(Guess what? I just found this draft in my archives! Didn’t know I can write like this…. I think I need to rediscover myself again…. Hahaha….)
Written on 14 July 2010.
“Don’t Think, Just Shoot!”
This is the tagline of the Lomographic Society.
I have only ONE thing to say, that statement basically means “Buy MORE cameras, spend MORE on film, ANYTHING is ART, just make us RICH! “LOL…
It’s up to you how and what you think of this statement, BUT can anything just be ART?
To me, I don’t agree that anything is ART. I still firmly believes that in photography as ART, it’s about geometry, it’s about balance, it’s about a clear message, a clear feeling, a clear direction. It can be a clear abstract feeling of tension or confusion BUT it could still be CLEAR.
A photograph that fails to relate to it’s audience is like a piece of music badly written and performed. Even if the performer is good (a good printer made a good print out of a bad shot), the audience still can’t relate.
If you need a whole lot of words to describe what you shot, OR a poetry to make it even more abstract, I think it’s better that you be a poet, a writer, a singer, a musician or whatever, cause whatever you shoot just can’t stand by itself without you around.
Of course, there’s also a place for write-ups to accompany photographs in the area of social documentary photography, cause that’s in a different category altogether. Often in social documentary, a simple portrait may not be sufficient to tell exactly all that the person has gone through.
Photography is an emotional process. Viewing photographs as ART should also be an emotional process. There will always be those who view photographs ONLY from the technical point of view. As for me, I only do that when I am comparing lenses or cameras, deciding on which to buy, which I prefer. If we want to appreciate photography as ART, we NEED to start getting emotional!
“Don’t Think, Just Shoot!” is not necessarily bad. It can be good. But we’ve got to feel!
If we think too much on how to “get things right”, we aren’t feeling anymore. In the first place, who are the ones who have influenced you in your life on “what’s right, what’s acceptable and what’s good”?
Are they the ones who are also constantly posting sharp but boring images in the forums and those who seems to spend more time advising others on how to shoot in the forums, rather than spending time producing stunning images of their own? Don’t get me wrong! What I mean is “Our Works Speak for Us!”… more than any amount of words can tell…
If you are someone who’s constantly after sharp images or comparing bokeh, experimental photography is NOT for you. Simply because experimental photography is for the “emotional”!
I’d rather have it rephrased, “Don’t Think, Just Feel, and Shoot!”… before you even start re-composing your shot! Now, this is True Shutter Therapy!
Tell yourself, “I am NOT shooting to impress, I have NOTHING to prove to others, I just wanna capture what I feel and see in my OWN LIFE, and it has NOTHING to do with others, and others DON”T HAVE TO LIKE MY SHOTS!”
If you still don’t get it… scream it in your own ears till you do!
These are the ONLY few Holga shots I did at the event. My Holga was badly leaking light! They are definitely NOT the best Holga shots I’ve done… BUT it’s “Shutter Therapy” for me.
Some of my favourite Holga shots are found HERE.
Sometimes, don’t take life too seriously! Have some fun! It’s NOT always you have to shoot those so-called “professional images”…and it’s usually in our MOST relaxed state that we make our favourite images most of the time! It’s those days when we shoot like we have no one to please, no one to get approval from, just 100% indulgence into our own passion!!!
