----- Original Message ----- From: "Adam Maas"
Subject: The Leica as a Teacher
Anybody else read http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/05/a-leica-year.html Mike Johnston's little ode to simplicity and the Leica as a teacher.
How eerie is that. On May 12, 2002, I came up with this little nugget: I believe there is a photographic equivalent of music theory that the student needs to learn, in order to excel at the art and craft of photography. Visual theory at it's most basic is the building blocks of imagery, whether photographic or other. Theory such as how light interacts with shape and form, how perspective changes depending on angle of view. This is best learned with simple tools, anything else complicates the learning process. If one is learning to compose music, one starts with a single instrument, such as a piano. I think it very rare for a student of music composition to start by composing a full orchestral symphony. I played the trumpet when I was younger. A simple instrument, with only 3 keys. In a way, perhaps there is an equivalency here, as a camera only has 3 controls for making pictures, no matter how many buttons, control dials, and inscrutable custom functions they put on the camera to complicate things for us. But, I digress. I never got really good at the trumpet, in my hands the instrument had all the positive attributes of a chainsaw with a burned out governor. I learned enough about music to realize I would never be a Sousa, or an Armstrong. Hell, when I figured out I would never be an Alpert, I gave up the trumpet. I found other fish to fry. I discovered cameras. I also discovered that much of what I learned from music was applicable to photography at one level or another. I may have a tin ear, but I found I have a pretty good eye for pictures. What I learned playing the trumpet, albeit badly, was that there is a need to learn the basics. One needs to learn scales, and finger patterns on the keys to make the notes come out the way they are supposed to. One needs to learn how to blow into the instrument in the right way to make the right noise. One needs to learn that when giving a Christmas concert outdoors when it is -30, the mouthpiece should be kept in an inside pocket to keep it warm between songs. Some lessons are learned harder than others. One needs to have a thick skin to not be overly discouraged by failure, or the embarrassment of having a trumpet stuck to ones face in front of the Prime Minister. But, I digress. In photography, one needs to learn about light and shadow first. One doesn't need a zoom lens for this. Often, the added visual confusion that a zoom can create can interrupt this learning process. I am not saying there is not a place for zoom lenses in photography. The zoom, in the hands of a skilled and visually adept person is a powerful tool. All I am saying is that it is not the tool to learn the very basics of visual theory with. For this, a prime lens, and one that closely matches the human eye's field of vision is preferable. By sticking with a "natural" perspective to start, we can learn more easily how what we see in three dimensions will translate to two, or how what we see in colour will translate to black and white. By learning the fundaments first, with simple tools, I think we will be better visual artists later. William Robb -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
