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Needing a break to "see" images

R

Rachel Foster

New member
I often have to take a break from an image before I can "see" it. I seem to get locked into certain mindsets that prevent me from actually being able to see the image itself.

The first problem I have is when the image is different than what my mind's eye saw when I pressed the shutter. Then, once I crop/edit an image, I can't get out of that perspective. The only solution is to not look at the image for a few days; sometimes a few weeks.

I was wondering if this is just something about me or do others experience this as well? In the past, when I've written journal articles for publication, I've had the same problem. Once I sent if off for review, I got locked into a particular conceptualization and had great difficulty revising.
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Wrestling with a work in process as it starts to go on its own way!

Rachel Foster said:
I often have to take a break from an image before I can "see" it. I seem to get locked into certain mindsets that prevent me from actually being able to see the image itself.
Click to expand...
Rachel,

This is why some artists have a large studio and work on several projects at once or else have a muse! I often try to leave project requiring a lot of correction after each step and do something else, even just dinner, to then come back and try to use the least of what changes I thought were needed. The problem and the good thing is that art is not making what you saw in your mind but wrestling with that new life form as it gets air in its nostrils. It's iterative. As it takes form, that in itself makes demands and gets do vote on it's growth. You can have offspring but cannot always determine their character beyond mating with the right person and nurturing your infant! That sums up the process as best as I know.

Asher
 
Doug Kerr

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Rachel,

Rachel Foster said:
I often have to take a break from an image before I can "see" it. I seem to get locked into certain mindsets that prevent me from actually being able to see the image itself.

The first problem I have is when the image is different than what my mind's eye saw when I pressed the shutter. Then, once I crop/edit an image, I can't get out of that perspective. The only solution is to not look at the image for a few days; sometimes a few weeks.

I was wondering if this is just something about me or do others experience this as well? In the past, when I've written journal articles for publication, I've had the same problem. Once I sent if off for review, I got locked into a particular conceptualization and had great difficulty revising.
Click to expand...
Oh, yes, I have all that.

Your description of the "phenomenon" is itself a nice piece of writing!

Best regards,

Doug
 
J

janet Smith

pro member
Rachel Foster said:
That's good to know. I was wondering if my ability to conceptualize is somehow deficient, that I may be cognitively too rigid.
Click to expand...

Me too Rachel, I often have to leave things for a while and come back to it sometime later, in fact I have one that's driving me nuts at the moment, I'm sure it's something that we all experience at some point.....
 
T

Tom Robbins

Member
Rachel,

This is an interesting question.

You mentioned perspective, and I can't help but wonder if perhaps the creative process requires many of these for it to work. I also experience what you describe often, yet I usually form a lasting opinion when viewing the work of others at first glance, probably because it requires just a single perspective.

Tom
 
K

Ken Tanaka

pro member
I think you can see that you're hardly alone in your observation, Rachel. The mind's eye is notoriously fickle and deceitful. When possible I like to just walk away from images for months after tossing the obvious chaff. Only then can I completely separate images from transient emotional attachments (i.e lust and acquisition hardships) to view them for their face values.

Example: Earlier this month I "finalized" selection and processing of a short series of images I recorded in November, 2006. My selections now were very different than what they would have been immediately after shooting the images.
 
R

Rachel Foster

New member
I tend to make snap, lasting judgments about the work of others, too. Interesting point. The nice thing is I don't have to figure out how to "fix" them.

I'm relieved to hear it's not me. For example, the lake images I recently posted: Asher suggested some different ways of looking at them. I think it may take a while before I can do that.
 
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