I’m certainly not a chef, but whenever I’m asked what the “key ingredient” is to making good photographs, good ART, the answer I give is a simple one: make a lot of it.
We often talk about how vision is everything, but vision doesn’t come from the womb full grown and mature. It’s cultivated. And that cultivation takes time and effort. Certainty and control might be your friends while performing surgery, but they are not your friends here.
While some people might mistake my suggestion of repetition and productivity with ‘thoughtless’ production, it couldn’t be further from what I mean. In reality, it’s usually through producing art that ideas get brought to fruition. You’re working your way through fear, through vagueness, through the numbers, the details, the soul of it. It’s through this process that we find what we’re looking for.
Tolstoy re-wrote War & Peace 8 times (by hand) before he got it right.
Michael Jordan has missed 26 game winning shots.
I could go on, but you get the point.
[Btw, if you haven’t read the book Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
“Making art is like beginning a sentence before you know it’s ending. The risks are obvious: you may never get to the end of the sentence at all – or having gotten there, you may not have said anything. This is probably not a good idea in public speaking, but it’s an excellent idea in making art.” – from the book Art & Fear
, you’re missing out. The book was first gifted to me by a photographer I met on the road named Bryce Boyer. Thx B.]
@Chase or Kate, or whoever posted this: thanks, I’ll be ordering the book…I just figured out that you are my “Oprah”, every book you post on, I buy:) 🙁 🙂
@Jake: Love your high octane posting! If I call my photography “art”, which I do, then I’ll have to come up with another word for “War and Peace”. My elevator, unfortunately does not go to Tolstoy’s floor. (Although I do try…)
That’s funny I bought this book 3 weeks ago, can’t wait to read!
Great post! After 13 yrs of being a photographer I still feel like I’m new at this. Its all about pushing yourself and making lots of mistakes. I’m constantly finding new direction with my work and it requires a lot of uncertainty. It is actually a part of the process.
I apologize… I forgot give credit to David Bayles a co-author of Art and Fear.
I don’t think is was mentioned…Ted Orland is the author of “Art and Fear”. I have the privilege of meeting in a very small photo group once a month in which Ted is a member. Ted worked with Ansel Adams in Yosemite for 15 years I believe. Ted is a great inspiration.
Another great follow up book by Ted is “The View From The Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way In An Uncertain World”. It is also a must read!