Photographic writing
‘For me photography is to place head, heart and eye along the same line of sight.’ Henri Cartier-Bresson
‘I’m not going to photograph a squirrel unless that squirrel is playing the banjo, and only then if he’s playing it especially well.’ Tony Gaitskell
There are differences between photography and writing: rainy days don’t suit photography as well as they do writing, and writing doesn't involve lugging awkwardly shaped objects about. But, I've been watching a photographer, and learning stuff from him which will make my writing better:
Show something unexpected. Watch always for the weird or resonant, be in the places where they might be found. Climb into a ditch if that’s where it is.
Play with light and shadow, foreground and background, the point of focus.
Compose in the way that people read. Ride that golden, widening spiral.
See how your work looks cropped, or rotated, or redone in black and white. If something is accurate, but doesn't feel true, take it out.
Iterate, iterate. Overlay and combine.
Ambiguity is beautiful. Allow others to add their own meanings to what you show them. Keep a few secrets.
Reveal patterns, reflections, accidental replications. See what happens when you break them.
A photograph is a story written with light and time (as Philippe Halsman and John Berger almost said). In writing I have the luxury of all five senses and freedom to roam in all directions from a single moment. I intend to.
