"Camera...Extension of ID"

[benjikan]

It has been a long time since I was aware of the fact that I am actually holding a device between myself and the subject I am shooting. I think the device is called a camera or a digital capturing device. I can't really recall. When that phenomena happened in my life is hard to define. I really am not aware of this device when I am in the process of capturing my image. In fact I often forget that I am actually holding anything in my hand. I become aware of this "appendage" when I think I have captured what I feel is "That Moment". If I don't feel I have captured the essence of the moment, the vehicle remains glued to my hand and remains the interpreter of the subject's and my soul until "That Moment" happens. Perhaps it happened in the same way as when I realized that I don't need a flash meter. I can feel the blast of light and based on the blast, I only have to choose from a very finite and small group of numbers to set on my device. I am usually on within a 1/3rd of a stop. One day, I will just blink my eye and the image will appear on a three dimensional projection in space. It will be transcribed to a crystal storage device that will be used to produce a hard copy, if need be. I guess after pressing the shutter a couple of million times in my 27 years of capturing images, it has become an extension of my "Id".

Ben

[Asylum Steve]

I guess after pressing the shutter a couple of million times in my 27 years of capturing images, it has become an extension of my "Id"...

Well said. I know the feeling. And though I have been doing this for many many years as well, I am still a relatively poor judge of light. And so I will hang on to my meters for the time being, just to keep me in the ballpark.

At this point they're probably a crutch as much as anything...

[benjikan]

Well said. I know the feeling. And though I have been doing this for many many years as well, I am still a relatively poor judge of light. And so I will hang on to my meters for the time being, just to keep me in the ballpark.

At this point they're probably a crutch as much as anything...

Squint your eyes until they are almost completely closed, like stopping down a lens. I find that I am much more sensitive to the subtle nuances of light when doing so...

[Frog]

I don't think I'd put it the same way but thanks for sharing your philosophy.
As I learn and grow, perhaps I'll feel the same.
For now, I only aspire to be able to capture what I see and hopefully the images will portray what I feel to others, also.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Chunk]

That's the creative side of the brain that you're feeling. Painters are not conscious of the brushes and paints as they are creating their art, musicians don't think about fingerings, drivers of cars don't consciously decide 'just a little more gas' or 'turn the wheel about 1/2 degree'. Of course while learning these skills one does have to think about them and you are right, one isn't aware of just when one is comfortable enough with his skills to enter that 'zone'. I found that programming was similar in that I'd enter and exist in the limited world of the program I was working on until some external stimulus would bring me out.

With photography I find myself in the creative zone while experiencing a scene and framing my shots but have to be more conscious of the camera settings yet.

Do you find yourself unaware of the passage of time while shooting?

[Asylum Steve]

I found that programming was similar in that I'd enter and exist in the limited world of the program I was working on until some external stimulus would bring me out...

Hmmm, wasn't that the plot for the movie TRON?

Just make sure you watch out for that MCP!...

[benjikan]

That's the creative side of the brain that you're feeling. Painters are not conscious of the brushes and paints as they are creating their art, musicians don't think about fingerings, drivers of cars don't consciously decide 'just a little more gas' or 'turn the wheel about 1/2 degree'. Of course while learning these skills one does have to think about them and you are right, one isn't aware of just when one is comfortable enough with his skills to enter that 'zone'. I found that programming was similar in that I'd enter and exist in the limited world of the program I was working on until some external stimulus would bring me out.

With photography I find myself in the creative zone while experiencing a scene and framing my shots but have to be more conscious of the camera settings yet.

Do you find yourself unaware of the passage of time while shooting?

Time does not exist when I am in the "Field"...or the "Zone" or "Altered State"...

[SmartWombat]

I felt the same wile programming, and am beginning to feel it in photography.
Nowhere near as often, I haven't mastered enough technique yet to do it without effort.
But occasionally I can "feel" that the image will be right, without chimping it.

[Greg McCary]

I haven't developed a sense of light yet, but feel my sense of composition is getting better. When I approach a subject I don't have to think as much and am less likely to miss the shot. Sometimes when I go out and just snap the pictures without really thinking to hard I am a bit suprised at what I get. But if I think to hard I will usally out think myself and screw up.
The same is true in golf if you have ever played. You practice hard but once you are playing for real, you just have to play without thinking of the swing and just where you want the ball to go.
Greg