Expectations vs Instinct

Submitted by Keith Bridgman 

Many times I travel up to Shanty Hollow Lake just to get away. Most of the time my camera travels with me because Shanty Hollow is one of my most favorite places to explore nature. The hike up to the waterfall is filled with all kinds of scenic values regardless of the season, but fall is probably the best Shanty Hollow season. By late October and into November, the colors explode across the landscape offering a photographer a myriad of opportunities to pursue their artistic nature. In spite of the fall colors, sometimes, it is a good idea to turn off your expectations, and use your photographic instinct to see in black and white.

Expectations vs Instinct is a two edged sword for a photographer. Expectations are what drives photographers to pursue an opportunity, but Instinct is what helps the photographer capture the purest photograph that presents itself. In fact, I believe Instinct may very well be the more powerful of the two.

Instinct is that sixth sense developed over time that helps a photographer to visually see a photograph before he ever takes the photo. It involves several elements. The first element is having an intimate knowledge of your camera and the photographic process. Knowing how the camera will react to specific lighting situations is vital to shooting instinctively. Being able to see the final result in your mind triggers that instinctive understanding of raising the camera, framing the image, and capturing the moment while in complete control of what you are doing.

Framing the image could very well be the most instinctive part of photography. Your eye automatically wants to generate a pleasing composition. Removing all the clutter to focus in on the best composition comes with practice. I've always said to become a better photographer, take an art class, for with the study of art, you begin to understand composition, color, texture, shape and form and your eye develops the ability to extract from the world, those elements that will create a finished photograph. 

We see the world in color, but instinct will help you discern when black and white may very well render the better result for a given situation. Sometimes I get impatient with photographer friends who are very good photographers, but who for the most part refuse to explore Black and White. Understandably, everyone has their own personal preferences. Photography is such a diverse art form, the possibilities Black and White brings to the table opens a whole new avenue of expression. It does so by reducing the image into shape and form by removing the distraction of color. Being able to see shape and form along with texture is what instinctive shooting is all about.

Expectations vs Instinct. Dewitt Jones, a former National Geographic photographer once said, (and I'm paraphrasing), "Most people follow the idea of 'I'll believe it when I see it.'  As a photographer, I take a different approach, 'I believe that I will see it, and when I do, it suddenly appears.' His expectations were that he would see the moment, the photograph, his instinct allowed him to capture it when it appeared to him.