Funny thing potential , one persons vision of potential can be another persons visual dead end ?
The interesting point here is that this statement is true for each person , what do some photographers see that others are missing ?
Winogrand said that “Everything Is Photographable” ! That’s not to say that everything has the potential to become a “good” photograph ! Photographs fail for many reasons , technically , compositionally or the worst sin of all, being boring , the technical and compositional bit can be learned and improved over time , becoming visually interesting is much more challenging for all of us !.
Anyone who rocks up to a potential subject and does little more than shoot one frame “as is” before moving on is unlikely to have made the most of their photographic opportunity, any potential that existed will probably have been missed, although if the intention was to show how something looked and nothing more, then this approach is probably appropriate ?
I assume that if your reading this that your photographic ambitions reach beyond reflecting how something looks , I created a shot for my Trip Around The Sun project this week that surprisingly punched above its weight and exceeded my limited expectations , I don’t expect Rene Magritte to influence my thoughts & approach as I go about my 365 day to day Street Photography, but he did on Monday morning ?
None of the elements within this view are that interesting in isolation , collectively they become stronger and more significant, dare I suggest interesting ?
The reality of this picture is that it is little more than a view of a mannequin through a shop window, featuring a reflection of a cloud , initially I saw the bright light and the cloud reflection as a problem , it took me a while to realise that my perceived problems were a great opportunity to overlap these subjects, producing something surreal, with a ethereal dreamlike vibe ! A polarizing filter was not used.
I have included a view of the location below , I hope this helps you to understand the humble beginnings of this picture, the take away point of this blog is to encourage photographers to look and think more deeply before writing off photographic locations & opportunities , decent pictures are there to be found if you invest enough time, adopt a positive mindset and search beyond the obvious reality,
Potential , is potentially everywhere, if you can convert your problems into solutions !
Until next time , keep it surreal !
The unlikely location that inspired the picture above .