Structuring Dialog
So much depends on getting in dialog about what you are working on. I’m finding more and more that when I have inner doubts about an image or am struggling with a concept, resolution comes when I communicate. Talking over the technical issues helps clarify everything from what’s too bright or poking into the frame (doh - sometimes I furiously overlook the obvious in pursuit of a subject) to how to balance elements in the composition.
I find that when I start talking through an issue with my photography, it often leads to something deeper and more meaningful in my life. I was working on this image taken at the Vessel in NYC and just couldn’t bring out the interesting pieces that first caught my eye - hats and strong contrast in lines and shadows. As I worked with the image, my frustration grew. Talking through this with a friend brought a realization that I was trying too hard for perfection - as if my own “image” was tied up in this composition. My ego was simply pushing away any creative fun I tried to have.
From engaging in dialog, it came out that the shadow was perhaps much more interesting than the hats. Turning the image upside down opened up a new possibility. For me, it suggested that what we are talking about in words often has a subtext in structural language, the shape of our hands, the intensity of expression. The shadow perhaps reminiscent of a cartoon balloon with inner thoughts and feelings that is as solid as hats on heads.