Edition Seventy Four

Process.

Cooking.

It is of the more rewarding hobbies I have. Looking for fresh herbs in the garden. Searching for spices or deciding which vegetables will work best in the dish. Reading up on cooking techniques or looking up new recipes. I’m not a professional in the kitchen by any stretch but I enjoy the act of cooking.

I enjoy this process.

Cooking is a great example where the process is a touch more important than the end result. The delicious pasta meal or the fragrant curry and riche is a big part of this — don’t be mistaken. But the process to get there is often neglected.

Another examples where process often beats the end result? Photography.

We focus on sharing and showing our images. There is a rush for us to get it from the card onto the hard drive and out into the world (wide web). Spread it amongst our followers in the hopes of going viral.

Our biggest consideration has become likes and shares VS how does this image make you feel or what did you learn here.

Retro activities.

Many digital activities today have a retro parent.

Typing an email. Streaming a song. Before digital arrived on the scene we wrote with pens on paper. Or listened to a CD or if you go back a bit further — vinyl.

No typing or streaming back in the day.

Digital started to seep into our lives. We started to write online: blogs, websites, forums, Reddit. YouTube Music, Spotify.

Email replaced all forms of hand written communication. We could order online, no need to go out and wait or queue and in the process experience the ambiance of a restaurant and its colorful patrons.

These parent activities put focus on the process. You slipped the record out of the sleeve. Carefully placed it onto the turn table and gently placed the needle onto the vinyl. The surface noises adding to the anticipation. Or opened the CD case, admired the artwork. Popped it into the CD player and waited for the player to read it.

This process was a run-up to the event and played a big role in making the experience enjoyable and memorable. You looked forward to John Loudermilk singing “Blue Train” - not only because of the song but because of the build up. For many people this could have been an event: listening to classical music in front of the radio on a Sunday evening. Or maybe it was Green Day. The Offspring. Enter your favorite artist here.

Results weren’t instant if you did film photography.

It forced you to focus more on the process. The images you captured were a secret until you developed the film. Film photography forced you to pay more attention to a process. Limited frames meant different choices in terms of composition, lighting and subjects.

In the nearly four decades of digital photography it sometimes feels as if the process behind it has been removed. It tore the process to ribbons. Take photos until the memory card bursts at the seams. Upload everything onto a hard drive. Now edit as much as you want because you can create an infinite amount of copies.

What is your process?

I want to download and look at what I’ve captured immediately. I’ve been indoctrinated by social media to focus on speed and post according to a schedule.

I’m part of the problem.

My processes around photography were determined by algorithms. Ideas about success in photography chosen by what YouTube decided to dish up on the particular day. I chased fake dopamine which didn’t make me feel better about my work.

I loved the likes.

Today my process is geared towards slowing down my photography. I focus on what I can control: when I take photos, what I take photos of, how I share my work, where I share my work. I let go of what doesn’t work but I don’t shut it down completely. It’s better to temporarily shelve something because tomorrow might be a better day for shooting street.

I stopped focusing on the non-essential: likes, shares, which hashtag to follow, what time to post. These have less say in how I do my photography today.

In closing.

Your process should be about understanding yourself as a photographer. I’m of the opinion that in every photo you see — there is something of the photographer in there. I don’t think it necessarily defines the style and is often something the photographer doesn’t actively seek to incorporate. But its there. Once you discover that your photos are an extension of yourself your understand your craft better.

This only happens through the proper process.

Thanks for reading : )