What is the Slow Photography Rebellion ?

Vero Bridge. Vero Beach, Fl.

A quiet revolution in our thinking about photography is underway. It applies to digital and film. Slow Photography and the Slow Photography Rebellion (SPR) invite us to leave frenetic capture behind. Instead, we can be deliberately mindful as we create and share images. In effect, Slow Photography is visual tai chi. It seems puzzling and slow at first, but with practice it gives visual thinkers a clear state of mind. Like tai chi, Slow Photography is a relaxed way of photographing for kids, youth and old pros.

"glass window", Eleuthera, Bahamas

A SANER, HEALTHIER PACE

SPR defines a process and a mindset.

It involves becoming a healthy photographer. It means working at a thoughtful pace. It invites us to join the rhythm of our subject subjects. After planning and pre-visualizing, Slow Photography savors the present moment.

With advanced planning, an SPR photographer avoids putting the subject at risk. What risk is there in today's photography? When we follow recent news, photographers are dying in accidents and putting clients in jeopardy during unsafe shooting situations.The cause seems to be an urge for getting the job done faster without understanding the context.

I found Slow Photography as I was teaching digital imaging at Colorado University in the department of design. There, I saw many students totally focused on uploading to the web. Storytelling and context faded into the background as the students were concerned with getting the job done fast. As a result, they were chasing down pictures quickly, instead of engaging with their subject.

ENGAGE, DON’T CHASE.

  
Mindful Slow Photography is an awareness of how engage with the people and scenes we are photographing. SPR is a social process, and SPR photographers can direct their portrait subjects. Yet, the connection between photographer and subject is a “being with” interaction, not a “taking from” process.

Slow photography is about harmonizing with people. Its lyrical rhythms are leisurely. Since photography is the jazz of the visual arts, we must slow down to get in step and swing with the rhythm of the folks we have joined.

Watch any great musician perform. She makes eye contact, engaging her audience. As photographers, we too must engage, but engaging does not mean chasing. We need not become obsessed, like paparazzi. Chasing reflects a profit-driven, speed-based obsession ( as when a movie star is chased on her wedding day by paparazzi, or when British royals are stalked on their private vacations ). Chasing puts subjects and photographers in harm’s way and leads to lawsuits.

For film and digital photographers, an unthinking, rapid capture can harm both the ethics of our practice and our enjoyment of the art. Snapping away without deliberation or thought is like saying “I am writing a book, I’ve got the page numbers.

"reach for the stars" Ragged Island, Bahamas.

PHOTOGRAPHERS OF THE SPR: WHO ARE THEY?

There are many photographers involved in the SPR. Ironically, just a handful of us are aware of the global reach of the SPR. To recognize just a few: David Allen and Ian Plant in Australia, Frederick van Johnson, Fred Conrad, Tim Wu, Len Metcalf, John Street, Larry Coyne, Matthew Marash, Harry Nowell, Kurt Budliger, Alex Luyckx, Leslie Lazenby Hunsberger, Eric Scouten, Austin Beeman, Rich Powell, Rich Klein, Marcelo Yanez– all these talented photographers are practicing the art of Slow Photography. Slow Photography is the combined visual echo of their "shots heard round the world", if theirs are whispered shots that fly like arrows, not bullets.

"needlefish", Black Point, Exuma, Bahamas.

ON CAPTURE SPEED

My digital SLR camera has about 8 frames per second when it is feeling happy and warm. Yet, its frame-per-second rate is sluggish compared to high-speed camera capture rates, which are now the fastest they’ve ever been. For instance, capturing 1 trillion frames per second, the Femto photography camera at MIT's media lab has set a new speed record. It gathers massive amounts of data that let us see beams of light in slow motion. Femto is fast and fantastic.

Indeed, there are times when it pays to be fast. Our survival has depended on it. Speed is essential to our work and is vital for some areas of professional photography. For instance, wedding pros train to develop fast methods. They need fast gear and a smooth work flow.

Yet, for many of us, crafting images more slowly can be sublime. Slow Photography brings order to confusion and turmoil. Observe street photographers who have been practicing for many years. They do not rush around. Many learn to stay relaxed in one place until the moment graces them with a picture. 

 

 

GEAR IS INATE

For Slow Photographers, gear must be innate. If I am thinking about my camera, I've already lost my subject. We can practice Slow Photography with any gear: a Femto-photography camera, a large format 8 x 10, field camera, view camera, medium format,  35mm "miniature" camera, Fuji Instax, iPhone, Instagram; any gear can be chosen because Slow Photography is completely gear independent. Our mindset, not our gear, allows us to slow-down or speed-up as photographers. 

Therefore, our Slow Photography Rebellion (SPR) is an internal, mindful photography process, not a product, that savors the present, enjoying it without rushing. Its goal is to experience hopeful, sane, reflective, healthier ways to deepen our process of making images. Some personality characteristics of SPR photographers are, in order of importance, optimism, resilience, caring and patience.

"wave bubble" Bahamas.

WHY IS IT A REBELLION?

Our primary 21st century meme is speed. In photography, we are pushing faster and faster until we are drawn into a dangerous black hole. There are countless examples. We give up beloved cameras to buy faster ones. We see websites that avoid publishing camera evaluations until they analyze the AF speed of the cameras operating system. We put ourselves at risk to get images in our national parks. It all adds up to a speed obsession.

While this obsession is global, it is concentrated within the tradition of American consumerism. Digital imaging and social media make us feel that if we can’t get our images out immediately, we’ll miss the light-speed ship. Obsessed with speed, we compulsively go "jonesing" and post our photos to the web without enough thought given to our core values. I am not exempt from blame, and am guilty of this speed obsession as well. 

Bottom Line: The Slow Photography Rebellion wants to find ways to free ourselves from the speed meme. Accelerating our photography process ignores the benefits of a thoughtful and deliberate art. Let us make the time to craft our images and open our minds to a saner, longer-lived way to create our photographs.