Re: [Leica] Re: What makes a good photo, by Ted Grant

["Ted Grant" <tedgrant@home.com>]

Alastair Firkin wrote:

 > I'm with you on this one. Ted has years of experience and practice, and
can
> afford to run with his "feelings", as his instincts will usually be right.
> Some of us are still learning, even if late in life, and need to adjust
the
> grey cells a bit in order to improve the image.<<<<<<

Hi Alastair,
You're right about the experience and instincts after 50 years, but most of
the time I see something and it just simply is right there in my face, the
camera comes up.... click!

And yes, sometimes, lots of times, I'll say to myself after the camera comes
down from my eye or before in some cases, it wasn't inspected"  just one
tiny moment longer and when I take that second look, I sometimes do make a
better picture. Providing of course it's not a moving subject and gone.

And as much as I say it's shot due to my feelings,  it is in many cases
simply because my belly tells me so, OK my "gut feeling" due to what I see
in the viewfinder. Like all the elements are right there and it takes not a
whit of thought more but to push the shutter release.

I can't imagine you lads not affected in similar fashion. Do you not have a
sense or some kind of all knowing feeling when you look through the
viewfinder, that the moment is "right now?"

Surely you don't see everything looking great and then stand there making an
esoteric analysis of the scene delaying the shutter click for more "brain"
input? Certainly when your gut is screaming at you, "SHOOT IT!"

Even  a still life situation has a moment when the photographer, in my own
case when doing non breathing things, there is a moment when everything
looks, "just right" and you feel that, well OK I do. Others may not and
maybe that's one of the things that makes us different in our approach to
photography.

>> My technique now is to take an image quickly, then examine it and try to
make it better.<<<<

But is this done because you see something and have the feeling that the
moment is right? Or what is the motivation for shooting? I don't imagine you
shoot first and ask questions later as there must be some motivating factor
for the first frame to be exposed.

Quite frankly I like your "technique, take image quickly" and you shoot
simply because you must have seen and been motivated. Then re-examine to see
if you can or could make it better, nothing wrong with that as in many cases
we all shoot similarly.

Again I ask the question, "what makes you shoot when you do?" Instinct?
Experience? Gut feeling? What and why?  Over to you my friend.
ted

Ted Grant Photography Limited
www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant