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As part of striving to be a traveler rather than a tourist and wanting to be awake to the wonders of life as I walk this planet, I take photographs to aid my failing memory. Sometimes they are snapshots. Sometimes I am more mindful of trying to capture the light or capture the “story” in front of me.

I am reading and studying as much as I can about observing and photographing.  The article “How Photography demands your presence” caught my imagination:

Sherry Turkle: “What is a place if those who are physically present have their attention on the absent? The Internet is more than old wine in new bottles; now we can always be elsewhere.”

Daniel Levitan: “The suggestion is that taking a picture, especially when done thoughtfully, can enhance your experience by making you pause and reflect on the significance of what you are witnessing. In other words, the act of photography actually promotes ‘mindfulness’, as it prompts you to examine and appreciate the world in greater detail.”

With a camera — and perhaps especially the ubiquitous smartphone — you are able to document your life in a way that preserves memories and potentially deepens your understanding of your personal history. Photography acts as a tool for reflection, helping you to revisit and relive past experiences. Rather than detracting from the present, capturing an image can promote future reflection, making it easier to appreciate the richness of your experiences over time.

For me the smart phone is much more of the latter.  Taking photos of our meals and the wines we encounter preserve memories that I never had access to in the past.  When the photo is combined with GPS coordinates on a map to show where we were at the time of the photo, it is much easier to retrospectively reflect and write about an experience.

Tracy Kidder:  “Every story has to be discovered twice, first in the world and then in the author’s study.” 

Is this true for photography as well?  I believe so.

“Every picture tells a story” speaks to me as I walk through “my woods.”

“The origin of the proverb ‘every picture tells a story’ can be traced back to the growing recognition of the power of visual imagery in the 20th century, particularly with the rise of photography and visual media. This saying highlights how a single image can provide insight, capture a moment, or communicate complex ideas in a way that words may not be able to. It also emphasizes the idea that visuals, whether through art, photographs, or other media, can be just as powerful, if not more so, than verbal communication in conveying meaning.”

I want all of my photos to tell a story.

Each time I pass this long abandoned car, I ask myself again what is its story. How did this car get here? The nearby road has only been in place for a few years, long after this car was abandoned. Was it just dumped here or did some folks get liquored up and wrapped the car around this unsuspecting unmovable tree? Why has the car stayed here for decades? So many questions.

I wonder if my photographs are art, even if they don’t tell a story.

“On the personal, internal side are two questions: What are your interests? How do you respond to your interests? The first question asks what is important to you. It’s unlikely, maybe impossible, to do good photography with subject matter that don’t interest you. The second question points you in the direction of how you want to express yourself, and even how you want others to respond to your imagery. Or, stated differently, how do you want your photograph to look, so that others will get the message you want to convey?”

— The Art of Photography: A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression by Bruce Barnbaum  https://a.co/hkkrsjW

I have a deep interest in sunrise colors, particularly the pre-sunrise colors of Seattle sunrises.

I have thousands of sunrise photos that capture the colors and the location of the sun as it moves between the winter and summer solstice. The colors wake me up each morning. I have to get out of bed to chase the light. Yet, what is the story. Are these snapshots or something more? Does a single photo tell the story or is it the curation of the many different colors and locations?

How thoughtful am I as I compose the shot of a sunrise. Should I focus in with my zoom or do a panorama shot?

Is there enough visual power here or do I force the user to zoom in to see the Seattle skyline?

“Understanding composition and applying it separates the artists from the snapshooters. A single, interesting object of exceptional visual power may sometimes be enough to produce a wonderful image, but rarely. Usually it is the relationships of lines, forms, colors, etc. that create the exceptional compositions and the most insightful photographs. The savvy photographer looks at all parts of the intended image to uncover hidden relationships that produces the extraordinary image; she rarely confines her seeing to a single object of interest. There are two aspects of good composition that are of prime importance. The concept of a unified thought is one; simplicity is the other. The two are strongly interrelated.”

— The Art of Photography: A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression by Bruce Barnbaum https://a.co/e1ihirg

I am fascinated with architecture. Most of my fascination is cathedrals and ancient buildings.

“In the examples of my own work just discussed, I attempted to express a bit of this second consideration. The slit canyons overwhelmed me in a very specific way—as cosmic analogies, or as analogies to force fields—and my imagery is based on conveying that impression to others. Similarly, the cathedrals struck me as grand, musical, and infinite in their marvelous forms. Again, I tried to emphasize those qualities in my imagery. I did not simply conclude, “These things are interesting!” and begin to shoot, but rather I responded to the specific ways that I found them to be interesting. I approached them in an effort to express my strongest feelings about them photographically.”

— The Art of Photography: A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression by Bruce Barnbaum https://a.co/gC0J1Jx

I try to get interested in modern architecture, particularly skyscrapers. But I have such a hard time figuring out how to photograph them.

“The unity of forms amidst the complexity of the architecture is a vivid example of Goethe’s statement that “Architecture is frozen music.” This is also an example of positive/ negative space in which the nearby columns and archways form the positive space, and the distant nave the negative space.”

“I dislike the architecture of all but a very few commercial buildings. They are cold, austere, impersonal, and basically ugly. I feel that these giant downtown filing cabinets are built for function with little thought given to aesthetics.”

— The Art of Photography: A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression by Bruce Barnbaum

“Buildings as giant downtown filing cabinets” is a wonderful flipping of a photo concept.

Just as I strive to progress from a tourist to a traveler, I endeavor to become present to creative photography.

“Understand what you want to say!
Understand how you want to say it!
Then say it without compromise!
Now you are thinking in terms of creative photography!”

— The Art of Photography: A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression by Bruce Barnbaum https://a.co/bwJZ330

I still love my sunrises. I really love being present to my sunrises.

Peace.