STOP-THINK!
July 18, 2009 – 10:03 am | by fotodog
When I first got into photography, my Mom gave me a book by John Hedgecoe and it was all about refining your vision.
What John would say is after you bring the camera to your eye and take the shot that first inspired you STOP – THINK. Is there another shot there.
I used to have a sticker on the back of my camera that was a stop sign with the word THINK in big white letters.
Many of us will come across a scene and we’ll take the postcard shot from the scenic overlook, in the middle of the day, bright sunlight the same shot as everyone takes. It looks nice. But we should do more. Think about another angle. Challenge ourselves to come back at different parts of the day. Use a different lens. Put something/someone of interest in the foreground.
In the shot below is an example of the STOP-THINK approach.
Coming home from the mother-in-laws the sun finally decided to peek out after a thunderstorm and lit up downtown beautifully.
I got off the freeway and drove up West River Road in Minneapolis to find a nice riverview. The top photo is from the top of the road right by the walkway and a nice park bench. It’s nice, it’s a postcard view but the light was perfect.
After I made this photograph, I looked around and saw the rocks at the bottom of the hill. So I ran down the hill and took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pants legs and got into the water to get this composition.
Which one do you like? Granted, the bottom one I planned for the HDR treatment, bracketing three exposures +/- 1.5 but the composition speaks for itself. Now I could come back to this scene at sunrise and it will be a completely different shot.
Had the light stayed out longer, I would have moved towards the bridge for a different composition but I think that’s for next time.
So I challenge you, after you take that first photograph, STOP-THINK and find a new way to shoot that same scene. I’d love to see what you come up with.
To view the photograph at full size Click Here
2 Responses to “STOP-THINK!”
By Mark on Aug 8, 2009 | Reply
Great post, one we should all do. My personal JerseyStyle Photography mantra is “always trying to get my camera in a different place.”
Sometimes I do…sometimes I don’t. But I try.
By john Heil on Aug 17, 2009 | Reply
great thought
I want one of those stop sign stickers now!