Holga Blog

After a few bright Autumn days and what seems like way too much time spent on Other Activities, I’ve ended up with a bit of a backlog of film, all sitting in neat rows, waiting patiently to be scanned in. What I make up for in development costs with my own scanner, I apparently lose in time – and time is something that, like money, seems to be in short supply right now.

As a result, I’ve put an embargo on further rolls rolling in. That’s it, I say. No more film until the backlog is cleared. But! The bright days are still here, and the winter light has begun to cast slender, looming shadows across pale-contrast gradients… What’s a photographer to do?

Thankfully for myself, and for anyone else in the same situation, I’ve put the camera down, picked my mind up (mmm, caffeine) and come up with something to do until the towering stack o’ stills has been processed. It’s kind of like photography, but without the camera – the tips below are designed to help you get your eye in, even when you’ve deliberately or (apparently possible) accidentally left your camera at home. They’re also good for anyone who just wants to take a step back and spend some time thinking about where they could go next, without actually doing anything.

Tip 1: Go for a (silly) walk

Walking is something most of us take for granted: we learn to do it, it gets us to places for a while, and then – finally – we learn to drive. But often we like to carry on walking in daily life so that we can stop easily to take a photo of something that we’ve seen. (Don’t try this when driving along at 80mph, for example.) So how can we improve on this?

One of my favourite quotes is from Henri Cartier-Bresson. In his book, “The Mind’s Eye”, he says:

“…inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. … A photographer can bring coincidence of line simply by moving his head a fraction of a millimeter.”

Seeking this moment is something we can play with at any time. As you walk, your perspective changes. As you go forwards, backwards, left, right, up or down, all the lines that make up the world around you merge and part, crossover, dance. A bend of the knees can bring perfection. A step backwards can make or break an image. Practice balancing angles, work out where you can move to so as to avoid “bad lines”. Don’t have that tree sticking out of your friend’s head.

You might end up looking a little silly but hey, geniuses are always laughed at. And once you’ve got the hang of it, you can do it subtly before anyone even notices you’re bending oddly to one side. Maybe you can even laugh at people for not walking weirdly.

Tip 2: Have a rest

After all that walking, you’ll probably be feeling a little tired, so we’ll have a nice sit down now.

As human beings, we’re equipped with the handy super-power of “PREDICTION”. But for this to work, you need to learn about “CAUSALITY”, or the idea that when a certain event “X” happens, there is a good chance that event “Y” will follow shortly afterwards. Learning the link between X and Y is key to squeezing the shutter at just the right moment.

The easiest way to learn this is simple – just Pay Attention for a bit. Find somewhere nice, warm and comfortable to sit and watch things – a cosy cafe corner, a park bench, even up a tree somewhere in the countryside. Then just lurk nonchalantly, and watch the world Happen. Don’t think about predicting it. Don’t try and rewind it. There are patterns out there, and the more you observe strings of otherwise-seemingly-unrelated events occurring in Time, the more you can work out what these patterns are. And what do Patterns make? Predictions!

Catching that vital moment is key to a lot of photography, but if you don’t want to waste film or memory cards, simple observation can be your best friend in working out exactly when will be the best time to fire the shutter. Once you’re practiced, you can move on to more advanced events such as sports games, animal shows, or quantum physics labs.

Tip 3: Enlighten yourself

Hopefully you’ll be feeling rather enlightened already, now that you’re free of the constraints of social expectations and of Time Itself. But before you float back to reality from your breather, here’s another activity to help you ask questions before you shoot. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, just stop and ask yourself “where’s the light?”. Take a moment to identify all of the light sources around you – and work out which are the ones really doing all the work.

Hint – if you’re outside during the day, then there’s a good chance the Sun might be source number 1. But once you start looking closer, or from within strange situations, you might get some surprises. Sunlight reflecting off the glass in buildings, or from rippled water, can throw up all sorts of odd effects. Light from a distant window can move in blocks the size of cars. Firelight can jump and jostle like a zombie video on fastforward. Lamps which you thought were white can often hide a distinct tinge of orange or blue once you’re away from the purity of the day.

The aim of this is to get a good mental model of how your subject is being lit: all of these sources overlap and intermingle like soup, to finally land on the subject you’re truly interested in. But knowing how the ingredients have been sourced makes it easier to control the flavour, and how much salt to add in. Does that make sense? No? Good.

OK, this is actually one of the key elements of photography, and for anyone who’s had a bit of experience here, this might be a bit like giving Delia Smith a leaflet on How To Boil Eggs. But it’s amazing what a difference it makes once you start paying attention to the light – understanding it, using it, and inviting it in so you can secretly watch it from afar. It’s also amazing just how many people overlook it in the heady era of progress, expensive kit, and novelty effects. So get back to basics and remind yourself every once in a while.

Tip 4: Get touchy

So far, we’ve had a fairly visual experience, almost a lazy one. Let’s get more personal now. It’s obviously fine to practice using your eyes, as at the end of the day you’ll be producing a relatively flat (as in 2D) image. But a photograph is more than that – it’s about feeling. When we talk of “contrast”, we’re not just talking about black-versus-white. We’re talking about texture too, like you need some good crusty bread to go with that soup we were talking about earlier. (Hungry yet?)

Like the Two Ronnies, we want characteristics in our photos that are inherently different to each other, yet somehow play so well together. And the best way to get a feel for the characteristics of feeling is to, uh, have a feel. True, this one might mark you out as the eccentric in the pack, but if you start off when nobody’s looking, it’s a lot easier. Try running your fingers over the bark of a tree trunk, for instance – that’s almost a normal thing to do. Feel the rough surface? That texture touching your skin is the same texture you end up seeing in your photo. It’s almost as if your photo will be tempting the viewer to run up and do the same thing, even though all they’d get is finger marks all over your lovely glossy print.

Once you’re comfortable with it, move on to other textures – radiators, fluffy cushions, wrinkled skin, feathers, tinfoil. They’re all unique, they’re all going to reflect light in different ways. By attaching our motions to these surfaces though, rather than just our vision, we start seeing the world the way light sees it – a multitude of depths, curves, trenches and reflections. We feel the character we’re going to capture.

Tip 5: Have a natter

Tip 5 is pretty much the same as Tip 4, actually, except it takes place on an emotional level. “Every picture tells a story”, so the saying goes, and stories are all around. Instead of using your fingers to find them, though, you should use your ears. Go out and find someone, either in real life or elsewhere, and let them tell stories.

Everyone has stories – everyone is a story. Remember that idea of a photograph being about “texture”? This is a strange concept – what is it about texture and contrast that makes us see something as “beautiful”? Similarly, what is it about a moment in time that we can call “moving”, or even “powerful”? The stories behind it, the “thousand words” lurking behind a single image. Get to know these without a lens, and you’ll know what to look for when you’re with one.

Summary

These are all things you can either set out to do purposefully – with the intention of taking a break from seeing solely through the viewfinder – or which might come to mind as you’re going about other business, such as waiting for a bus. They are nothing special, they are simply about re-connecting with the world around us. A friendly handshake to remind us that our camera is simply a medium, a way of showing everyone what we see and feel. Practice re-connecting, and hopefully you’ll be surprised at what connections are made without even thinking about it.

And if all else fails and you really do need to take that shot, just do what all real photographers do when caught without camera: make a square with your fingers, and say “click”.