ETHOS
My ethos
A la sauvette
(the decisive moment)
“Photography is not like painting, There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson 1957
My decisive moments
Whether a candid street shot or live action, it's that moment when the planets align; a look, certain angles that work or positioning of the subject in the right place (at the right time). This can change for any photographer, which is what makes each shot unique and personal. It's the photographer's own perspective on what works...it's not what you look at, it's what you see.
Composition is key
I sometimes look to the photographers knowledge bank: rule of thirds, lead in lines, especially for landscapes as it is a good way of creating an aesthetically pleasing image. Final cropping can help to remove unwanted or distracting elements, and of course retouching, this depends on the shot but should be done with care.
For this landscape shot in Dungeness, the portrait format emphasised the tracks which create a lead in line towards the delapidated shed and horizon which is towards the top third of the image. Also notice that the shed is in its own space, If I had moved to the left or right, then the hut to the left and boat to the right would have interfered with the clean lines.