I still passionately explore this incredible medium with clients, through my personal work and while helping photographers successfully create their desired result.
I want to share some reflections on one of our earliest surviving photographs.
Le Boulevard du Temple is a famous historical photograph by Louis Daguerre taken the morning of January 2nd, 1838 from Daguerre’s studio window. Keep in mind this daguerreotype is a one off. This is a direct positive process. There’s no negative to print. It was created by applying the emulsion to a copper plate in advance followed by making the 4 – 10 minute exposure before processing the plate in a darkroom.
I enjoy the composition being guided up the boulevard, back down to the white building in the foreground and to the lone figure (in case you missed him the first time round), mildly blurred head, boot raised getting a shoeshine. It’s a busy time of day on the boulevard and yet there are no carriages, horses or people in the streets. They were moving up and down the street at a pace fast enough for them to disappear due to the long exposure.
Our gentleman remains steady while someone polishes his boot. And that’s our moment – another key component to a successful photograph.
Another intriguing piece are the brush strokes from applying the emulsion onto the plate of polished copper. There must be a light leak in his plate holder or in the camera leaving the white halo at the bottom of the house.
I love how one of our earliest images is well considered from the time of day filled with light and shadow adding depth and texture to the image. As already mentioned it is well composed and the point of view is outstanding. All elements we need consider while making our own photographs.
I often ponder about how much faith we have in the reality or truth of photography. In these early days, the images transformed a world filled with colour into a black and white image. Early colour work was intriguing though not at all how we actually see colour on a daily basis. What we can do with colour digitally today is, well, fantastic, beautiful and often highly interpretive.
And what about placing our world into a rectangular frame. Not at all how we see, right. These unique elements separate photographs from reality remain vitally important toward our creating strong, compelling images.
Finally, due to how light passes through our lenses the image is flopped. The actual view is like this. Our DSLR’s have a mirror inside the camera to flip the image so it appears the way we see it. Perhaps a blog for another day.
Here are a few tools for you to consider while creating photographs or viewing them:
- Watch the light – I still learn about light by observing it all the time
- the moment – be conscious of when you take your photo
- composition – how are you going to arrange all the elements in your photo
- point of view – high, low, left or right – try them out
- use motion – do you want to create a blur, freeze your subject or make those carriages disappear?
- the frame – oh how I love that frame – thoughtfully consider how you want to frame your subject
Let me leave you with this last thought. Photography has this incredibly beautiful, somewhat tenuous connection with the real world while distinctly different from it. I remain intrigued.
Thank you for listening to Photography Considered. If you could use some help with your photography check out the link below.