Shoot the Sunset
Shoot the Sunset
by Betty Gross
One of my all-time favorite movies is Mr. Holland’s Opus. Many would say it’s a predictable little feel good movie, but I find that there’s a message in there that fits photographers to a Tee -- a lesson that is repeatedly taught in photography how-to magazines.
In the movie, Mr. Holland is desperately trying to get through to a student that she must not rely on her technical abilities so much, but throw caution to the wind and interject emotion.
After several frustrating attempts, Mr. Holland asks the student to name a moment in time that she can close her eyes to see and feel by merely thinking of it. The student grabs a moment from her memory bank quickly and relates how her father always describes her beautifully bright red hair as a brilliant sunset. The emotion that crosses the young woman’s face is evident. Mr. Holland’s advice? “Play the Sunset.”
When you’re wandering the woods, city streets, or wherever it is you photograph, do you interject your emotions in your compositions, or like so many others, do you become embroiled in the technicalities of photo composition? I recently read an article that stated very simply: Learn all you can about the technical side of photography, then throw it all out.
On a recent photo outing I noticed one of the members of the group off to one side diligently parked behind her tripod, studying the scene before us all. The photographer was bound and determined to create all her shots in full manual and using every rule she was taught to make the most technically correct photograph she knew how to make.
After viewing some of the photos of that outing, I have to admit the shots were technically correct, but there was something missing that caused them to look flat. The light was right, the colors were right, the composition very appealing, yet something was missing. Then I realized what I wasn’t seeing -- emotion.
The photographer hadn’t thrown caution to the wind and interjected that bit of herself. Without that, the photo didn’t have that joie de vivre that was needed to make it a success. Photography, just like any other art form, truly shines when it tells the emotions of the moment. As we all know, every photo should tell a story, and without emotion, there’s no story.
It’s difficult to bare your soul for the world to see. I remember the first gallery opening at which my photos were displayed. I was terrified! And it was only at that moment I realized my deepest inner thoughts and feelings were hanging on the gallery walls – open for the world to see, analyze, critique, enjoy, etc…a moment of being truly vulnerable. And not just one moment……a moment of vulnerability for every photo hanging in that gallery. A very intense lesson for a total novice. It took me quite some time to get over that, but what a whack-in-the-head-moment” for this photographer.
I frequently find myself holding back when I’m with others that don’t share my intense passion for photography. At the end of those days, I find a collection of very flat photographs. Many might be technically correct, but without the emotion of the moment they’re merely snapshots.
It’s important for successful photographers (amateur or professional), to reveal and interject a part of themselves. You wouldn’t be here searching for more information and resources if photography wasn’t a passion to some degree. Follow your passion. Don’t be afraid to share. That will come to you easily once you practice letting it out and baring your soul in your photographs. Tell the whole story.
There’s no risk in putting another photo in your vacation photo album. But it’s risky to play the sunset. It’s risky to put yourself out there by sharing your artwork. Go out and document the world, and your excitement and passion in seeing it. Realize that the very second you clicked that shutter you’ve caught a moment in time that will never exist again. If you return to that spot 100 times more, the light, the color, the textures you’ve captured in that first photograph will never be repeated.
Be true to yourself and to those you share your artwork with. Shoot the Sunset.
The photo is a sunrise capture taken recently before my fourth eye surgery...needless to say, I’ve come to appreciate my eyes and the passion they afford me through my photography.
by Betty Gross
In the movie, Mr. Holland is desperately trying to get through to a student that she must not rely on her technical abilities so much, but throw caution to the wind and interject emotion.
After several frustrating attempts, Mr. Holland asks the student to name a moment in time that she can close her eyes to see and feel by merely thinking of it. The student grabs a moment from her memory bank quickly and relates how her father always describes her beautifully bright red hair as a brilliant sunset. The emotion that crosses the young woman’s face is evident. Mr. Holland’s advice? “Play the Sunset.”
When you’re wandering the woods, city streets, or wherever it is you photograph, do you interject your emotions in your compositions, or like so many others, do you become embroiled in the technicalities of photo composition? I recently read an article that stated very simply: Learn all you can about the technical side of photography, then throw it all out.
On a recent photo outing I noticed one of the members of the group off to one side diligently parked behind her tripod, studying the scene before us all. The photographer was bound and determined to create all her shots in full manual and using every rule she was taught to make the most technically correct photograph she knew how to make.
After viewing some of the photos of that outing, I have to admit the shots were technically correct, but there was something missing that caused them to look flat. The light was right, the colors were right, the composition very appealing, yet something was missing. Then I realized what I wasn’t seeing -- emotion.
The photographer hadn’t thrown caution to the wind and interjected that bit of herself. Without that, the photo didn’t have that joie de vivre that was needed to make it a success. Photography, just like any other art form, truly shines when it tells the emotions of the moment. As we all know, every photo should tell a story, and without emotion, there’s no story.
It’s difficult to bare your soul for the world to see. I remember the first gallery opening at which my photos were displayed. I was terrified! And it was only at that moment I realized my deepest inner thoughts and feelings were hanging on the gallery walls – open for the world to see, analyze, critique, enjoy, etc…a moment of being truly vulnerable. And not just one moment……a moment of vulnerability for every photo hanging in that gallery. A very intense lesson for a total novice. It took me quite some time to get over that, but what a whack-in-the-head-moment” for this photographer.
I frequently find myself holding back when I’m with others that don’t share my intense passion for photography. At the end of those days, I find a collection of very flat photographs. Many might be technically correct, but without the emotion of the moment they’re merely snapshots.
It’s important for successful photographers (amateur or professional), to reveal and interject a part of themselves. You wouldn’t be here searching for more information and resources if photography wasn’t a passion to some degree. Follow your passion. Don’t be afraid to share. That will come to you easily once you practice letting it out and baring your soul in your photographs. Tell the whole story.
There’s no risk in putting another photo in your vacation photo album. But it’s risky to play the sunset. It’s risky to put yourself out there by sharing your artwork. Go out and document the world, and your excitement and passion in seeing it. Realize that the very second you clicked that shutter you’ve caught a moment in time that will never exist again. If you return to that spot 100 times more, the light, the color, the textures you’ve captured in that first photograph will never be repeated.
Be true to yourself and to those you share your artwork with. Shoot the Sunset.
The photo is a sunrise capture taken recently before my fourth eye surgery...needless to say, I’ve come to appreciate my eyes and the passion they afford me through my photography.
Aggie, very interesting. You have a very busy mind. Glad I came for a visit, thanks for the invite.
Peace, Harmony & Laughter
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