Planned vs Actual
This was originally published in my Prime Lenses Newsletter. You can sign-up for a weekly update to your inbox here.
Just like I said at the start of the podcast this week with Scott, I had such grand plans. I was away for work last week so any spare cycles I had I fully intended to dedicate to watching Severance. But, everybody has plans until they get hit for the first time and instead, inspired by previous guest Jess and future guest Amy, the light of an unfamiliar space like a hotel room led to a mini project!
I’ve been intrigued by the idea of self portraits recently, trying to work out what I could learn from pictures of myself that can inform photos I want to make of other people. If I can get comfortable in front of the lens myself then I think I’ll be more prepared to capture and maybe even direct or encourage someone else. In fact, as I write this I think I’m starting to realise that sometimes the thing stopping me making a picture of someone else is a fear of asking for permission and through this process I think I’m giving myself permission first.
What I quickly found was that I didn’t have many ideas for photos ahead of time. Instead making one image led me to the next and then the next. Different angles and perspectives, light from natural and artificial sources. I could explore, testing what I was seeing in a new space.
At home, it’s easy to see light that could be fun and think “I’ll come back to that another time” but here the pressure was slightly heightened to do it now because the weather could change tomorrow and I wouldn't necessarily have the chance again.
Planned vs. actual, see?
I had a similar experience at the weekend too. Friend of the podcast Dan Baker shared a project he was a part of that was exhibited in São Paulo. The concept took advantage of the high resolution sensor of the Leica M11, turning one image into 32 crops that could be printed and exhibited alongside the original to showcase the creative possibilities that a big sensor file can offer.
“What a cool idea”
I thought to myself. The old ad agency guy in me could see how this would come about. Tell a room full of marketing execs about this feature, they come up with the concept and find photographers that fit. That was the “plan” part. The “actual” then was that I heard from a friend almost immediately who had the exact opposite reaction to the project for completely valid reasons. They felt it was a gimmick and that it wasn’t really moving photography forward in a meaningful way. To them, what was the point?
I was suddenly challenged in a way I hadn’t expected. Why did I think it was a cool idea? Was I looking beyond the surface? Was I just enamoured of the technical achievement? I resolved that it was partly that, on top of it being a celebration of the art of a friend, but once again it felt good to notice the difference between what I’d expected and what actually happened. In both cases I benefitted from having a plan and being willing to shift when the opportunity arose.
We don’t always know what’s around the corner. As I write this, uncertainty looms large for many of us, myself included. I’ll remember the words of Iron Mike, have a plan but try to remain flexible because if I do that I may discover something unexpected and be richer for it.