> On 03 January 2019 at 00:53 Bob W-PDML <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > On 3 Jan 2019, at 00:36, Larry Colen <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > Some years ago I was toying with the idea of going pro and was figuring out > > what it would take to make a living at photography. I knew that I wouldn't > > be able to go from zero to enough paid gigs to make a living in any sort of > > reasonable time, but I was able to get enough free gigs to simulate what it > > would be like to work as a photographer. It took about two or three weeks > > of that to suck all of the fun out of my photography and convince me that I > > didn't want photography to become my job, I wanted to keep it as something > > that I did for fun. It is nice, however, when occasionally the fun I get > > from photography includes cashing a check. > > > > Now pardon me as I was philosophic, and perhaps a bit pedantic... > > > > From my study of Aikido, I have realized that almost any activity can > > become a "do", (pronounced doe) aka dao, tao, or translated "way" or path". > > For me to treat something as a do, is to work on improving my skill at it > > for the meditative benefits of working to improve your skills at that > > activity. For me, photography can very much fall into that category > > because there are so many areas to improve one's (especially my) skill and > > understanding. For me, simply working on holding the camera still while > > taking photos can be a skill that can never be perfected, only improved. > > Composition, lighting, and even putting a model at ease are just a few more > > of those skills. > > > > So, to me, walking around with my camera looking for photos, even when I > > don't have my muse, isn't necessarily a onerous chore, but an opportunity > > for a few minutes of meditation. At least that's the theory. > > > > Influenced in all things by Henri Cartier-Bresson, I read a few years ago a > book that he recommended to photographers, called Zen in the Art of Archery, > by Eugen Herrigel. This had a very profound philosophical and practical > effect on my approach to photography and now when I'm taking pictures I close > my eyes, breathe slowly, rhythmically and meditatively to make myself one > with the cosmos, visualise the spirit of the image, then throw my camera at > the subject. >
I read it as throwing the lens, leaving the body for composing the next shot. Even so, I couldn't get past the minimum focusing distance with the 600/4. Macro work is much easier. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
