Friday, March 2, 2012

When it is truly instinct, brain matter, diastole, systole, reflex action

Today was a gray day. Yesterday the flu felt worse and I went to see a doctor. I got some recipies and the medicine has helped to feel better. But I'm far from normal.

Yesterday I mentioned taking photographs from a car, and so it happened that TOP made a posting on the same topic, giving an extreme example.

Maybe I need to mention that when I take photographs from inside a car, I'm not doing it while the car is moving 100 km/h in a snowstorm. In fact, there are so many traffic lights in Helsinki (and they take a long time to change) that there is plenty of opporturnities to take photographs from a non-moving car. Still, one has to be very, very careful, and skilled with the camera.

Having taken over 200,000 photographs with the Panasonic LX3 and over 55,000 photographs with the LX5, I think I am skilled enough.

I fact, using the LX5 is so instinctive that I don't need to think about it at all. And that is the way I want to take photographs: don't think about it.

(Posting title is from the poem Frederick Douglass by Robert Hayden.)

2 comments:

Ted said...

I'm sorry that I visit without commenting... which makes me a terrible guest... But finally I've got to thank you for reminding me of what winter feels like :-)

Here in Lancaster, PA this year, the winter has not really come... and given that we are into March, I'm guessing that it's spending the rest of its energies with you this year.

While it's nostalgic to see snow and sense the powerful way you communicate the wet cold... You know what? It's sort of nice to have not had winter visit. But, on the other hand, it doesn't give me much opportunity to communicate this season without true biting bitterness.

Okay, question... How does an artist communicate the idea of winter in a place where the foliage has all shut down and the colorful birds have flown?

It's as if my dinner has come without seasoning.

Juha Haataja said...

@Ted: Well, this year the snowy winter arrived to Finland very late, in January, but since then we have been getting an ample covering of snow.

But the late autumn and early winter was a tough time, as everything was dark, dark. Snow was a relief.