BOOK REVIEW: PHOTOGRAPHIC CREATIVITY - A Whack on the Side of the Head

In my Photographic Creativity course, "A Whack on the Side of the Head" by Roger von Oech is one of recommended reads.  Here's why.

I often hear folks say "I'm just not creative."  Nonsense.  Creativity is a process, and any process can be repeated and learned.  You just need practice and good coaches. 

Right off the bat, I like von Oech's first premise: Creativity is Mental Sex.  "It's a lot of fun...indeed I like to think of creative thinking as the "sex of our mental lives."  (Page 5 of my edition)









Some chapter titles:
1. The Right Answer
2. That's Not Logical
3. Follow the Rules
4. Be Practical
5. Play is Frivolous
6. Tha't not my area
7. Avoid ambiguity and so on up to chapter 16

Obviously, von Oech has a fine sense of sarcasm as he explodes all myths behind all the rules we have been "taught" by our teachers, managers, or other "handlers" in life.

Photographic creativity is NOT the cental thesis of the book, but the concepts are crucial, like Cross Fertilization on page 104.  I am always on the alert for life's surprises.  For inspiration for Underwater photography, I look to other masters for ideas, rather than trying to repeat the work of the Nat Geo Bubble-Blowing legends.  Likewise, Land photographers may benefit from studying the work of the Underwater Masters.

A lot of my creativity lately has been going into the design of t-shirts.  Click here to buy one.





















 Click here for some other shots I consider creative.
.

BOOK REVIEW: Other Realities by Jerry Uelsman

Other Realities by Jerry Uelsman is an outstanding coffee table book by this distinguished photographer. Progressive Rock fans will recognize his work on the cover of Dream Theater's "Train of Thought" CD. While the book is 95% photographs, Jerry does offer some great nuggets of insight into his thought process of creating the Surreal. "...I find the seeds for creating a new syntax for the eye." Words to live by for those of us intent on MAKING PHOTOGRAPHS rather than TAKING SNAPSHOTS.

I am inspired by his work but I wouldn't and couldn't copy his work. His dreamlike photos are a tribute to my favorite surrealists, Rene Magritte or Salvadore Dali. You can see my Fine Art montages here.

You can purchase Other Realities here.

Jerry's website: http://www.uelsmann.net/

.

BOOK REVIEW: Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography

The late Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography is perhaps the finest book on Photography I have read. It is a compilation of articles he wrote for Outdoor Photography Magazine. It is copyright 2001, so much of what he writes predates the digital age. But is not really a book on technique as much as "seeing." The first third of the book is worth the price of entry alone. The book is divided into four parts:

• Visions
• Preparations
• Journeys
• Realizations

Rowell is a master teacher and visual artist. This is for intermediate and advanced photographers that want to hone their skills even further. Some of his observations include:

• "[Photographs] are visual illusions that trick our senses into believing that the images represent theyway the eye would see a real scene."
• "Cameras capable of making great photographs have become commonplace but photographers have not. While technical innovations have made photography even easier in recent decades, the art of producing images that other people will care about has become even more formidable."
• "Literal images of nature no longer wow the public."
• "...a visionary image communicates the intentionality of the artist's experience."
• "The best pictures show us a world different from the one we directly observe."
• "We all take pictures to communicate what is important in our lives."

All these quotes are just in the first three pages of the Preface. To paraphrase Al Pacino from "Scent of a Woman," HE'S JUST GETTING STARTED!

 You can purchase Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography here.
.

BOOK REVIEW: Photographing Birds

When I was a kid, I was a naturalist at heart. Maybe it started at age 6 with impromptu talks the nuns selected me to give to the 8th grade. I used the Powerpoint of the time, a book on Fish. Birds get a bad rap. I have heard people downgrade birds as being something for "old people." How does an entire classification of biology get associated with an age group? What age group are Amoeba associated with?

BIRDS and FISH exhibit the same hard to photograph behavior as individuals and in schools or flocks. True, you need much more equipment and training to photograph fish. But the "eye," focus on behavior, concentration and fast reflexes are the same.


PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS by Rulon Simmons and Bates Littlehales of Nat Geo fame is a great book. These veterans share their secrets of different methods such as feeding, vs stalking, vs blinds, nesting, flight, etc.

There are sections on using remote controllers and accessory tree limbs on feeders. I shot the Cardinal below using these techniques. This alone was worth the price of admission for me. Some text is still back in the film era, but most is still valid in the digital age because of its concentration on the subject matter: the birds.

You can purchase PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS by Rulon Simmons and Bates Littlehales here.

See my gallery of birds.
JA