In my last entry, I mentioned what Michael A. Smith said at a recent lecture about the importance of using the entire space contained in the negative to good effect. Another significant point he made was the difference in how one sees vs. what one sees. This is an essential element in his working method, and it should be part of ours as well!

In a way, I touched on this a while back in my entry “More on Projects, Discovery and Not Getting Locked Into the Expected”. I talked about how much there is to see and capture if only we are open to it! That we often have something specific in mind when we go out to make pictures and how this can lock us into the expected and prevent us from unexpectedly making happy discoveries.

I believe Michael was referring to the mindset or philosophy one has to have when making a picture, because many of his images are about the nature of spatial and tonal relationships that are so important in black and white photography. In other words, how one sees vs. what one sees.

I am going to go out onto a limb and say that I think this fits into what I was talking about concerning being open to things, and so I am glad Michael and I are in agreement!!!!

Actually, what he says is a critical refinement. His is a thought process that seeks discovery of the elements that together make a great picture. Think composition. Think light. Think different tones from deepest black to glaring white. This is a vastly different approach than merely looking at something interesting and snapping the picture. While that may produce a good record of something, it is unlikely to satisfy.

In my opinion, this applies to whatever format you are using and whatever type of photography you are doing, including street, which can be pretty fast moving. Don’t believe me — go ahead and study the pictures of the great street and documentary photographers and compare them to the countless number posted daily on flickr, etc. I think you will see what I mean.