A simple solution...

I can't pin down exactly when the phrase was first spoken, or who even spoke it for that matter. But the words within this well known sentence hold their weight in truth and simplicity to this very day.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

In my research I've seen this famous adage attributed to everyone from Confucius to Napoleon Bonaparte.

And to capture those thousand words even without any artistic ability, all we need is some type of camera in our hands. Now you, I or anyone, anywhere and at anytime can make that picture. And that picture we take will then entice the viewer to create their own words.

That camera you have in your hands does no good on it's own mind you, but held up level to the eye in some fashion as to see through it. Rarely does an individual go to the effort of raising the camera up in front of them without tripping the shutter at least once. Thus, I feel, this is where the camera belongs.

Instinctively, some will even complete the cycle and snap the shutter even though the moment they wanted to record was missed. By only a split second. The light cast upon that special moment in their lives has faded and is now lost forever. But maybe they'll take the shot anyway, knowing that when they review the images later, the moment in time they missed will still come back to them in memory.

I am this this type of person. I've wasted a lot of film, slides and money in the past, and am now very grateful for the digital age. Some photos that I missed or messed up on are still in my all time keeper collection. I can look at the out of focus image and still remember the story behind it. Easily a thousand words. (In my review process I'm also studying and criticizing every exposure in an effort to better myself as a photographer. In this way, nothing is really wasted.)

Without the invention of this thing called a camera however, our phrase of the day would take on a whole new meaning. A picture, whether it be a drawing, a painting or of some other similar medium, takes a long time to create. It may be easier for most to just write a thousand words.

Luckily the device made to capture light and the chemical solutions necessary to transfer it to a sheet of paper were invented. A long time ago. And to this day, I'd like to shake the hand of the person, or persons responsible for these inventions. But I can't. So I will continue to use this device they created to record my time and to make my own pictures. Using the camera to explore my world, and in some small way honor the inventor, without a handshake. I will be the one creating images for others to see and to write their own words.

The onlookers essay of a thousand words will never be exactly the same as mine, but that's not the point. The images I make for the onlooker are intended to fit into their lives, and the story they fabricate is their own. Without an image to look at however, the moment in time of their fixed glance would never take place, and their thousand words would never be written.

Paint your own pictures in life anyway that pleases you. Chances are there is someone out there that will appreciate it and you will make them think. And for a brief moment the images you make may create a simple distraction in another person's busy life. They may even allow themselves to be removed from where they currently are, if only  for a few moments, and they'll write their own words to your picture.

In my opinion one of the simplest of mechanical devices ever created to communicate without words is the camera. Here's a condensed timeline.
1814 - Joseph Nicephore Niepce achieves first photographic image with camera obscura. However, the image required 8 hours of light exposure and it soon faded.
1826 - The first permanent photograph was made by Joseph Nicore Nipece.
1840 - The first camera invented was made by Alexander Wolcott. His camera design was patented on May the 8th.
1843 - First advertisement with a photograph made in Philadelphia.
1862 - A Russian writer name Ivan Turgenev wrote "A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages to expound."
1900 - First mass-marketed camera - the Brownie.
1921 - The December issue of Printers Ink, a trade journal, carried an advertisement entitled, "One Look is Worth A Thousand Words." Coined by a gentleman named Fred R. Barnyard.
1927 - In a March issue of the same magazine ran another ad by Barnyard with the headline "One Picture is Worth Ten Thousand Words." It was quoted as a Chinese proverb. Barnyard said he did this so people would take it seriously. 

Whether you choose to be the artist behind the lens, or the individual viewing the picture to write the story, the photographer is using the camera to convey their vision. Use it at your best discretion.


Words of Wisdom... Having the "right" camera doesn't fit into the equation. Any representation of the original invention will suffice.
and...
The image needs to be seen before the thousand words can ever be written.

You can read more at:
http://whoinvented.org/who-invented-camera/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_picture_is_worth_a_thousand_words

Photography and text by T. Michael Smith (Todd Smith for those of you who may know me)
©Earthshine Studios

 

Mushing on'

I wanted to have at least 20 new ideas before I posted them to a new photo album on FB. But after only a week of collecting my images and someone else's sayings, then attempting to match them up, I decided to publish it as is. I'll make it a work in progress, and whether I get back to it or not will be determined by an onlooker other than me.

I have too many other projects trying to get out of my mind and onto paper or screen to be toying with the same idea for too long. I don't even know if anyone besides me and my cat are gonna dig this overused concept anyway. It's new to us, but not to the general population with the public's eye.

So on we shall mush. In search of uniqueness through art. With art.

Finding my calling in photography is not a thing that I would ever side step. Nor can I go over or around it. Thus, the only choice I have is go through it.

My former partner in crime, Mr. Ansel Adams once said "Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is creative art."

May God rest his soul.

Photography and text by T. Michael Smith (Todd Smith for those of you who may know me)
©Earthshine Studios

Who's taking all these photos?

Maybe I'm the only one who sees what I'm looking at. Or looking for, when I admire a photographic image. And let me tell you, I can admire and get lost in most any published image. From a postage stamp to a magazine article to a coffee table book. I am easily transported into most any scene.

And then there's this internet thing. If my search engine takes me to a link that has no photos, it's not long that I'll be hanging around at that page. There are far too many cool and fun sites out there to find my answers at, and most of them are loaded with photographs to gaze upon.

What if the resulting links from that search would send me to a website that could explain my answers using photographs only. And maybe a small caption. I'd probably be alright with that. 

In the unlimited world of photography the opportunities for success seem to be so many. Just how many camera shooters are actually employed full time taking the pictures we see everyday?

By what means does one go about being the photographer who actually took the photo printed in that magazine spread, advertisement or website?

Society heavily demands that a visual representation accompany the storyline to get most points across.

If the newspaper didn't have photos, I wonder how the population of "readers" would be affected.

In my opinion again, taking pictures with a camera is by far the most accessible way for someone "normal" to be creative. Go ahead and let them all stake their claim at being the self proclaimed master photographer that the world has been waiting for.

However, the wise man will not make this same mistake. For we all must be very careful. Especially if we choose to boast about our incredible "behind-the-lens" talent.
 

Sometimes what we think is our greatest achievement in art, is only seen that way by the one who created it.

Photography and text by T. Michael Smith (Todd Smith for those of you who may know me)
©Earthshine Studios




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The world in Black and White

I'm not sure why, and I'm not fighting it, but black and white photography has really taken a grip on me lately.

At first glance it's as if we've seen it all before. Just another picture of what we have been looking at all of our lives. Wow, a tree. Look, a rock. Now it's just some highly contrasted close up portrait of an old man's weathered face. Probably taken under harsh mid-day sunlight and under a cloudless sky. Somewhere in a desert.

But there's no color.

It's like we're seeing it for the first time, and we hesitate. For once, the same old scene makes a new impression on us.

We've seen a sunset like that before. But wait a minute, somethings different. It's a new and fresh appreciation of the same old scene.  

Life is full of what's called memory colors, and it doesn't take long for our brains to decipher these colors. The grass is always green, the sky always blue, and the inquisitive cardinal in the bush is always gonna be red. But now the rods and cones in our eyes are being tricked, our vision is becoming more focused and our brain is trying to catch up. All of this while we haven't taken our eyes off of the picture.

The grayscale image will sometimes come across as dark and gloomy, but I think this adds to our perception of the artist's intent. 

We don't see the world in neutral colors, and maybe trying to envision the world that way, outside of photography, is painful for some.

But lately, not for me.




The artist has every right to mess with our reality through their interpretations. If you don't like what you see, you can look away.

But if you can accept it and allow it to work for you, ye shall be gratefully stunned.

Photography and text by T. Michael Smith (Todd Smith for those of you who may know me)
©Earthshine Studios

A recent idea...

I know this idea has been beaten to death in the past, and no, it was not my original idea to begin with. Thank you very much. It is, however, something I've added to my photography portfolio recently. Not only am I trying to provoke a mood within the viewer of my images by simply showing them the image, but I am also trying to convey to them the thoughts I may have had at the time I tripped the shutter on the camera. In an effort to spark the viewer's mind to think while their eyes are still wandering around the image, I thought I might try adding quotes from some of nature's greatest commentators.

I'm sure that you have seen this before. The ever popular confidence building posters that adorn corporate offices around the globe. With clever words like Persistence, Patience, Gratitude, Adversity, Teamwork and Failure. Surf out to www.allposters.com and do a search on the word "motivational". The resulting images will jog your memory in case you're still not clear on what I'm talking about. I am not in any way criticizing these works of art, as I honestly like most of them. But I don't own any at this time, and probably will never hang one in my house. Unless, of course it is one of mine.

I found one particular piece that I liked and looked "into" it. After awhile the thought came to me that I had just spent several moments looking at the whole piece of art. Several moments studying the photograph, then several moments reading the storyline, then again several more moments looking at the image, again. Then I sat there for a minute gazing at the whole piece as one, while my mind was putting the entire story together.

The concept sank in deep. Me, as the viewer, could not look away until I comprehended everything, read all the wording, and then finally "saw" and felt the mood of the image. For a brief second in time I was removed from the world around me, and projected into another place and time. It was cool and I looked at another similar piece of work. Then another and another.

What a simple idea. I would never duplicate these works completely, nor is that my style. I can, however, reuse the quotations at my leisure. And adapt them to my photographs, or vice versa.

I once read this quote from a world renowned photographer but I can't seem to remember his famous name. He said "I don't like to take pictures that answer a question. I'd rather make images that ask a question."

In my efforts to appease the world of critique out there, my images are always intended to make the viewer not just look. But to Think, and then to see.

Photography and text by T. Michael Smith (Todd Smith for those of you who may know me)
©Earthshine Studios

In the beginning...

I don't really see myself as a rookie when it comes to the internet, although some may disagree. But this blogging thing is new territory for this explorer, and I'm interested to see where it can take me. And where I can go and what there is to learn from it. I've been doing research on how to make money, actually make a living, by doing and pursuing my personal passions. What could be easier and more fun than that?

So one area of interest is what a blog can do for my photography. And another, is can I use this blog thing as a vehicle for me to release the creative compulsions I've been having lately to write.

One way to be a better writer is to read. Read like a freak. And with the limited research I've done on this blogging topic so far, it's like well yeah, with this blog idea, thing, I will read and write. And maybe even display some of my images and get a little feedback at the same time.

A blog may be a good way to present my artistic ideas to others, and hopefully gain knowledge at the same time on both topics I'm curious about.

I take a lot of pictures but I'm the only one who ever sees them. I jot down a lot of ideas I have about life, but it's only me ever reading it. What fun is that?

I might even make some new cyber friends along the way, who knows?


So here we go...

A small waterfall I found out there...

Photography and text by T. Michael Smith (Todd Smith for those of you who may know me)

©Earthshine Studios