Photographer Without Attention Span
July 2, 2007
Hello, my name is Ferenc. (Answer: Hello Ferenc …)
I am a photographer. And I have a short (an almost non existent attention span).
If there was a short attention span anonymous meeting that would be my introduction.
Being a photographer is a lot like being a hunter; often hours, days, weeks or more time passes until that split second decision is made which will decide if there will be dinner on the table.
Being almost any kind of photographer: documentary, candid, travel, nature, wedding, portrait, fashion model, sports etc. photographer means capturing something happening in a fraction of a second. There are exceptions of course like still life or product photography when 2 photos can look alike if taken minutes or even hours apart.
I am very comfortable with my instant success or failure when it comes to photography. I welcome the fact that everything is happening in such a very short time frame. Missed the shot? No problem! Got it? Great but better not be staring at the LCD display basking in my glory because 20 great pictures can be missed during those next 20 seconds.
Even if the goal of the photographer is to share his or her photographs with as many people as possible, creativity remains largely an ego driven process (at least for me).
When a unique picture is created there is a rush, a realization of possessing a one of a kind treasure that no one in this World has. This may sound dramatic but the feeling is also dramatic so there is only one way I can describe it.
Like the silhouette of the surfer on the above picture. The chances of taking the same picture another time are minimal. I could ask the surfer to walk on the same rocks at the same time of the day and it still would only resemble the original. Even though the photo is not a great picture its appeal for me comes from its uniqueness.
Talking to the surfer (interfering with the subject and the event) and asking him to “pose” for me would also lessen the value of the photograph.
Henry Cartier-Bresson is the creator of one of the most famous photographic terms: “the decisive momentâ€Â. He further explains it as “the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which gave that event its proper expression.”
The Wikipedia definition is quite funny to me:
“Attention span is the amount of time a person can concentrate on a single activity. The ability to focus one’s mental or other efforts on an object is generally considered to be of prime importance to the achievement of goals. People usually have a longer attention span when they are doing something that they enjoy.”
I could not agree more but the above text raises a frightening real life scenario: how short my attention span could be or how short it actually is when I am doing something I am not enjoying? For this very reason I never became a crane operator.
