Being a visual person, that is to say I look for and see form, shape, and color in harmony. Each being separate, equal, and intertwined.  Even in the mundane everyday objects. These include landscapes, man made objects, such as housing and sculpture, mechanically and naturally constructed spaces, which collectively make up the world vision. It is, also, true that being visual, makes me have a difficult time with words. I find trying to express myself using the written word is cumbersome and lacking of any construct.

The difficulty with using words to describe one’s vision is finding words that are visual.  I look for planes, shapes, layers, light and gradations of contrast. I believe the ability to see in shades, whether black and white or color is essential to exceptional photography. Composition is as important as subject, sometimes composition derives directly from the subject.  The challenge is not to work too tightly with the compositional guidelines because you lose spontaneity and emotion; the image becomes cold and void of meaning. Knowing when to break the rules and how, is the beginning of good photography. Applying these principles without over thinking them frees us to see what is important.

Minor White said, the images waits for the photographer it has chosen. This not an exact quote, but the essence of the quote is there. To understand what he means we first must know ourselves. As we travel every day we see things around us. Must of us have a type of tunnel vision or a narrowing of our vision – this where we see only what the main subject of our sight is all we see. So when something catches our eye, that image has chosen you to see it. If your camera is ready and you take a photograph of that image, even the compositional elements will be provided for you, even if you did not realize them, by the image that chose you. Some say you were just lucky, some will ask how did you do that, must wont know that the image chose you. Maybe you were lucky, you happen upon the right time of day, the right angle of view, the correct vision. Intuition maybe? Then there are those times you try your hardest to find the image you want to photograph, only to fail and stop looking calling it quits for the day in disgust, doubting your talents.