Hi,
One day I was coming back home from a non-nature shoot. I was trying to shoot the process of sugar cane cutting and on the way I was only thinking of how to improve it, how to talk with the workers etc. Suddenly I saw a flock of birds sitting on the dry bamboo sticks. I was immediately attracted by the beauty of the scene. It was a beautiful evening on a paddy field. As I had camera in my hand I decided to shoot some pictures. I was not at all prepared/ intended to shoot that day. I was just attracted by the scene and wanted to make some images. I always wanted to open my mind when I go out for shooting but it was not easy. That day I was happy because since I never wanted to shoot and the opportunity came suddenly I thought I can shoot without any preconceived thoughts. But as I started shooting I realised that I am not shooting freely but my earlier experiences and thoughts are guiding me. I was trying to shoot high key images , trying to make some graphical images, thinking of a title, When I saw two birds I titled it couple, when another bird sat near I called it alone, my mind started doing all kinds of circus. I was never able to shoot freely.
This is very important for me because I think photography can be a form of meditation where one can release himself from all his maladies related to mind and concentrate only on present. Probably photography is the only form of art where spontaneity can be the essence of art. I have seen people practicing it (
http://miksang.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - well, if I have understood what they are saying
)
Even when a single photo looks very spontaneous when we see a collection of photos of the same photographer we can find a similarity in all photos. Two photographers I admire a lot Nirlep and nirvair shoot freely, their photos look very spontaneous. However when I see Nirlep's photos I see a nature- human issues in most of his photos. All the images of Dhaka diaries of Nirvair contain a hint of hidden melancholy.
I think this is inevitable and necessary as we are never free from our socio- cultural boundaries.
For me visualization of a final picture and then shooting and shooting spontaneously are two different approaches for photography. In the former approach I try to release my mind's stress and in the latter my heart's stress.
