach we choose to engage technical control of our images, there are really only two controls that matter most: what you frame and when you press the shutter. In other words, location and timing.
Location
The mantra of real estate agents when they are asked the three most important considerations about a new house are "location, location, and location". This is true for photographers as well, particularly landscape photographers. You can have the greatest cameras and lenses, and possess the finest technique, but if you're not able to shoot at an interesting location you're unlikely to be able to produce successful images.
Timing
Timing means not just catching the exact moment to take an exposure, but also being on location and ready when all of the conditions of weather and locale have come together. In classic documentary photography, such as the work of Cartier-Bresson, there is the concept of "The Decisive Moment". This is that split-second when all of the components come together to create a unique image and you are there and ready to record them.
This "decisive moment" often exists in landscape photography as well, as illustrated in Arno Dawn, Florence 2001, the photograph at the top of this page (Image 1), and in Angel Boy, Toronto 1966, the one immediately below (Image 2). In both cases, the amazing confluence of light, subject, and location lasted for perhaps seconds, and then was gone.
(Image 3: Clingman's Dome Sun, Great Smoky National Park 2000)
Location and timing. Ponder these two essential control elements the next time you plan on going out to do photography.
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Michael Reichmann is a Contributing Editor to Photo Techniques Magazine, and publishes the Video Journal, a photography magazine published quarterly on DVD, and The Monograph, a custom-bound book of 26 landscape photographs taken between 1996 and 2001.
"Where and When" is reprinted with permission from Michael Reichmann. |
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