What is (photographic) art?

An answer to this question has evaded me ever since I first pondered it when my sister started showing her artwork in the 1980s at a Richmond, VA, gallery called "...but is it art?" But then I did some research and think I've got an idea of what it is to me now.

I've been doing a lot of work recently in trying to define "art" for myself and my photography students at the Media University here in Stuttgart. At the beginning of the semester in April we explored the creative process of other art forms, including poetry, theater, visual arts, dance and music. I thought it would be important for us all to be able to compare and contrast the various art forms before we dove head-long into photography.

As it turned out, though, photography is different from the other art forms in that the photograph is always based on reality. Whatever you take a picture of is part of reality. All other art forms start off on a more abstract plane. It is usually not until you are post-processing the images that you can impose any abstraction upon the reality lurking within the pixels. Of course, not all art is of an abstract nature and certainly not all 'art photography' must be abstract. But what is art photography?

Let's try to write a definition and see if that step gets us any further:
1. "If the production of an image serves to express the creative vision of the photographer, then it is art."
I'm a big fan of dreaming up images, of visualizing them. Some of my most satisfying work has derived from the attempt at representing a vision with a photograph. It takes practice to hold on to these visions long enough to realize them, but it is not impossible.

But what about my street photography? Is that not art because the photos are all made spontaneously? If we change the above definition slightly, we can also include street photography:
2. "If the production of an image expresses the creative vision or innate aesthetic disposition of the photographer, then it is art."
We are getting closer to a good working definition here because there are many photographers who create art with their camera while walking down the street as effortlessly as Picasso did with a pen and piece of paper while sitting on the beach. Very much time and practice have gone into developing an individual and artistic sense of proportion, balance and composition before a 'click' can produce a work of art that others would applaud.

For some of the greatest artists, the process is more important than the result. Garry Winogrand claimed, "I photograph to see what the world looks like in photographs." And Henri Cartier Bresson once said, "Actually, I'm not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I'm not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren't cooks." 
I can understand these sentiments as a writer who enjoys the process of creating a piece more than editing and polishing and presenting it. I can also understand that as an actor and director who enjoys the rush of adrenaline one gets when a scene is really running well. Furthermore, I can understand it as a musician who has experienced the thrill of getting lost in an improvisation. However, for me photography too seldom allows for improvisation. Winogrand explained his way of keeping fresh: "I learned a long time ago to trust my instincts. When I'm photographing, if I'm at the viewfinder and I know that picture, why take it? I'll do something to change it, which is often the reason why I may tilt the camera or fool around in various ways. You don’t learn anything from repeating what you know, so I keep trying to make uncertain." 

And that is for me a very important aspect of art: transporting the feeling of improvisation and inspiration to the viewer. A photograph or a painting can be aesthetically pleasing, but if it doesn't transmit that feeling of having been created during a moment of inspiration, then it usually doesn't fascinate me. 
3. "Art is that which can be seen in the result of a spark of inspiration, a moment of improvisation and years and years of practice beforehand, during which the artist has developed an individual voice and unique aesthetic disposition."

In order to create great art, you have to have great dreams or visions. You can't just want to take a nice picture; you have to need to make a great one. The choice of words here makes all the difference. If you need to do something, you'll go to great expense and effort to do it. If you make a picture, you will find yourself in more of a creative frame of mind than if you simply frame the action and take it. And if your vision is great, the result will more frequently be something above par.

Fish-eye

In-camera 3-D panorama taken with the Sony A77

There are differences between software that can create bent panoramas by stitching several pictures together (see above), software that can distort normal photos to make them look bulbous in the middle, lenses that produce rectilinear photos and those that produce round pictures (circular fish-eye lenses).

Back in 1977 I learned what a fish-eye lens was because that photographic element constituted the theme of the high school yearbook I worked on that year. I was just a copy editor so I didn't have anything to do with the pictures. My life as a photographer would begin the following year.

Crop of an in-camera HDR using a Samyang 8mm lens on the Sony A77.
Some lens correction was used to control the distortion.

This past Thursday I made my first photographs with a rectilinear fish-eye lens. My Stammtisch buddy Uli lent it to me during a photo walk. In return, he got to play with my Sigma 10-20mm lens. The fish-eye experience was so amazing that I ordered one immediately. It just so happened that fotocommunity members were being offered a discount on that lens, a Samyang 8mm fish-eye, so I took advantage of the club price.

With my 10-20mm lens I like running blind into a flock of pigeons and snapping away as they flutter up into the air. The same can be done with a fish-eye, only the chances of capturing more of the scenery are much greater with the wider lens. The photo above was cropped out of a much larger picture.

Wide angle lenses are often used in architectural photography because you can get close to the object and often still capture the entire building. With such a fish-eye lens you must realize that the lines will be distorted, so your pictures will look nothing like the real architecture in front of you.

Fish-eye lenses seem to be made for use in the city where the buildings are close together. You can shoot looking straight up (see above) or straight ahead of you (see below). These two pictures were taken from the same place.

Of course, such an extreme focal length can (and should!) be used to explore the possibility of abstracting the reality that our cameras capture. It grabs a 180° view of whatever you place before it, so you may often see your feet in the pictures!
See if you can tell what the following picture is. Hint: The object can also be seen in one of the other pictures above.

Here are a few tips for using this lens:
You need to set your camera to "release without a lens" because this is a manual focus lens and has no electronics in it, so it does not communicate with the camera. You have to set the aperture (it is very sharp starting at f5.6) and focus (try it at 2m) manually. The EXIF files will not register what aperture was used.
It is also sold under the name "Walimex" and in either case costs approximately €280. They are relatively easy to find for sale used because amateur photographers buy them and then don't use them as much as they had imagined they would.

No photos

Anyone who knows me usually sees me with my Sony Alpha hanging around my neck. It is no albatross, but sometimes it is good to take a break and live in the moment. Times like these help us see things differently and - at least for nostalgic souls like myself - yearn for the time with the camera again.
But there are also magical moments in our lives that should not be limited by framing, positioning, lighting and megapixels. These days most expectant fathers will bring a camera into the hospital's delivery room and the doctor will make sure they get a good shot of the mother and child to take home with them. What could be more special than childbirth? For a father of three, my answer is: something that comes up only once in a lifetime.
Last week I had such an experience. One of my music heroes came to visit me from Canada. He played my favorite music for me. I played his music for him. We took walks together. We oo-ed and ah-ed at the beautiful automobiles at the Mercedes Museum together. We walked through the Frühlingsfest together, taking in the evening atmosphere there. Best of all, we seemed to connect not only on a musical level but also on a personal level.
And I don't have one picture to prove it. You'll just have to believe me.

Up on Rubble Hill

There is a hill outside of Stuttgart where the rubble left over after the WWII bombing was piled up. The Germans call it affectionately Monte Scherbelino ("Scherbe" meaning shard, as in piece of broken stone or glass). At the top is a huge cross and a great view of most of Stuttgart and the surroundings.

 I was up there recently with the U.S. Photographers in Europe group. We always inspire each other to experiment with our camera settings to try for unusual shots. HDR is in fashion, so we try it out.

Stephen showed us a trick with steel wool and a whisk which creates a circle of sparks that looks great with a 30-second shutter speed.

Laura climbed up on the rocks to get a shot and I couldn't resist capturing her pose. It'll grace the cover of my next book.

After having a bite at the Schweinemuseum, we walked over to the Mercedes Museum and used it as a backdrop for some more light paintings.

On the street with the students

Friday morning I accompanied my students on a walk through downtown Stuttgart. The purpose of the exercise was to make them aware of all the motifs one can see and capture in town. In preparation for the walk, we had discussed both the theoretical and practical aspects of photographing urban landscapes and of doing street photography. We agreed that the pictures would probably end up saying more to the viewer if there were people in them, first of all so that there was someone to identify with and, secondly, so that one could quickly see the scale of the buildings in the landscape.

Using a super wide angle lens in town results in a rewarding experience for the photographer. You capture so much in one frame that you usually end up cropping something out in order to not make the picture too busy. Early Friday morning there wasn't too much going on near the station.

First we went through the train station and found this old ticket hall empty except for the lovely streams of light coming through the large windows.

We were concentrating on taking pictures from unusual perspectives, so putting the camera down behind the wheel of a bike was part of the game. I just waited for the right moment to press the shutter release.

While I was trying to take advantage of the converging lines in this building's structure, a man asked if I had permission to photograph it. Although I was standing on the sidewalk (public property), he felt he had to make me aware that there might be rules against it.

By the time it began raining, most of us had already reached the modern art museum at the Schloßplatz. Before going inside, we observed the goings-on from just outside the building. This man was enjoying the sun's last rays with his hazelnut ice cream. Obviously, by then I had changed over to my 70-300mm lens.

"Find a good background and watch the drama unfold in front of it." I love these steps.

During the brief rain shower, we went inside the museum to continue making pictures. Is this still "street photography"? I like the way it looks as if Jannis were wearing a suit made of dark green leaves.

After it rained, the pavement was slick and just perfect for pictures when the sun came out from behind the clouds!

Teaching photography

I'm blessed. That's all I can say. This semester I was given the opportunity to teach visual design/digital photography at the Media University here in Stuttgart. Word had gotten out that I was pretty fanatical about digital photography, lighting, Adobe Lightroom, photowalks, studio sessions, models, kids, photo challenges and competitions, etc. Now I am passing on my knowledge to nearly 60 students for the next three months.

One way I've learned a lot is through informative websites. Here are a list of some of the sites I visit most often:

http://www.dpreview.com/
This professionally run site has up-to-date information on new developments in the area of photography. It also has a great database and thorough reviews for any equipment you might consider purchasing. I also enjoy  participating in the challenges, which pit my imagination and photographic abilities against those of the thousands of other members.

http://www.sonyuserforum.de/
Since I use Sony Alpha cameras, I look for information about the camera here in this forum. I've joined a "SUF" (Sony User Forum) Stammtisch and have been able to learn quite a lot and share my knowledge here. It also is a good place to buy, sell and trade Sony (and other) equipment. Unfortunately, the tone of many of the "know-it-alls" gets on my nerves, so I've stopped reading this forum as closely over the past few months.

http://photography.alltop.com/
For a collection of "the top photography sites on the web", you can start here. So many websites are listed (even this blog!) that it will take you a month to click through them all. However, once you have found some you like, this is a good place to go to catch up with your favorites.

http://www.beyondmegapixels.com/
If you want to read a well-written, unpretentious photo website, this is the one for you. The two main writers share with the readers their experience and pass on what they've read elsewhere. They also answer your comments!

http://digital-photography-school.com/
Created and maintained by one of the world's most successful bloggers, Darren Rowse, this blog specializes in passing on tips from photo enthusiasts and professionals. It features a forum and weekly challenges/contests and can be sent to your inbox if you subscribe. I end up clicking on several of the stories in the newsletter every week.

Now, as an assignment aimed to help everyone in the class, I've asked my students to search the web for answers to their individual questions concerning digital photography and to post their findings here in the form of a comment. Good reading!

Life's little surprises

Why do I like this picture? The staring bulbous eyes, the straight face coming through the clown's make-up, the sharp lines made by the pole and, finally, the little drawing on the pole that looks a bit like him.

Along with the shots you hope to get while out on the street shooting, there are always the surprises that await you around every corner. That is the great thing about street photography. It helps to keep your eyes open and looking around (and not always pinned to the little display on the camera!). I'll repeat a few rules here for up-and-coming street photographers:
1. Keep your camera on. Carry an extra battery pack.
2. Keep your lens cap off. A lens hood will protect your camera nearly as well as the cap.
3. Notice what's going on around you so that you can anticipate the action and be prepared for it.
4. Keep your camera's ISO speed high if you want to capture the action (and not just the blur).

 At a small Carnival parade in Forsbach outside of Cologne, I got this shot because I noticed the Red Cross jackets gathered just off the main route. For me, this sums up the parade atmosphere perfectly. The drummer has a bad cut on his hand and will have to be sewn up. The first-aid worker is calling in the information but still holding onto the bag of candy which she has caught during the parade.

Near the Rhine this couple was sitting and talking about something apparently fairly serious. The expression on the man's face is priceless. The various patterns make for an interesting photo.

A shot for background fans: I waited for a couple of costumed people to walk in front of the House of Cologne's Artisanry. The annual parade is an important part of the city's trade status.

Here I was shooting for the spots of color within this frame. "Toi, toi" means "good luck" to Germans in certain situations. Here it means "porta-potty".

Capturing the essence

On Rosenmontag (the Monday before Mardi Gras), there is a huge parade in Cologne, rivaled perhaps only by the parades in Rio de Janiero or New Orleans. This year as last, I went into the city to get a feel for the day and make some pictures that exemplified it.
This man seems to have just stuck on a red nose in order to watch the parade from the grandstand. He's wearing a very modest costume: red jacket and nose, little black feather hat and a colorful scarf. The red nose and the cathedral in the background - along with a hint of a costumed friend near him - tell us where we are and what day of the year it is.

Once again I chose the cathedral as a backdrop for this couple who were having a very nice time up in the bleachers.

As I walked past these two lovers, I took several shots of their long kiss, my 100-300mm lens pushing the low end of its reach.

This group of teenagers seems to have had enough already - and it was only 3:30 p.m.

Another tell-all picture: I like the way the vertical lines of the cathedral's facade are repeated in those of the grandstand.

I love the way this woman has to concentrate on drinking her beer because of the big nose she's plopped onto her face.

I love the light and the expressions on these faces. I couldn't have gotten a better picture of them if I had had them in a studio for an hour! This is the type of facial gesture you can't get by saying, "Now pose for me!"

Here is the Deutzer Brücke from the other side.

After the party is before the (next) party for these two couples.

This man is wearing a hat typical of the people who go to the Sitzungen where political jokes are made for hours at a time. He seems to have caught many "Strüßje" (flowers) at the parade.

This may be my favorite shot of the day. I like the way the telephoto lens seems to make the cathedral appear close to the people on the steps. As tempting as it is to process this one in B/W to make them all blend in better, I like the colors too much to do away with them here.

I waited to take a picture of this "king" until I could get the umbrella in the background, too. I just now saw the lipstick left from the kiss on his cheek.

I followed these two lions along the Rhine for a while until they were aligned with the two spires of the cathedral came behind them. When I pointed that fact out to my son, he said, "Yeah, and the apartment house has two peaks and so does that round building." What an eye!

In the train station, the sunlight was streaming in nicely after 5 p.m. I think that's Justin Bieber (in the background!).

Got it!

Sometimes when I'm out on the street photographing the world as it goes by, I get a shot and think to myself, That was the shot of the day! That's going to be a good one!
A few weeks back I was in the Rhineland for the Carnival parades and had that feeling on several occasions. Here are those photos and my thoughts on them after the post-processing.
First to catch my eye was the guy in the lion costume in Forsbach. The parade had not even begun, but he looked as if he had already had enough.

In Cologne on Monday I saw this sign ("Repent") with a witch standing in front of it. I got into position and waited for her to turn around (as I knew she eventually would), then got three quick shots of her with the poster behind her. I couldn't have wished for a better expression from her.

Last year before I drove up to the Rhineland for Carnival, I was in the LUMAS photo gallery with my friend Jim Palik. We were talking with the gallery's director, Ursula Moll, who is from the Rhineland. When I told her where I was headed, she asked me to bring her back "a good picture of the Deutzer Brücke with all the locks on it." I didn't manage to get a good one last year, but the picture below is framed and ready to be delivered to her at the Brisky gallery in Esslingen. I took it while travelling into town on the train. The light was great and the charm of the love locks, put there by couples to acknowledge their bond, was emphasized by the kissing couple and the other costumed pedestrians.

Another shot I got on the way in was this one which somehow reminded me of a scene from a World War II movie. In order to concentrate more on the light and composition (and not only on the colorful costumes), I had set my camera on B/W, so this is what I saw. The dark clouds, the hot-air balloons and the overhead power cables appeared to be from a different era.

By the way, you can set your camera to B/W to help you concentrate on lines, light and shadows, too. If you are shooting in RAW, the images will appear B/W on your camera display but will be in full color once you process them on the computer.