Making Pictures

Usually it’d be a pretty big overstatement to promise you that one website will change the way you look at the world. (Well, apart from this one, obviously . But you know what I mean.) But TED will. I’m so grateful to Matt for introducing me to it.

A recent TED blog post shows a really amazing camera prototype . You’d hold up the steering-wheel-style circle, frame your picture in the center rectangle, and squeeze it with both hands to take the photo.

When I oil paint – which I haven’t done regularly for years, a self-imposed loss for which I kick myself often – I am amazed by the way it caused me to see differently. Seeing literally feels different inside my brain when I’m considering the artistic composition of whatever I’m looking at. There’s so much more to consider that you normally don’t have to notice.

And it’s hard. Often what you see looks amazing, but what you make of it – photo, drawing, painting – misses the point, somehow.

As Kapgar pointed out , digital photography makes it easy to keep trying again and again, which is a wonderful opportunity. But it’s one we can sometimes take too much advantage of, I think. Just because I can rewrite something more easily on a computer than a typewriter doesn’t mean it’s still not a good idea to write as well as I can. Same with photography. I think Bill calls it "making pictures." I like that description because it implies the deliberation that goes into the process. Harder than snapping, but I think ultimately a lot more rewarding, even for us amateurs.

One of the best tools for painting is an empty slide mount . It’s just a little cardboard frame. But it’s perfect to hold up to your subject to frame what you’re looking at. And that’s why I love the design of this prototype, because it helps you see things exactly that way.

I wonder what other small, simple things could help us see the world differently?