I’m sure some of the ‘pros’ out there would sometimes disapprove of (or become) my methods. I often ask “what if”.
You know what? I do not give a hoot. It’s why I am who I am and how I produce some of the images I make. i spoke about this in a presentation I recently gave to a local camera club.
Because I don’t allow myself to get carried away on the ‘right’ or the ‘best’ way to create an image. I’m much more of a “what if I…” type of person. Experimenting and playing with angles, where I place my camera and just see what happens.
Honestly, for photos like this I probably have my camera on auto mode. Sometimes I turn on live view (if I remember). My camera is 10 years old, I don’t have a hinged screen to see everything I do. I’m okay with it.
What if?
What happens if I can’t see what I’m shooting? Well, I shoot through how I feel. This feels good. This feels like it’s going to result in something unique or interesting. Click.
In this image of reflections in a marble column, I held my camera against the column and pointed it upwards.
When puddles I keep my camera on the ground at the edge just in the water. Sometimes I hold it a few inches above the water and tilt the lens slightly towards the water. I’ll see how flat it is. But I don’t sit on the floor or kneel myself anymore. It’s not a pretty sight to see me gracefully trying to get up again! Believe me.
I urge you to release parameters, technical requirements and rules from time to time. Ask yourself “what happens if…” when you are creating images. Play.
And yes, you have to get to know your camera and learn how photography works to know that sometimes letting go can work for you. Going by feel takes some time to learn.
