Photography and the Art of Seeing - Freeman Patterson

Sunday, March 16, 2008

This review runs companion to the review of Photography for the Joy of It - Mr. Patterson has a series of five books dealing with photography, each standing on its own quite well but serving as a master class of sorts when taken as a whole.

The key premise of this book is that, in order to improve ones photography, you must work on your ability to see the world around you, and understand the best way to translate that vision into a photograph. There are four main headings in the table of contents: "Barriers to Seeing", "Learning to Observe", "Learning to Imagine", and "Learning to Express". Only in the last section is the camera dealt whatsoever, and then only so far as to explain the differences between what we see and what the camera sees, and how a photographer as an artist can use that knowledge to their advantage. The largest part of this book is personal recollections by Mr. Patterson himself, speaking of his own work and his own growth as a photographer, and a large collection of exercises to work on each of these different areas. These exercises work to relax a photographer, and allow them to see things around them more clearly, noticing details and scenes that their day-to-day mind wouldn't notice. There is also an extensive section studying light and its properties, particularly how they apply to photography (direction of lighting, quality of light, color, tone, etc.)

I'm finding it difficult to truly "review" this book. I enjoyed it, thoroughly. I can also highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in photography. The pictures are, again, gorgeous and accompanied with useful commentary on the seeing process that went into each image. Mr. Patterson is a true artist, and this book seems to me to be a code that any aspiring photographer should tack towards, or at least be aware of. The tools gained in working towards a greater ability to visualize and use light and shadow are immeasurably valuable.

~ Jayson

Photography for the Joy of It - Freeman Patterson & André Gallant

Saturday, March 08, 2008

I've had an abiding interest in photography for as long as I can remember. My dad has a big phat Canon AE-1 that I've always admired, and as I grew up I tried and struggled to get the various point & shoots I've had to approximate the results I've seen from his camera, with varying results. On our honeymoon I muddled through the manual settings on Lindsay's Canon A75 and started to figure out how everything went together, but still, I never really felt like I could spread my wings and take on photography as a hobby, or an art form, in a serious way. After a little initial inspiration (courtesy of Ken Rockwell) I went by Chapters looking for a book to start teaching me the basics that I'd been struggling with. I came across a pretty diverse selection of technical books, "How to Photograph in the Digital Age", "Digital Photography for Dummies", all sorts. Some seemed interesting but none were on the list of books Ken has suggested, so I was hesitant. Then I came across this book. The cover of it (take a look) is striking, more so than anything else on the shelf in front of me. "This is the kind of photography I want to do," I said to myself, and reached out to take it from the shelf. Didn't buy it that day, but I ordered it online (along with another Freeman Patterson book) the next day.

Freeman Patterson is, I would say, one of Canada's foremost photographers. I'm not going to go through his life story here for you, but needless to say, he was appointed to the Order of Canada, primarily on the strength of his photography. André Gallant is Mr. Patterson's long time instructing partner, and an accomplished photographer in his own right. The pictures in this book are ample proof of that.

This book, which is over 30 years old now, has been updated for both digital and film photographers, though to tell the truth I couldn't tell how much actual change was made to incorporate digital into the book. There is suspiciously little technical information inside - no discussion of the benefits of Nikon vs. Canon, no talk of the specifics of focal length and the issues digital CCD's have with dealing with overexposure. There is a brief section that discusses the tools you'll likely be looking at, but no details, no specific, beyond some technical specs that would be beneficial (like Depth of Field preview, and a ball head vs. pan head on a tripod). I was confused at first - having scoured the internet, most of the talk about photography was centered on the technology. Which brands had better in-body image processing, the sharpness of different lenses, post-processing tricks, etc. "Photography for the Joy of It" has none of this. At first I was suspicious, but after looking further and further into things, I came to realize that pro photographers don't think as much about the tech behind their photos as do amateurs. They just want it to work in a familiar and consistent way, and allow them to take the pictures that appeal to them.

This seems to be the premise behind this book - ignore the technology to a certain degree and go out and shoot stunning pictures. Worrying about your camera and posting online in photo-tech forums isn't actually what photography is about - taking pictures is. Having the latest & greatest camera isn't going to improve your pictures if you can't comprehend the elements that go into a good photograph, and how to manage them. Freeman & André spend 29 pages discussing the technology in relatively vague terms, and 134 discussing the specific effort and required visual perception that goes into spectacular photography. In these areas I felt like I was learning much more than all of the internet searching I'd done previously. I was so caught up and enraptured that I ran out the very next day (a cool but clear Saturday morning) and tried to put into practice what I had learned. I don't know that I've really succeeded, but I felt that I was at least on my way there, and was experiencing the joy of photography that Freeman & André mentioned. Take a look, if you're interested.

If you have even the slightest interest in photography, do yourself a favor and find a copy of this book - either at the library, through Chapters, or from Freeman's website directly.

~ Jayson

Welcome to Book Reviews...

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Well, I've been roped into reviewing books - 13 of them, actually. My good friend Lisa found some "Great Canadian Reads" hullabaloo website that challenged Canadians to read and review 13 Canadian novels in a year. Well, the deadline is coming up soon and I'm just starting. Well, I've finished two that I'll be reviewing shortly - 11 to go before June! Fionavar Tapestry (and its three separate books!) here I come!

Who knows. I just might continue with this if I enjoy myself.

~ Jayson