Learning to do photography well isn’t about checking a series of checkboxes about “how to do” the medium. Instead, it’s more about figuring out what to do with those basic principles of photography and then go out and make photographs using those basic ideas. It’s the “why” not the “how.”
How important is exploration to the creative process? The great author John Steinbeck thought it was supremely important:
“This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.”
Exploration of the world around us is an important part of photography. Steinbeck was talking about going out into the world and exploring, of course, but I think he was also talking about the freeing up of our minds to be open to new experiences.
The creative process can be broken down into four distinct processes, most of which we can foster in ourselves. We look at preparation, incubation, illumination and implementation and see where our world of image making intersects with these stages.
Intriguingly, the things that we think of as “creative” are really bookended by more pragmatic aspects of creativity.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” that’s what Socrates said. By looking at our past and both remembering and forgetting its lessons, we can begin to answer those questions about who we are, where we want our photography to take us and how we want to get there.
When we make a picture of something, we elevate the importance of that subject merely by the act of paying attention to it with our camera. This basic idea is one my most closely held photographic beliefs. It doesn’t matter how insignificant the subject may appear to be; the camera’s lens and our point of view give it importance.
Steve's Boots, 2011 - Photograph by Jeff Curto
With this 100th episode of Camera Position, I return to my roots as a photographer and also introduce the theme for the 2013 Society for Photographic Education conference, which I’m chairing. “Conferring Significance: Celebrating Photography’s Continuum” will be the theme of the SPE conference next year as the organization meets at the famed Palmer House hotel in Chicago for our 50th anniversary. Mark your calendar for March 7, 8 & 9 of 2013; I hope to see many of you there.
