The Art Of Seeing

When I first got started in photography in the late 1970's I used to carry around with me a 5X7 mat board with a 4X5 opening cut out. I would hold up the cut out and "compose" several scenes. I would use different composition techniques to practice the art of seeing. Once you learn to deal with composition and if you can train your eye to view a scene with the fore ground or back ground out of focus you can develop a keen sense of seeing as an artist. Its important to first utilize the basic camera skills, in other words take the darn thing off automatic. you need to understand why one picture is better than another and how the photographer achieved his objective. Look at the pictures to the right I have included different basic techniques which will be discussed later. Can you identify what I was doing and why? How would you do it differently? As you become more involved with the craft you will soon learn there is no perfection - you will always be growing, learning, evolving. It all begins with one learning first to see. Mother was right - take time to smell the roses, take a good look at the world around you, the images you make will depict your opinion of that world! Will your world be one of beauty or will it be cynical and cold, the choice is yours beware however the power of the camera!