Isolate and Simplify

Robert Capa's oft quoted saying "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough" is advice to make a career on.   This post is closely related to that idea.  It is about seeing a potentially good image and then choosing a compelling composition to make an impactful image. 

A quote from Charles Mingus will start the mind in the right direction.  He said "making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.   For me, this applies just as much to photography as it does to music. 

I relate this idea to my photography by endeavoring to create an image that tells only one story, and then have it tell that story in a simple, yet sophisticated way.   I do this by removing any elements that aren't supporting the story.  I isolate and simplify before I release the shutter.  And often during post processing I will isolate and simplify some more, by changing to a non-standard crop, for example.  If I'm successful, I have an image that has just the right amount of visual information and not a bit more.  With photography, a medium that captures an infinite amount of detail, the art isn't in the inclusion of subject matter as much as it is the exclusion of unnecessary elements within an image. 

I'm going to use one of my own experiences to make the point.   Last September, I was in Venice, Italy and came across a scene with tremendous photographic potential.  It was a scene that I felt captured the essence of being in this beautiful place.   The scene I came upon is seen below in an image taken by a fellow traveler:

Upon seeing this, I thought, "Wow!  Look at that cat on the ledge!  What a shot!"  So in the short time I had to think and compose, I realized a few things that would make a more powerful image of this subject matter before me.  First, I realized I wanted to have an even focal plane and moved directly across the canal from the cat and window.  Next, I zoomed in as far as my lens allow to "isolate and simplify" the scene.  In the end my lens wasn't long enough and I did additional cropping to simplify even further. 

The result is one of my favorite travel images and is seen below:

It was good fortune that the lady came to the window just as I had set up the shot.  It was also good fortune that the cat glanced away at the same time. 

The second image is exponentially more memorable, interesting, emotive, and pleasing to look at.  Let's look at why this image works. It works because all the elements contribute to the story.  It works because I removed any elements that complicated the story.  I chose NOT to include the edge of the building with the boring sky in the distance.  I chose NOT to include the windows below or any hint of the boat/canal.  The reason for this is that the textured wall and shuttered window gives just enough information to give the image a sense of place without detracting from the storyline of the woman and cat.  Isolating the scene in this way also serves to give more drama to the actual ledge, not knowing exactly how high it is, or what is below. 

Isolating and simplifying, in this case, turned a fun snapshot into something much more. 

Comments

[David]

Superb blog entry Chuck. I absolutely love that shot and your explanation and thoughts behind it are facinating. It's really interesting seeing the scene (in that snapshot)that your shot evolved from and illustrates your thinking perfectly.
My longest focal length is 70mm and which forces me to get closer however I wouldnt have made much of your scene with such a lens, which could open the debate of the merit of using longer focal lengths or physically moving? But that's another story/blog entry.
It was actually Robert Capa who said if your photos are good enough youre not close enough, but James Natchwey obviously lived by it..have you seen war photographer?!

[Chuck]

Thanks for that David, I'll make the correction. Interesting idea for another blog. I'll give it some thought, and maybe experiment a bit.

[hanimant patio furniture]

Cool art. I see significance.

[Microsoft Office 2007]

Ah well your comment! I did you good!

[Raphael Jeanfrancois]

So… the timing was perfect then! Congratulations… This is a great shot! I hope you find more photos like this. If you have new cat collections, can you share 'em with me? My girl is a cat person… I would like to surprise her some time. :D