For the serious amateur and professional, photography is a love affair. A love affair which can be as deeply profound as any other.
My love affair with photography began as a boy, with my Brownie and Kodak cameras. But it got hot and heavy with my introduction to SLR photography when I first acquired a Petri and later my first Konica. I now have a variety of Konica and Nikon SLRs.
Many will tell you that photography is an art, which it is, but it's also much more. It's life, vision, dream and rebellion. I can't speak for all photographers, but I can't imagine any as seeing photography as merely a job or hobby.
Photography not only records and reflects life but also enhances. Once you become a serious photographer, your eyes are opened to a whole new world. You see things other people don't. You view life with a new perspective, an enhanced perspective. You automatically begin, with your eyes, bringing order out of chaos. In other words, whether on a busy street or out in the wilds, you sort out the clutter of the scene and concentrate on elements that appeal to you and might make a good photograph.
You begin to see rather than just look. You see shapes, patterns, lines, color, texture. You see detail, quality of light, sense of place. In addition, you notice how light falls on a subject. You notice if it's harsh and contrasty or soft and subdued. You imagine how the scene would look in different lighting situations - even different weather conditions and seasons.
This is all part of composition. Order out of chaos, sorting out the elements in play, concentrating on subjects all are part of composition and your enhanced perspective of life.
With this enhanced perspective you try to capture your vision through the camera's eye, the lens, and record it on film. That's the art of photography, capturing your vision, your perspective on film. The phrase, "a picture is worth a thousand words," says it all. When you capture your vision on film it says more than you could ever say with words. The time, place, mood, the emotion. The horror, the joy, loneliness, despair, tragedy, triumph is all there, captured in one "simple" photograph.
I also said photography is a dream. It's a dream in the sense that your photographic vision is totally yours and yours alone. Just as your dreams are yours and no one else's your photographic vision is a dream-like state which no one else sees. It originates in your mind, it's the essence of your creativity. Just as Edison dreamed of the light bulb and made his dream a reality, you, the photographer, make your dreams a reality when you capture your vision on film.
Most controversial of all is my saying that photography is also rebellion. Some will agree with me, most probably will not. For decades photographers have been taught rules. The rebellion I speak of is not to completely break those rules, but rather not to live by them. Rules such as "keep the sun over your shoulder," "never center your primary subject," "frame landscapes with foliage or branches," "place your main subject one third up and one third from the side" or "never center the horizon in the middle of the frame." While great pictures can be made following these rules, great pictures can be made by not doing so.
Don't live by the "rules." Front lighting is not always best. Side lighting in most cases is the most dramatic. There are times when centering your subject is the best choice. How do you frame a landscape in the middle of the Sahara with branches or foliage? Is having your subject one third up (or down) and one third from the side really the best choice, is it how you see the scene? And, perhaps, dividing the frame with the horizon centered is the only way to convey your vision or the most dramatic view. The best photographers do it their way, using their vision, their perspective, not by following rules. However, don't abandon the rules. Sometimes they are the best choice, but don't live by them. Create your own style. Use your vision, your dream, your enhanced view of life. Do it your way. Be a rebel!
To life, vision, dream and rebellion I would also add the word, "passion." If you are not passionate about photography you will never be a good photographer.
I may not be saying it well, but if you are a photographer I think you'll understand what I'm saying.
One last word on photography. Once you have your equipment and understand the basic concepts of photography, the primary "tool" is EXPERIMENT. Experiment with various lenses, films, lighting conditions, apertures, subjects. Experiment and keep notes until it becomes second nature with you. Don't hesitate to use a whole roll of film on a single subject using the same lens, using different angles and lighting conditions to learn what each lens and film can accomplish. Experimentation is the essence of learning photography and becoming a photographer.
Denis R. Graham