There is an Ansel Adams quote which goes, “90% of photography is knowing where to stand.” As a photographer with more than a few years of experience standing behind a camera, I know this to be true. However…….
Bad habits creep in everywhere. People smoke knowing smoking kills, we eat McDonalds knowing it will make us fat, and we put off until tomorrow what we could do today. Knowing doesn’t always lead to action. My, “photographic lifestyle”, for lack of a better term, sometimes doesn’t lend itself to good habits. I mostly get to shoot evenings and weekends and because of that I always feel rushed and pressured to get the shot. I’m not exploring enough, not allowing the experience of the location to…inspire.
It makes sense that knowing where to stand becomes more intuitive with experience. I need more experience!
The shot above is something I don’t think I would photograph on my usual run and gun shoots. It required time to experience my surroundings and develop a mood in my mind. Not my best shot for sure a step in the right direction.