The subconscious abbility
Pasar Kedai Payang, originally uploaded by Fadzly Mubin.
Taken with a Nikon D50 and Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G lens
Almost all of my photos are taken within seconds of picking up the camera - with the automatic exposure nowadays so good the only factor requiring conscious thought is depth of field, and even this is usually non-critical. On the other hand, composing pictures in my mind is a constant activity (almost) whatever my situation. So my intuitive composition when I do pick up the camera is based on all those hours spent looking at pictures and considering the options to capture real scenes.
I think the subconscious has both more creative power and faster analytical ability when the need arises so I don't even try to think consciously about composition at the taking moment, though I may do some fine-tuning or even radical revision (also mostly intuitively - I just play with Photoshop until it looks "right") later.
I also think that, just as in other skilled activities like driving a car or cooking, your intuitive abilities get better and more sophisticated the more you use them and critically assess the results. In photography you are getting to know your own (and probably others') graphical language. As you say, your personal style, which you hope will also affect your viewers positively.
Labels: AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G, Nikon D50, Philosophy of Photography, Photography
