While we were in Hong Kong, I was asked to lecture on photography to a group at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.  I titled my presentation, “The Photographer’s Eye,” in reference to John Szarkowski’s classic book by the same name.  The book is primarily a book of photographs, but with small discussion on the elements of design which are uniquely critical in the act of making a photograph.  Because photography, unlike other image making processes is not based on synthesis, but rather on selection, the process requires a completely different visual language.  Unlike a painter, who constructs his image by adding and rearranging elements, the photographer (at a basic level) observes what is, and by way of mental and emotional process selects a subject, chooses a frame, chooses a composition by means of her vantage point, waits for the proper moment and then “takes” the picture.

Jared Platt lecturing on Photography at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

In Szarkowski’s book, he discusses five visual concepts that make up the act of photography’s “visual language” and displays illustrative examples.  In my lecture I showed samples of my work and discussed the same concepts as they relate to my methods and mental process as I am making images in the camera and as I am editing them in the computer.

The process of photography is based in set of choices that are, as Szarkowski says, “imposed on the photographer.”  These choices are based in a set of five concepts.  Each one of these five is critical on its own and in connection with the other five to the taking of a superior image.  The five areas are as follows: The Thing Itself, The Detail, The Frame, Time and Vantage Point.  Inherent in each of the five areas is a set of constraints placed on the photographer based on the nature of the final image.  For instance, the way that time is expressed in a photograph is unique to photography alone.  A photographer’s choice of shutter speed will determine weather the photograph expresses the passage of time in blurs and movement, or by freezing the subject in motion, describe a particular moment in time.  Likewise, each decision the photographer makes at the camera in answer to the constraints placed on her will dictate the final outcome of the message of the photograph.

It is in understanding the vissual language that we use as photographers that we master our ability to comunicate the feelings, emotions and facts we wish to present to our audience.  Glossing over any one of the five concepts that Szarkowski presented in 1964 as obvious or too simple would be a mistake.  It is often a lack of mastery of the simple things that means the difference between average and superior skill.

I suggest that any photographer, seasoned or amateur, look for a copy of John Szarkowski’s book, The Photographers Eye (it is generally out of print, so you have to find it used), and study it as your photography Bible.  It has been mine from day one.  Practice thinking of these concepts on a daily basis as you practice.  These simple ideas are the backbone of your chosen medium.

Below, I have presented a few recent photographs which demonstrate each of the five concepts.

The Thing Itself: More so than any other image making process, the photograph produces a "tangible presence of reality." As a result, we believe more readily the facts that are presented to us. We believe that the place and the people really exist. We believe that somehow the lens is impartial and tells the truth about the thing itself, and because we believe it is true, the thing itself becomes all that much more important in a photograph, more so than in any other picture making process, like a painting, for example.

The Detail: The photograph's ability to show the detail in exactness, to describe perfectly the small minutia in less than a second gives the photographer the ability to show things that were otherwise "too ordinary to paint." Because of this ability to turn the camera an the details, we are free to explore, to symbolize with the mundane with relatively no cost of time or effort.

The Frame: Inherent to every photograph is the frame. The photographer cannot escape it, he is constrained by it and must choose what to include and what he will exclude from the frame. This window to the world, makes photography a subtractive art. The photographer creates his art in an instant by choosing a given frame and removing it forever from its context. Furthermore the frame continually intersects and dissects the lines and elements within the frame and as a result, the frame itself becomes an active part of the photographer's image. All of this occurs in every image in a fraction of a second, making the discussions the photographer makes relative to the frame all that much more crucial.

Time: The camera boasts the unique ability to see and describe with complete accuracy, what they eye can never see. The camera can freeze a bullet's flight through an apple as easily as it can present the the movement of a car from point a to point b and all stages in-between in one continuous blur. Only after the camera did painters begin to see the possibilities of blur and motion in their works of art. Photography opened up, quite by accident, the human mind to the possibilities of visually describing the flux of time. In addition to this scientific ability to record time, the photographer is tasked with the "discovery of that segment of time that Cartier-Bresson called the decisive moment." This is the moment that the photographer must anticipate. He must prepare himself for it, arrange his position and watch for that moment when all of the elements in his viewfinder come together in a harmonious design that for only one small moment has become a picture. And then, it is gone.

Vantage Point: For the most part, the photographer can not move her subject, but must move the camera. Unlike a painter who can conceive of an image where the tree is really on the left, rather than on the right, the photographer, must physically move herself to change the position of the tree and thereby change the relative positions and angles of all other elements within her frame. It is this constraint on the photographer that forces her into a constantly changing world or perspectives, angles and spacial relationships which are the basis for her images. And all of these elements and relationships, must be assessed in an instant as the scene unfolds before her. Somehow, in all of the myriad of subtle changes the photographer makes, she is able to "reveal not only the clarity, but the obscurity of things."

An Assignment:

I will issue an assignment to all who are willing to take the challenge.  You can accomplish this assignment with any camera, even a disposable camera.  And this is equally valid an assignment to the amateur and professional alike.  As a pro, you are not above such assignments.

Start with PERSPECTIVE.  Take your camera out with a fixed lens.  If you only have a zoom lens, choose a mm setting, like 50mm and tape the lens to that length.  The idea is to force yourself to move rather than get lazy and just zoom in.  Go out, turn your camera on a program setting that will keep you from having to think about anything but perspective.  We want to focus on one simple concept and nothing more.  Now, take photographs.  But don’t walk down the street like you would a cafeteria and take one shot of this and one shot of that.  Rather, find something interesting and stay with that subject for a long period of time, if you are on a film camera, stay with the subject for an entire roll of film, on a digital, stay with it until you have at least 30 images or more of the same subject.  Move around the subject, get in closer, or step back from it.  If it is a landscape, you may have to hike a few miles to get in closer (assuming your subject is the mountain, or the lake).  As you move around your subject, above it, below it, you may find that you are distracted by something new that is far more interesting than your initial subject, go ahead and turn your attention to the new subject and do not return to the old subject, unless called to do so by an overwhelming urge.  This is the beauty of the exercise, you may have never have found the new subject if you had stayed on the edge of the road with your zoom lens, snapped a couple photos of the barn in the field and then driven on to the next subject.  It is only when you are forced to change your perspective that new and more interesting visual avenues open themselves up to you.  Keep working each new avenue until you have either exhausted it, or found another avenue to pursue and stay on this challenge until you have exhausted your film, cards or time.  Do not just quit due to boredom, keep working until you find something.

Now, go home and review your images and while you do ask yourself hard questions.  Why did this angle work while this one did not.  Don’t just simply look for the good images and disregard the rest, you are learning here.  Look at your images in a grid view or on a light table, so you can review them all at once and watch the natural progression of your visual thought process.  You will notice trends in the way you think and react to various visual stimulation.  I can tell a great deal about a person from looking at their unedited contact sheets and were I a doctor, could diagnose and prescribe Ritalin for many photographers.

No need to turn in your assignments to me.  You are your own best teacher.  But tune in later for more assignments.

Conclusion:

I highly suggest that you look for an get a copy of the book, “The Photographer’s Eye.”  It has been a great learning and reference resource for me as I have studied and practiced the art of photography.  If you can not find it, keep coming back to the blog and we will not doubt, discuss the topics again in the future.  Also, look for my workshops and lectures in your area in the near future by going to Jared Platt Workshops.

My good friend, Kevin Burdick, lives in Los Angeles.  I was out in LA to shoot a baby portrait and stopped in to see him.  Kevin is a musician and lives with a bunch of talented people.  Tim Nichols (another friend from my college days) is a screen writer and Dale Spollett (who I met that day) is a comedian.  So, you can imagine that this group of guys will do anything to ham it up in front of a camera.  I had my camera, so what else would a photographer and three attention grabbing performers do…

Writer - Tim Nichols, Comedian - Dale Spollett and Musician - Kevin Burdick pose for a photo outside the workshop at their Los Angeles estate.

Always looking for textures, lines, frames and interesting settings, this workshop in the Tim’s back yard caught my eye.  Everywhere you look there is something interesting.  Tim is framed nicely in the door, notice a saw blade hanging above his head, just for a little added interest.  I love the white paint that has been tested on the left, but never finished.  And the rakes, ladders and barrels leaning against the wall are very useful in adding angles, leading lines and additional frame edges.  It is also worth noting the way the frame interacts closely, but not too closely to all of these objects in the photograph.  You can make this set up!  Truth is better than fiction…

Kevin Burdick and Dale Spollett in a loose tribute to American Gothic...

Dale Spollett in the moment. Dale is, himself, and interesting set of textures.

I love the way the barn fades as it recesses into the background. Who would think we are in LA?

Photographing a group of creative performers is an a completely different animal all together.  No longer, are you attempting to pull expressions out of your subject, but rather you gear up and hang on for the ride.  They move through ideas, expressions and moments pretty fast.  Some of it works, some of it doesn’t, but you just have to be ready to capture it all.

Dave Spollett waits for his food at the California Chicken Company. It was a crowded place. "They'll find us," he says.

 

The streets in Hong Kong are littered with signs and crowded with people. It was like nothing I have ever seen.

This is my first Blog on the new and improved Jared Platt Photo Blog.  I am thrilled to have it launched and will be adding to it regularly, so put it in your reader bacause I am going to be adding some great stuff here.

The city of Hong Kong at Night from Victoria Peek is breath taking. Especially if you try to hike there.

I just got back from China where we shot a wedding, from which I will post some images soon.  The wedding was in Hong Kong, which is a very interesting city.  I have never seen anything like it in my life.  It is very tall and very big.  The city is built on a series of islands which are full of hills and mountains, so the city feels a bit like a mix of New York in San Francisco.  It is full of very tall buildings that spill down the hills and to the edge of the water and in many cases, they have reclaimed land from the ocean to expand the city.  The entire airport is a man-made island.

The entire city is marked in Chinese and English, including the traffic directions. This was fortunate, since neither of us can read any thing Chinese. Although I was taught the symbol for the numbers 1, 2 and 3. That's it. That is the extent of my knowledge of Chinese characters.

The subway system in Hong Kong is the cleanest I have ever seen.

An open air market butcher in Hong Kong prepares his meat.

An old man walks his bicycle through the streets of Hong Kong.

The city is very safe and very clean. It has the cleanest subway system I have ever seen and everything is high tech.  And yet, as you walk through the packed streets of the city, there is a distinct look and feel that is unquestionably China.  Chinese characters adorn the hanging signs that littler the sky between the buildings and the city markets are full of open air stalls with raw fish and beef and smells that can only be Asian foods and spices.

A fisherman returns home to the small fishing village of Tung Chung with his catch. When he tied off at the dock, I saw that he was very old, most likely older than my grandfather was before he died. As I helped him pull in to the shore and onto the dock, I realized he had caught only four fish. Perhaps it was simply dinner for the family. But I spoke no Chinese and he spoke no English, so I am left to speculation as to his story.

The small fishing village in Tung Chung sleeps in the shadow of over 20 sky-rise apartments buildings. The clash between the two is quite an extreme.

Because real estate is so expensive, clusters of sky-rise apartment buildings are placed wherever there is space. Here the fishing village of Tung Chung in the bottom left of the photograph is overshadowed by this set of newer apartment buildings.

A boat docked at someone's home in Tung Chung village.

I was fascinated by the textures throughout the fishing village. Even a simple canvas draped over the rails of a fishing boat were worth a photograph.

As I walked through Hong Kong, I could not help but enjoy the disparity between the buildings and the streets, the distinctly Eastern and Western influences and cultures, and between the two classes of people (the business class and the worker class).  Everything I saw was a contradiction and yet, as I talked to the bride and her family, I was struck that this clash of culture, to a native of the city (reading and speaking Chinese and English simultaneously, eating with chop sticks at McDonald’s), was simply a unique culture called Hong Kong.  I still can not get over the extreme visual contrasts I saw there, it was fascinating to say the least.

The view from The L'Hotel was a beautiful scene of ships moving in and our of the harbor.

The colors on the buildings were rich and what photographer doesn't love textures like these.

I'm not sure what I would have done without our native Hong Kong bride who ordered on our behalf. Eve (our bride) did a fantastic job of introducing us to a wide variety of food while we were in Hong Kong. Thanks Eve!

I enjoyed our time there.  I expected something very different.  I suppose I expected a bit more China and was surprised at the size and scope of the modern city.  It was a great experience.

Check back again to see photos from the wedding we shot there in Hong Kong.

You can also see more photos at www.plattphotography.com.