"What Would Javert Do?"
Saturday, June 26th 2010 @ 7:33 PM (not yet rated)
My voice teacher noted in my last lesson that I was far more "me" when singing Javert's song "Stars" (from the musical Les Mis) than anything else I sing. She had observed that I "pretty-fy" vowels and consonants "for the listener" when singing anything else, and they're not really me. It's very subtle, but ... I do it. And the sound I make is the less for it. Do you do this to yourself when shooting? I bet you do! I have too.
With the voice lesson, it wasn't about how pretty or proper the sound was, it was that I was trying to be a sound that I'm not. When singing Javert, I think of the character as a bit rough, not polished, not subtle ... and I don't polish my vowels and consonants. Jackie told me the actual sound when I don't "polish" the sound is better than when I try to be "pretty". More natural, more life-like, more conversational, more communicative and expressive of emotion, more ... nuanced. I had thought that sound was more "crude"!
And, she said, that "Javert" sound is more beautiful than what I make into the "Neil" sound. Huh. Set me back on my keister, that thought ...
It occured to me later, that this is a problem that every photographic student of mine has needed to recognize also: the "rules" we learn at first (whether composition, lighting, metering, color-balance, whatever) are meant to be a help but not a substitute for our eyes, our brain, and our sense of aesthetics.
The "rules" help inform our technical brain, of course, and really help to explain to us why some of our images work better than others. But the "General Rules of Art and Photography" are not our personal rules! Those we must find for ourselves, and we cannot allow the sights and insights of others to get in the way.
Along the way, to find our own rules, we will need to make some mistakes. Many, many mistakes! Shoot what we sense, what we feel, even if it's terribly wrong at times. And yet, eventually, we will find that we really do have our own way of looking at ... everything. It's a bit disturbing for most of us the first few times we encounter ourself within the camera ... though for some few, it is immediately liberating. Most of us try and pull back immediately.
When we are uncomfortable with what we see with that camera, no matter what it is, we must not pull back, we must force yourself forward!
Now re-read the last line ... take it to heart, memorize it, and write it in an email to yourself!
Finding yourself inside that camera comes with its own set of terrors, this seeing-for-yourself thing. Most of us will try to partially sort-of see for ourselves, but only a little bit. We worry what others will think of our images. But if we aren't shooting our own seeing, they're not really our images to begin with, are they? How do we know if anyone likes our images, until we let go of the crowd within and shoot for ourselves alone?
Note that when shooting professionally, we at times need to shoot for someone with "eyes" other than our own. "They" are paying the bill, of course. Yet even then, we need to recognize what our own senses are seeing in that moment, and apply corrections from that perspective, never shooting from "normal" ... not ever again.
But along the way, IF we hold to learning our own "rules", there will be those who will not just see but be amazed by our images. Understand that that is the natural result of the pursuit of the goal ... our images may not be liked by all, but they will be ... loved ... passionately ... by some.
Are you willing to let go of the crowd within? It isn't easy, getting that crowd to be quiet and leave us alone in our own heads. But don't kid yourself ... if you can't, you will never learn to be truly and completely your own shooter!
In the end, it's not what Javert would do ... but what you and I ... choose to do. But know that if we don't choose to be ourselves when shooting, completely and without reservation, we can't ... be ... anything unique or interesting enough to be worth being!
