Wednesday 17 September 2014

The "Feeling of Rightness" in Photography and Life

I have just started a new regime of healthiness, drinking "decaff" coffee, very hard to find one that compares with fave brand, but have found one, drinking more water, less snacking, which is so easy to do when at home more, and more exercise. That also means I am back to my routine of a speedy walk (for me at any rate) every day, before I get started on anything else I have planned.

I did my first one today, an hour on my favourite farmtrack route, with some inclines to challenge me. This gave me a chance to have a "think" about random subjects, and photography was some of them, or in broader terms Art in general.

It is important to note that "Heart" has the word "Art" in it, and I believe all creative people must have that at the core of any creation, of whatever nature.  The nature of any public work is then "Out there" and is seen and judged by multitudinous people, all with different world views, experience, education or possibly sophistication. The response taken will always be a personal one, tempered by the above, and is usually diverse, from Love to Hate, and shades in between.

This train of thought was initiated by a visit to Tate Britain recently, where pieces with acknowledged credibility, Turner etc, vie with current work, that is then viewed with no preconceptions, and the Love v Hate is active. Many artworks are hard to understand, let alone admire, but I feel sure they were made with the heart and mind of the creator fully active, and they would have tried to get that "Rightness" in the work.

Understanding is not linked to admiration so one can act independent of the other, which is important in many situations.

So what about this in relation to photography, for certain it is important to have that "Rightness" feeling when taking the shot, and then in processing, applying effects or whatever, as it has to be right for me above all else, so a significant amount of "Heart" is in there too.