Slow Photography #59 : Visual Pushups and the Real Reasons Why We Shoot Daily

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VISUAL PUSHUPS

Visual push-ups is a current photography buzzword, yet most of today's thinking about visual push-ups is wrong. The central idea is attention and alertness, not self satisfaction.

 Two vital reasons exist for daily photography practice. We become more confident and alert to the world outside us. Beginning pianists play with one finger, advanced players use all ten. Daily practice stretches all our tech and art photo skills: exposure, composition, etc.


PRACTICE OUT OF SIGHT


 The idea of pleasing your self, or sharing every day something you shot, has nothing to do with visual push-ups. Shooting daily is not about making keepers. We do photography daily to stay fit, to practice like musicians do, and to make our gear second nature. Perhaps we should aspire to join those concert musicians who practice for days, months and years without sharing their art,  as they wait to share their best efforts to a spellbound audience.   

"SPIDER LIGHT", Edenton North Carolina.



"COBBLE HOME" Nantucket, Massachusetts. 

"Mono Lines" Provincetown, Massachusetts. 

"How Pelicans Go Blind"  Georgia, USA.

 
"DREAMS":  On the street in NYC.

Visual push-ups help our thought process. As photographers, when we don't shoot enough, we are more excited about what we shoot, and get more emotional about it. 

“Photographers mistake the emotion they feel while taking the photo as a judgment that the photograph is good” – Garry Winogrand

 

THOUGHTFUL PHOTOGRAPHY

Visual push-ups help us become more thoughtful about our work. We want our brain to guide us. Shooting daily helps dampen our misguided emotions that our work is good. If it is good, you will want to look at it, and so will others, a year after you took it. It takes time, and curating of our own work to make memorable images. 

    Feel free to comment, and constructive criticism is always welcome too. Thanks for your visit ! Jim

 

Jimages.com

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