Slow Photography

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. W e become more confident and alert to the world outside us. Beg inning pianists play with one finger, advanced players use all ten. Daily pra ctice stretches all our te ch 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.    "SPIDE...

Slowness is beauty. There are many ways to slow down our photography: relaxed awareness, mental willpower, a tripod. Bronze Buddha, Nikko Japan. Slow photography is more being, and less doing. To practice it, we start by believing that slowness is beauty.  Awhile ago, living in Kyoto, Japan, I found that the idea "slowness is beauty" was part of Japanese art and culture. The phrase is: "Oso-sa wa utsukushi-sa."  Her is an exercise. For part of my workshop on ideas in photography, I offer a "slowness is beauty" exercise to photography students. We practice Slow Photography with the low ISO setting on our cameras. Bob's Barbershop, Cambridge Maryland. Low and Slow. In summer, or when the light was particularly bright, a low and slow ISO helps us work deliberately. For example, I used ISO 64 when I walked past Bob's Barbershop in Cambridge Maryland. The light was overcast, and I changed ISO to 64 on  my ...