Attitude

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The difference between mediocrity and excellence

Image

In addition to the quiet sensibility that this image evokes in me, it speaks to the human journey, our quest for meaning and purpose, even our individual place and function in the world as we paddle this way and that with attention focused mainly on the surface of things.

Quantum theorists observe that, at the level of quanta, consciousness—thought—directs and influences the outcome of that which is sought in research experiments. Until a researcher looks  for a particular sub-atomic particle, it can occupy two different places at the same time. And then it only shows up where the person looks. Might the same be true at the human level? Could our surface realities be reflections of underlying expectations in consciousness?

In this regard, I recently noticed a sharp contrast between the experience of two grocery stores. In one the employees were bored and unhappy, preferring to engage each other in gossip and playful banter while halfheartedly waiting on customers. Perhaps reflecting the scattered consciousness of the manager—or the other employees—the store was messy and cluttered. And the atmosphere was stressful.

In the other store, the employees were pleasant, doing their jobs, responding to customer’s questions and looking people in the eye. A new employee went and got immediate help to answer my wife’s question about a checking procedure and both she and the manager were courteous. The place was clean and orderly, the atmosphere inviting and friendly. I commented to Linda on the way out about the difference in attitude—consciousness. I think it was the calm sensibility of the above image that prompted my comparison. The water was calm because the men in the rowboat were calm. One reflected the other. Neither of them were rocking the boat.

Building greatness is achieved one human being at a time. The difference between whether an organization is mediocre or superb is determined by whether all its individual members are mediocre or superb. The difference between organizations that are mediocre and those that are great is the attitude within each of us—our values and our culture. An inspired organization is simply the sum of inspired souls.

Lance Secretan

Beyond the relationship between consciousness and the effects it ripples onto the surface of life, further consideration of this image reminded me of past experiences in a rowboat, the smoothness of oak, the sound of paddles turning in the oarlocks, the pull against the water, the water swishing and dripping off the oars as they were raised, the drops and ripples they make when the paddling stops, and the bumping of wood on wood. Deeper yet, I imagine the voices of the men in the boat, perhaps telling stories about the one that got away, how things used to be or ought to be, sharing memories of great games, players or plays and where to get the best pizza.

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

The Wonder Of Being

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What had to happen for these leaves to be photographed?

Leaves By Streetlamp

Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy.

                                                                  Hermann Hesse

This is one of the first photographs I made as a student at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology), not as an assignment, but attempting to explore how the light without could reveal the light within. I felt that the black and white photographs of masters such as Ansel Adams, Ed Weston and John Paul Caponigro pointed to or evoked sensibilities beyond and deeper than representation. They not only increased my appreciation of subject matter, they helped me see deeper into essences through the patterns in creation.

My photographic contemplations usually begin with an evoked feeling or question. With respect to Leaves By Lamplight, the question that comes to mind as I write is one of the most common because it can be asked of every photograph irrespective of subject matter — What had to happen for this subject matter and image to exist? And that includes the circumstances that gave rise to them. What had to happen for me to be wandering the streets of Rochester, New York in the dark, with a 4×5 camera and tripod, looking for something to photograph?

The answer, of course, is EVERYTHING! Everything since a speck, tinier by far than a grain of sand, dramatically burst forth and expanded to become the cosmos that we know—all of space-time with its invisible fields of energy and clumps of matter, the galaxies, stars and planets including their patterns of organization, 13.7 billion years of evolutionary unfolding, the position of planets with respect to the Sun, the cooling of the Earth and the shifting of the continents, the unbelievably precise conditions to produce the water and atmosphere that gave rise to living organisms, all of human evolution and technological development up until that cold September night in 1962 when I made this photograph. Had any one of these events, elements, object or process varied even slightly—including my birth and life experiences up until that moment—the tree, the lamppost and the above image would not exist.

According to cosmologist, Brian Swimme, if the rate of the expanding universe had been slower by even a millionth of one percent, it would have collapsed. Conversely, if the universe had expanded faster by even a millionth of a percent it would have expanded too quickly for structures to form. So if the unfolding of the universe had not occurred exactly as it has, this image, the photographer and you the reader would not exist.

It’s a humbling perspective that leads me to appreciate that those of us alive today stand as the pinnacle achievement of the evolutionary process, the result of countless lines of ancestors going back to just a few individuals in Africa more than 40,000 years ago. They survived to reproduce. And we are the result of their success down through the ages. Now, we are the leading edge of the future, determining what we will become.

So in this image I see evidence of the perfection and success of being itself—ALL being, as it happened and as it is. Though we humans may be imperfect in our becoming, we and everything around us is perfectly being what it is and doing what it needs to do. Here and now, in and through us, the universe with all it’s blessings and blemishes is, in us, reflecting upon itself, coming to self-knowledge—the Love that we are—through infinitely diverse and creative expression.

Just as Morning Glory blossoms attract hummingbirds to extend their line, the young leaves on this particular tree in Rochester, New York attracted a young college student many decades ago to stop and notice them. Due to the law of attraction they captured me and it turn I captured them. Part of the wonder is that, although those leaves are long gone, they are still present and operating in my life—and now, because of their presentation here, beyond it.

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: Access to 81 free videos on YouTube featuring thought leaders and events of the 1980s.

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 14: Pattern (The final in this series)

Through repetition, patterns create visual harmony, rhythm and order, all of which can contribute to meaning and create a sense of stability and symmetry which is pleasing to the eye. Patterns are apparent in the energy fields within atoms, the immensity of the cosmos and the way we function, behave and spend our time. They can convey spiritual, mathematical and philosophical ideas. And as an aesthetic dimension in photography, they can create visual interest, lead the eye, frame subjects and add depth and texture. Artists in every field look for patterns and incorporate them in their works, in part because they evidence and reflect patterns in Nature and the evolutionary process of growth and expansion.

Patterns are pervasive. Look closely at your clothing, how different threads are interwoven to create a pattern. Think about the repetitive structuring of your day, the stores and restaurants you frequent, your thoughts and behaviors, how you brush your teeth and read a book. There’s security in repetition. Redundancy is an indication that something is working. When machines, objects and processes display a pattern, they become part of our psychological “comfort zone.”

Human-made patterns are evidence of our ability to repeat processes and create objects and images that are consistent, even identical, and organize them into coherence. They’re strongly associated with culture, for instance in the areas of building materials, shopping carts, clothing and fabric, wallpaper and architecture. Look at the black and white work of German photographer Peter Keetman (1916-2005) who specialized in patterns that he found in water, cars and machine tools.

Depiction of Chaak, the ancient Maya rain god

In Patterns of Culture, anthropologist Ruth Benedict observed that “A culture, like an individual, is a more or less consistent pattern of thought and action.” Each culture, she said, chooses from “the great arc of human potentialities” a set of characteristics that become its personality traits. They constitute an “interdependent constellation of aesthetics and values” that make up the culture’s unique worldview. A conception of an ancient Maya diety is reflected in this patterned frieze on “The Nunnery,” a large architectural complex at Uxmal in Yucatan, Mexico. The photographs of African artist Thandiwe Muriu combine her interest in the country’s people, textiles and ideologies to create striking, highly patterned tableaus that confront issues around identity and self-perception.

Nature-made patterns reveal the underlying order of universal forces including gravity, magnetism, planetary and geologic movement, seasons, climate, wind and wave motion and electric force to name a few. Among other things, Amanda Means created black and white photographs of leaves without using a camera, exposing them to white light in a darkroom after pressing them down with glass on photographic paper. These are sometimes called “photograms.”

In some patterns the order is regular, for instance in snowflakes, spider webs, snake skin and fish scales.

In others, such as a tiger’s stripes, tree bark and soil erosion the patterns are irregular.

Patterns can also flow, as in smoke, water ripples and a undulating sand dunes. Artist Paula Pink explores “the unforeseen or hidden details that are part of our everyday lives.” Her images demonstrate how an electronic flash light and color backgrounding can capture beautiful patterns in water.

APPLICATION

In a world where visual chaos appears to be the norm, ordered patterns stand out. And they can be stark. If the communication objective is to create an image that will grab the viewer’s attention, a highly ordered pattern would be appropriate. The downside is that once the subject is identified and the pattern appreciated, the regularity or sameness can become monotonous.

South Dakota Badlands

TECHNIQUE

Patterns are relatively easy to find, especially in nature and where natural subjects such as flora and fauna are found—for instance, in gardens and zoos. For years, one of my most productive locations for photographing flower patterns with a close up lens has been greenhouses. The diffuse lighting is excellent and there are varieties of plants. Without wind requiring a fast shutter speed to reduce blur, the aperture can be stopped way down to maximize depth of field, even up close. Unlike large conservatories, owners of greenhouses readily give permission to set up a tripod as long as it doesn’t block the aisles for their customers.

A pattern is enhanced by eliminating any visual element that’s not part of it. Again, this means getting in close. In nature I plan my expeditions by searching locations—especially “ecosystems” on the internet, favoring places where patterns and other strong geometries are likely to be found. In nature, these include tide pools, sand dunes, forests, meadows, snow drifts and water or wind-formed rock features.

Human-made objects displaying patterns are abundant in floor tiles, brick walls, furniture, architecture and clothing.

“PATTERN” IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS

Pattern recognition is critically important in making decisions and judgments, acquiring knowledge, advancing the sciences and expressing creativity. Writing in Psychology Today, psychologists Michele and Robert Root-Berstein found that “The drive to recognize and form patterns can be a spur to curiosity, discovery and experimentation throughout life.” They cite M.C. Escher and Leonardo da Vinci as artists who purposefully looked for patterns in wood grain, stone walls, stains and clouds to depict and stimulate the viewer’s thinking. Biologists and anthropologists observe that every living being repeats a form, behavior or process in order to survive and propagate.

Psychologist, Jamie Hale adds a caution, noting that “the tendency to see patterns in everything can lead to seeing things that don’t exist.” His examples of pattern recognition gone awry include “hearing messages when playing records backward, seeing faces on Mars, seeing the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast, superstitious beliefs of all types and conspiracy theories.” I’d add to this “the corporate turning of a blind eye” to the increasing patterns of destruction—shown in television newscasts—due to human influenced climate change.

Once in a while it’s good to look at our most repetitious behavioral patterns, the things we do almost every day, and ask if they’re producing positive results for ourselves, others, society and the planet. As with every facet of our lives, to get a different result the challenge is to adopt a different pattern of thinking or behavior. A recent little example of my own has been to reduce my use of plastics in certain restaurants by asking for cold beverages in a paper cup and not using straws.

On the social side, there are both positive and negative patterns in public policy. I summarize some examples (from AI 2025) as representative of an information based pattern.

Positive

Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience Initiatives

The Environmental Justice Executive Order (2021) directed federal agencies to address pollution and climate risks disproportionately affecting low-income and minority communities. The Justice40 Initiative ensures 40% of climate and clean energy investments benefit disadvantaged communities.

Strengthening Worker Protections and Living Wages

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA, 1970) significantly reduced workplace injuries and deaths. Several states and cities have raised the minimum wage to $15/hour or higher, improving living conditions for low-income workers.

Expanding Public Transit and Sustainable Urban Development

Federal investments in transit systems like New York City’s subway and California’s high-speed rail aim to reduce car dependency. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021) allocates billions for public transit, rail and pedestrian infrastructure to reduce emissions.

Water Infrastructure and Clean Drinking Water Initiatives

The Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) set standards for clean water, protecting public health. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021) includes $50 billion to replace lead pipes and improve water infrastructure.

Negative

 

Deregulation of Environmental Protections

The current administration rolled back over 100 environmental regulations, including limits on methane emissions, protections for endangered species and clean air and water regulations. These rollbacks favored industrial profits despite increased pollution and environmental degradation.

Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Drilling Expansion

The U.S. government provides billions of dollars in subsidies to fossil fuel companies.

Agricultural Policies Favoring Industrial Farming

The U.S. Farm Bill heavily subsidizes large-scale monoculture farming of corn and soybeans, which depletes soil health, encourages excessive pesticide use and harms biodiversity. Factory farming also leads to water contamination and high greenhouse gas emissions.

Policies Encouraging Deforestation and Land Exploitation

The U.S. government has allowed logging and mining in national forests and public lands, often overriding indigenous rights. In 2020, the Tongass National Forest in Alaska lost protections, allowing more commercial logging, threatening biodiversity and carbon storage.

Given the current socio-political climate, I offer a personal perspective—

According to philosopher and social scientist Beatrice Bruteau, our best hope lies in the emerging paradigm, what she refers to in Eucharistic Ecology and Ecological Spirituality as the “communion paradigm,” the perception that the earth does not belong to us, that we belong to it, and that all things and people are interconnected in the web of life.

In The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era–A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos, eco-theologian Thomas Berry and cosmologist Brian Swimme show how the old sectarian story about how the world came to be and where we fit in, is not only dysfunctional but toxic to living systems. Importantly, Dr. Berry distinguishes the “environmental” movement from the “ecological” movement, the former attempting to be a respectful adjustment of the earth to the needs of human beings, whereas the latter is an adjustment of human beings to the needs of the planet. It’s why I’m always looking for leaders whose concern is “ecosystems” rather than “the environment.” According to Berry and Swimme, the basic tenants of ecosystems are differentiation, which is the foundation of resilience (creating and celebrating variety in all things including people), subjectivity (preserving the inner aspects of life, the “vast mythic, visionary, symbolic world with all its numinous qualities”), and communion (the co-creative, mutually beneficial interrelatedness “that enables life to emerge into being.”) These three elements  have been identified as fundamental patterns in the evolution of living systems.

A change in perception is not enough. It must be matched with commensurate action by individuals and governments, religions, educational institutions and corporations. For me, shifting to clean and renewable power sources is Priority Two. Thomas Berry expressed my Number One, which is love and respect for the planet and all living beings. As he put it, “All human institutions, professions, programs and activities must now be judged by the extent to which they inhibit, ignore or foster a human and Earth relationship.”

So what can we do? We can develop a pattern, habits of recycling, minimizing our carbon and consumption footprints, supporting local, state and national initiatives in safeguarding or restoring ecosystems, educating ourselves and talking about ecology with family and friends—in person and through social media, and affect even broader influence by consistently supporting and voting for leaders who are knowledgeable about ecology and make positive responses to climate change a top priority. It’s important because the survival and vitality of everything else, without exception, depends on humanity getting into patterns of right relationship with the planet, the biosphere and each other.

For further reading on what we can do, I recommend Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone.

The human might better think of itself as a mode of being of the Earth rather than simply as a separate being on the Earth.

Thomas Berry, Catholic priest and geologian

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: A library of 81 free videos on YouTube featuring visionaries and events of the 1980s.

 

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 13: Line

Harrold, South Dakota

Lines serve to define length, distance and shape, indicating boundaries and separate forms, textures and colors that move the eye and create the illusion of depth—like railroad tracks to the horizon. Physically, they can be many or few, take many shapes, have thickness and depth, length and texture with varying degrees of brightness.

And lines can consist of light and shadow, both specular and diffuse.

In geometry, a “point” is a location. A “line” is an extension of a point, an elongated mark, a connection between two points or the edge of an object or situation. Artist Paul Klee said, “A line is a dot out for a walk.” It can define a space by outlining and creating boundaries between visual elements, be used as a signal, suggest movement and flow within a frame and evoke emotional responses. In photographs that create patterns and geometric shapes, circles and zigzags create a sense of motion; static lines suggest calm or stillness.

Downtown, Columbus, Ohio

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519 CE) initiated a revolution in art by using architectural lines to direct the eye to a vanishing point as in The Last Supper. Artists in the East drew and painted calligraphic lines as part of their spiritual practice. For Chinese artist Wang Xizhi (303-361 CE), brushstrokes were a way to emphasize the harmony of the cosmos. And Andreas Gursky, a contemporary German photographer, became known for his large format architecture and landscape color photographs, made from a high point of view. Apparently, “line” topped the list of his aesthetic preferences.

This line of highlighted water serves to separate textures and tones. Lines of light like this can make an image pleasing to the eye, because we’re attracted to highlights, especially when they separate darker tones.

APPLICATION

Horizontal lines have a meditative quality, conveying a sense of calmness, tranquility and expansiveness. They divide an image harmoniously, structuring elements in a way that feels natural and ordered, leading the eye across an image to create a sense of flow. Italian photographer Franco Fontana is best known for his abstract color landscapes, strong in vertical and horizontal lines with discordant color.

Vertical lines suggest growth, solidity and permanence. They tend to be rigid, stable and strong, often seen in architecture, trees, telephone poles and electric towers, windmills, waterfalls and mountain peaks. Lines guiding the eye upward evoke ideas of growth, ambition and transcendence. Slim vertical lines evoke a sense of grace, whereas thick lines convey a more grounded and weighted sensibility.

The eye tends to follow lines, so artists use them as vectors, directing the viewer’s attention to elements of interest. Here, besides the railroad tracks which are lines of light, other lines include the diminishing telephone poles and wires, railroad ties and the horizon itself which leads to the sun.

Research has shown that our perception of elements within a frame happens at 13 milliseconds. This, combined with eons of artistic pictorial expression, has shown that an expressive composition results from the intentional placement of linear elements. Lines are especially emphasized by combining an unusual camera angle with deep depth of field.

Artists have characterized shadows as “organic lines.” When broken or varying in thickness, texture, shape or color they help to describe edges and create depth. Their position in the composition helps to define the primary subject and its location. And the sharpness or blurriness of  shadow edges indicate the specularity or diffuseness of the light source, including its relative brightness. Here, they contribute to the sensibility of a warm, bright summer day.

Lines can also be ephemeral, for instance, a ray of light, an airplane vapor trail or a line of fog in a valley. In this instance, sunlight streaking through windows on the dome at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, conveys a sense of divine presence. The dome itself displays a series of concentric circles in the architecture, directing the eye heavenward to a point of light.

TECHNIQUE

Amish hey shocks

Vertical Lines are powerful, leading the eye upward. The closer to the subject, the more likely they are to be bent. A view camera with swings and tilts is often used to get the lines exactly parallel. Images made with a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera can also correct for “barrel” and other distortions with editing software. Contemporary French photographer Hélèn Binet often works with vertical lines in architecture. Strong lines, exquisite light and shadow constitute her aesthetic preferences.

As a reminder, the point of this series which demonstrates the variety of aesthetic dimensions is to encourage you to become aware of them in your photographing (or other visual art form), toward identifying the top 3-5 preferences that constitute your unique “style.” Once known, they will guide your choices of location, subject matter and composition making your creative expression truly authentic.

Horizontal lines are restful, calm and serene. They suggest gravity, depth and breadth—converging railroad tracks, rolling hills and meadows, a line of fences, a sprawling farm, a thin stream meandering through tall grass and weeds. Thes lines are enhanced by removing distractions so there’s a clean division between elements and compositions that are clearly about one thing. Look for flowing horizontal patterns in nature—rolling hills, sand dunes or winding roads. Consider long exposures where clouds and water are moving, so they can be blurred. To extend the exposure, us a tripod and neutral density (ND) filters in front of the lens. Michael Kenna’s images will surely inspire you along these “lines.”

New York, close to Lincoln Center

Lines that intersect suggest strength, tension and durability. Their crossing can convey a sense of convergence or conflict. As directional vectors, the eye is drawn to the point of intersection before it explores the other elements in the frame. Because the above lines consist of light, they create depth and express a dynamic flow that’s balanced, equally strong left to right. Intersecting lines can also tell a story, represent collaboration or resolution, even mark moments of change or transition. They can also create a visual metaphor for journeys, relationships or conflict resolution.

Diagonal lines are dynamic. They express the energies of activity, restlessness, drama and opposition—wind-blown trees, a severely tilted barn, an uplifted rock face, contemporary architectural features, an ascending airplane. Lines of light are particularly distinctive, especially against a dark or black background.

Straight, sharp and bold lines are assertive. Curved, thin, and continuous lines soften. It’s one reason why, aesthetically speaking, straight lines are considered “masculine,” and curving lines “feminine,” particularly in architecture. And finally, lines can be imaginary. Photographers and filmmakers make use of  “sight lines,” the direction people in the frame are looking. Generally, we don’t want these lines to lead the viewer out of the frame, preferring to have a person direct their gaze either toward the camera, to another person or an important object or situation.

CONTEMPLATING “LINES” IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS

We all draw lines in life. How and where we draw them is an expression of our beliefs and values. Often, these can trigger an emotional response—people standing in line, waiting for hours in the rain or cold, segments of society being excluded, walls to keep immigrants out.

We resolve conflicts by “drawing a line in the sand.” Sitting in a line of traffic for a long period tests the patience of drivers, at times to the brink of road rage. We’re “sold a line of goods” by Robo callers who are directed to follow a “line of thinking.” In the military and certain companies, people are required to “fall in line” behind a leader. In these and other such situations, the choice is social alignment, deciding whether or not to follow someone else’s lead or thinking, conform to a request or behavior. We want to know if it’s “in line” with our beliefs and values.

How and where society draws its lines reveals its collective consciousness. In anthropology and sociology, the phenomenon of drawing lines around groups of human beings is referred to as “stratification.” It’s how we position ourselves relative to the groups we identify with in relationship to outsiders, making distinctions according to kin, tribe, caste, race, geography, economic status and intelligence to name just some of the common groupings.

Landscape photographers in the United States are severely restricted due to every bit of land being owned or enclosed by lines such as buildings, walls and fences. Our environments are filled with fences, telephone poles, electric towers and wires, wind turbines and cell phone towers. It’s why photographers favor state and national parks and travel to other countries and wilderness destinations. In rural England it’s very different. While farmland is owned, its fences have gates for the express purpose of allowing people to walk the property without needing to ask permission. And there’s strict governmental regulation about where poles and towers can be placed. The lines we draw communicate. And what they say has everything to do with how we perceive our neighbors.

Maya women separating and binding stacks of onions.

On a research trip to Guatemala, I followed a Maya guide on walking paths through hills and valleys where vegetables were being grown. One of the notable features was the lack of fences—anywhere. Individual plots were marked by rows of low stone or trees that only grow five feet tall (seen in this photograph). Walking paths through the fields were open to anyone and were often used as shortcuts to various destinations. Where there’s trust, there’s no need to build fences.

The opposite of trust is control; control is an announcement that we do not trust.

Benjamin Shield, craniosacral therapist

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: A library of 81 free videos on YouTube featuring visionaries and events of the 1980s.

 

 

 

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 12: Light

“Photography” literally means writing with light. Awareness of light’s properties and behavior is a critical requirement for all artists, especially photographers. Paying attention to what light is doing contributes to an awareness of how profoundly it qualifies everything we arrange within a frame. Lit in a certain way, a cracked eggshell pulled out of a garbage pail can be rendered special and beautiful, perhaps even evoke a sense of impermanence.

What does light do? Technically, it “illuminates” through transmission and reflection. Your electronic display is transmitting light directly to your eyes right now. Your hand, however, is reflecting “ambient” light from a lamp or the sun. On the aesthetic side, light generates shadows, directs focus through vectors and contributes to the qualification of form, shape, size and texture all of which influence mood and meaning. The quality (color) of light and its relative degree of brightness can communicate a wide spectrum of emotions and create atmosphere. Its modification through reflecting devices and diffusion materials can create a sense of a subject’s hardness or softness. And there’s a quality of light that symbolically represents divine presence, truth and revelation.

George Eastman House, Rochester, New York

In 1888, when George Eastman introduced the first commercially available camera—a “Kodak” box pre-loaded with enough film for 100 exposures—the instructions simply read “keep the sun at your back.” That avoided dark shadows under people’s eyes and noses. It worked great, except when intense sunlight made everyone squint. Today, we take that into consideration. Given improvements in image-capturing technologies, subjects are more often placed in softened shadow area to avoid that discomfort. If the intent is to create photographs that will have some aesthetic appeal and captivate viewers, consideration needs to be given to the light source and its management. I made this image with a minutes-long exposure, walking around with the shutter open, “painting” the structure with bursts from an electronic flash.

APPLICATION

Photographically, light can reveal subject matter as it appears to the eye normally or enhance it by managing the four primary aspects of the source: 1) quality, 2) intensity, 3) direction, 4) modification (how it’s made more or less diffuse).

QUALITY

When photographers talk about the “quality” of light, the reference is generally to its color. Normally, in daily living, the human perceptual system tends to interpret all light, indoors and out, as “natural.” When LED “daylight” bulbs became more commonly offered online and in hardware stores, people realized that the incandescent bulbs they used in home fixtures were decidedly yellow compared to daylight bulbs, which are blue by comparison. Every light source emits  specific wavelengths or color of light, so films and digital cameras have to be “balanced” according to the shooting conditions.

Sunlight varies dramatically depending on geography, atmospheric conditions and the time of day.

The quality of light that a camera will record can be altered by changing the “white balance” feature on digital cameras, or by putting a filter over the lens. In both cases the color of the image is affected overall. Everything takes on that color. To apply only a portion of color to an image, an acetate “colored gel” can be placed in front of a light fixture, so the subject will take on its color. Yellow gel produces yellow light. Three lights with different colored gels will result in three different colors of light on the subject.

INTENSITY

Shooting in bright sunlight yields sharp, very distinct, hard-edged shadows and high contrast—excellent for deepening color saturation and creating depth.

As brightness diminishes, these qualities gray-down, softening the shadows and emphasizing highlights.

DIRECTION

Whatever the source, inside or out, light coming from the side enhances texture. The more to the side the greater the texture.

Light falling on the front of a subject illuminates its features but is considered “flat,” lacking in depth. It’s fine, just ordinary.

The opposite is true of light coming from behind the subject. Backlighting is dramatic because it creates a halo or rim around the subject, enhancing its form and creating depth. Generally, the brighter the backlight the more dramatic the image, but there’s a decision to be made: Is there enough light on the front of the subject to resolve some detail in the shadows? To ensure this, expose for the darkest shadow. Compensations can then be made in the software.

MODIFICATION

A light “modifier” is any medium that diffuses light coming from its source. Clouds soften bright sunlight and various types of diffusion devices or translucent material in front of an artificial source will accomplish the same thing.

At one extreme is “specular” light. It comes from a source that’s tiny and bright, like the sun on a clear day, or a tiny 500-watt clear quartz bulb. The more specular the source, the sharper the edges of the shadows. Jewelry stores have several of these kinds of lights mounted in the ceiling and even rotate them in cases to make the facets in precious gems sparkle.

As a source becomes more diffuse, the shadows spread out until they nearly diminish altogether.

When photographing people, specular light tends to increase contrast, sharpen shadows and emphasize skin features and textures. It can be harsh.

Diffuse light softens those same features. Sheets of foam core are often used to fill in shadows created with a specular light. And large areas can be lit with diffuse light by bouncing one or more lights off white walls or ceilings. If a wall is colored, the subject will display that tint.

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL REFLECTION

“Light” is a metaphor for awareness. That’s why a light bulb was often used in comic strips and animated movies to symbolizes a bright idea. We “shed light” on a problem, and when spiritual seekers attain realization, they speak of it as “illumination.”

Awareness clarifies our experiences so we can respond appropriately rather than impulsively. It keeps us grounded in the present and cultivates greater empathy, patience and kindness toward others. Because we make more of whatever we attend to, it’s good to be aware of how and where we’re spending our “attention capital.” What am I thinking about most often? Do those thoughts serve me, brighten or darken my day? Above all, what is the illuminating source in my life, the “voice” I can completely trust?

Socially, our collective awareness—consciousness—has profound implications for the shaping, functioning and evolution of social systems from communities to nations; ultimately, the world. Viewed through an extremely wide angle “lens,” human evolution is fundamentally the story of  its evolving consciousness, a process of increasing understanding and appreciation of who we are, where we are and why we’re here. With the first glimmer of light from a family campfire somewhere in East Africa around 160,000 years ago—the time when homo sapiens became self-aware—we began to construct and experiment with  systems of organization that would meet the needs and desires of individuals in a context that would be sustainable.

Today, through eons of experience we’re learning what does not work for a population that’s  exceeded the world’s sustainable limit. That’s important and apparently necessary, because the experience is a greatest teacher. Newscasts are showing us the breakdowns, the social consequences of citizens and leaders activating the dark side of human nature. The breakdowns and tragedies being reported can be viewed as opportunities to change direction, to move away from dysfunction and toward the light. Components of the shift are obvious, but an AI chart makes them specific.

Darkness Light
Discrimination Inclusion
Injustice Justice or Fairness
Lies Truth
Greed Generosity or Selflessness
Self-centeredness Altruism or Empathy

Hate / Fear

 Love
Prejudice Acceptance or Open-mindedness
Lawlessness Lawfulness or Order
Disorder Harmony
Disease Health or Well-being
War Peace
Nationalism Globalism
Separation Unity

Futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard often observed that “Our story is a birth.” She said humanity is currently experiencing the pangs of being born. “We’re only beginning to open our eyes, just catching a glimpse of how intelligent technology combined with our urge to join together can co-create a positive future for all. It’s a real possibility.” Her vision is fully articulated in a series of videos online at SpiritualVisionaries.com. I recommend Videos>Barbara Marx Hubbard>Navigating Evolutionary Change (52:00). Chapter 2 in that title is shorter. (14:56)

My mission is to tell the story of the birth of ourselves as a universal humanity, awakening all of us to our unique opportunity to participate through our own conscious evolution.

            Barbara Marx Hubbard

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: A library of 81 free videos on YouTube featuring visionaries and events of the 1980s.

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 11: Key

The terms “low key” and “high key” are often used in photography. They refer to photographs that are overall bright or dark. “High Key” images are predominately light or  white, like a white cat sitting on a white sofa. “Low Key” is dark and somber, a black dog in a dark tunnel.  These images stand out because the effect is rarely seen in nature or everyday living. For that reason they’re usually simple rather than complex, consisting of few elements.

Low key images tend to create eye-catching experiences because they tend to be moody and mysterious. Photographers have long understood that “there’s mystery in the shadows.” With fewer distracting elements we tend to delve deeper into the dark areas, searching for more information. The result is that low key images tend to hold our attention a little longer than those those characterized as “normal” in tonality. The style in appropriate when the communication objective or expressive intent is to create a sense of solitude, heaviness or mystery. However, low key is not good at providing information.

Australian photographer Bill Henson underexposes his color negatives with carefully positioned lights, then prints them even darker. And Yousuf Karsh, an Armenian-Canadian considered one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20the century, was known for his black and white portraits of notable individuals. His aesthetic preference was low key lighting of people on dark backgrounds. It emphasized character in their faces, men and women alike.

High key images consist of mostly light, often pure white tones. They tend to be bright with a minimum of shadows. The look is crisp, clean and uplifting. In the extreme, the style can be abrupt, even shocking to the eye. On the positive side, the brightness can create a sense of purity, softness (depending on the subject) and optimism. However, the immediate surprise can wear off quickly and three-dimensionality suffers. So high key images work well when the expressive intent is to shock or create a sense of optimism. As with low key, it’s not a good choice if the communication objective is to provide information.

 Richard Avedon, master of black and white portrait and fashion photography often used all white backgrounds for his subjects so there would be no distracting elements. His intent was to capture an individual’s personality, so in his shooting sessions he would ask his subjects probing, sometimes uncomfortable psychological questions.

British photographer Michael Kenna often photographs landscapes in black and white. He accomplishes high key effects by photographing in snow and creating light gradations of blurred seascapes with time exposures. In “Recent Work,” click on “Biwa Lake Look Out” and “Hillside Fence, Study 9″—exquisite examples of high key.

 TECHNIQUE

Lighting For Low Key

Low key images require a dark or black subject, similar toned backgrounds or a dark space with minimal lighting—generally a single diffused source. Keep the camera’s ISO around 100-400, with the aperture wide for narrow depth-of-field and underexpose the background by about 2-3 stops darker than the subject. Sometimes “feathering” the light off the subject (using just the edge of a light) keeps the tones low, especially on faces. In the editing software, you can always boost the black areas.

 

Lighting For High Key

To produce a high key effect in a photograph, it’s not enough to have a white or light toned subject. It also needs to be situated on or within a predominantly white background that is or can be rendered at least as bright, ideally more so, than the subject. This accounts for high key photography being mostly done in a studio. The final component needed for high key photography is control of the exposure. A light meter or camera sensor will render a white vase sitting on white paper as gray. So the exposure has to be adjusted away from “normal,” in the direction of overexposure. This lightens the black and shadow areas. The largest part of this shell was dark, but the exposure shifted those tones to gray.

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL REFLECTION

The high key technique in photography contains some important parallels with respect to everyday living. Perhaps the simplest perspective was expressed in the song that the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail advised: “Always look on the bright side of life!” We characterize some people that way, “She brightens my day,” or on the contrary, “He brings me down.” In everyday living we experience light and dark personality expressions within ourselves and others. Both are equally valid experiences.

While this image boarders on low key, the man’s smile and bright personality was decidedly upbeat, high key. Linda and I were in Nassau, passing by, when he stuck his head out the door like this and made a friendly comment. It touched me, so I asked if I could take his picture.

The key for advancement in the University of Planet Earth is to favor environments and people that bring out the light that we all are. How and where do we find them? Increased illumination or lightening occurs wherever we experience the energies of love, resonance, empowerment, connection and joy. After an encounter with a person or group, we wonder to ourselves, “Did I resonate? Was I uplifted, encouraged or inspired? Am I feeling better about myself and the world? Or the opposite?” Low-key experiences can lead to disappointment, a lack of trust, anger, confusion or depression. Of course, there’s a full spectrum of environments and expressions between these extremes, and many the gray areas.

Individually and socially, with some resolve and mental discipline, we can move more in the direction of selecting positive, empowering and uplifting perceptions, behaviors and experiences—the psychological equivalent of white subject matter in photography. High key imagery often affects a shift toward heightened aesthetic appreciation by displaying a brighter than normal representation of a subject. Just so, a more positive—brighter—perception of others and the world can lift the spirit.

In life, frequent or prolonged exposure to the light of higher consciousness (more complex, abstract and inclusive thinking), increased awareness and spirituality is achieved either through grace or the choices we make—spiritual reading, self-inquiry, prayer, meditation and being with people whose light shines brightly. Through these and other uplifting experiences, the dark and gray values in life gradually become lifted into a higher tonal range.

 

In the midst of darkness, light persists

Mahatma Gandhi, Indian lawyer and political ethicist

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: A library of 81 free videos on YouTube featuring visionaries and events of the 1980s.

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 10: Gradation

Aesthetically speaking, “gradation” refers to a gradual or graded change of tone over a surface. Artists refer to it as a grading of “values.” In color photography, gradation can be a transition from one hue to another or to a different level of saturation or brightness. In black and white, it’s the transition from light to dark or vice versa, or from one texture to another. The width or “spread” of the transition can be wide, narrow or in between.

There can be multiple areas showing gradations within the same image. Here, there’s light to dark sand at the top of this image, black sand to lighter sand from the bottom up and the pure white of the sun reflecting in the pool of water where the grays of the sky waves ripple into full highlights.

APPLICATION

1939 Ford Coupe

Unlike “contrast” which consists of abrupt changes, stark difference between dark and light tones,  gradation conveys a smooth and slower, more pensive experience for the eye. It feels soft and flowing, diffuse and delicate. In some instances it can feel ethereal or luminescent. It’s especially pleasing when it enhances the roundness of a subject or object. Gradation is often created in the studio when the communication objective is to express soft sensibilities and curvature. It’s one of my top five aesthetic preferences.

TECHNIQUE

Outdoors in sunlight, gradation occurs naturally wherever there are curves, rounded or flat surfaces where the sun rakes across a subject from the side. The extent of grading varies according to the degree of the subject’s roundness, the camera’s angle relative to the brightest element in the frame and the position of the sun.

British photographer Michael Kenna often photographs in the mornings and evenings when the skies are just turning dark. To create further gradation, he makes very long exposures so clouds, water and reflections are blurred with graded edges. If the sky is too bright for a time exposure, he puts one or more “neutral density” (ND) filters in front of the lens. That way, exposures can be as long as several minutes.

Inside or in the studio, lighting for gradation is a matter of positioning the camera or the subject in relation to the light so the brightness falls off gradually. The light illuminating the white paper under the vase was “flagged off” to create another graded surface.

Minor White was teaching at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) when I was there. I didn’t take his course, but I watched him examine students’ work. He often wrote about “spirit” guiding his work. Many of his photographs demonstrate an attraction to gradation.

And Jonathan Knowles is an advertising photographer. Scroll through his meticulous images to see how he uses gradation in color.

To widen gradation, situate a light well above, below or to the side of a subject so the shadow side is left dark. To shorten it, add a bit of fill light in the shadow areas using a reflective surface, for instance a sheet of foam core or another light placed at a distance and “feathered” (using just the edge of a light) to control the amount of desirable detail in the shadows.

REFLECTIONS ON PERSONAL AND SOCIAL GRADATION

“Gradation” in art is easy, gradual and soft. In life, it equates with the personal quality of equanimity, responses to change that are gradual and graceful, calm and quiet as opposed to stark and abrupt. Graded experience doesn’t excite or shout. It relates to the way we approach things that take time and consideration—personal growth disciplines, new relationships, creative expressions, skill development, job searches and financial planning. Are we in a hurry? Not enough hours in a day? “Gotta get this done!” Peace of mind requires a relaxed mind, confidence that “It’ll work out when it’s supposed to.” A graded approach to life is more about allowing rather than controlling.

Allow the world to be as it is, and your mind will find peace.

Eckhart Tolle, German spiritual teacher, self-help author

Socially, gradation is more evolutionary than high contrast revolution. It’s more thoughtful and flowing. Less reactionary. We see it in dialogues rather than debates, questioning rather than pronouncing, inviting rather than excluding, listening rather than speaking and accepting rather than confronting.

Most important issues aren’t totally black and white; there are gray areas. Although we’re sometimes frustrated that positive change in the area of social development takes a long time, our faith in the future is grounded in the belief that eventually common sense, decency, intelligence, wisdom and truth will overcome ignorance, greed and anger. As in our personal lives, the challenge—and lesson—of social development is patience. Gradual change may take longer, but because it’s thought out and tested, it’s more likely to lead to a good result and sustain.

Every time we invest attention in an idea, a written word, a spectacle; every time we purchase a product; every time we act on a belief, the texture of the future is changed… The world in which our children and their children will live is built, minute by minute, through the choices we endorse with our psychic energy.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychologist

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My other sites:

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique

Spiritual Visionaries.com: A library of 81 free videos on YouTube featuring visionaries and events of the 1980s.

 

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 9: Geometry

Artistically, form and geometry are interconnected but distinct creative dimensions with unique expressive roles. The previous chapter on “form” was about creating a three-dimensional sensibility on a  two-dimensional substrate, usually an electronic screen or paper; the object was to create the sensibility of depth. “Geometry” in the context of creative expression, deals with precise shapes and structures including circles, ovals, squares, triangles and lines that convey a feeling of visual harmony and order. It’s one of my top five preferences because it “speaks” to the order inherent in Nature and the cosmos.

Geometry and numbers are sacred because they codify the hidden order behind creation.

Stephen Skinner, author, Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code

In the early two decades of the twentieth century, single-image “modernist” photographers moved away from the soft focus, painting-like quality of “pictorialism,” preferring sharp focus and clean lines with an emphasis on shape and form including viewpoints that better lenses made possible. This was the specialty of the 1930’s “Group f64” California photographers that included Ed Weston, Ruth Bernhard, and Paul Caponigro. Among others in that association, I selected these because they were particularly adept at lighting for gradation, another one of my preferences.  

APPLICATION

If the purpose of an image is to inform or to communicate quickly, an emphasis on geometric shape is ideal because it immediately suggests the subject’s size and importance relative to its environment and other visual elements. Take a look at the work of Julius Shulman, a highly esteemed American architectural photographer, framed his stunning black and white images with a view camera, at times using infrared film to create a dark sky against the strong lines and contours of famous buildings. Some of today’s SLRs provide an infrared option.

On the other hand, if the purpose is to express a mood or  feeling, an emphasis on geometry is again warranted, this time emphasizing simplicity to make the subject fascinating or unusual. That can be done using only one light, perhaps a bare bulb in a dark room; a mirror can be positioned to reflect sunlight coming through a window; penlights and flashlights are great for photographing small objects in the dark.  Fan Ho, a master Chinese photographer, often set up his camera in spaces with strong geometric lines and then waited for the “right” moment to click the shutter. Master of street photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson, famously referred to it as “the decisive moment.”

 

TECHNIQUE

Artists want to perceive beyond looking. And they want to see what others take for granted. To accomplish this, they engage in a practice of not naming subjects and disregarding their function. Instead, they choose to see elements consisting of shapes, surfaces, textures and lines that display highlights, shadows and graded areas. Beauty lies in the combination and treatment (point of view and lighting) of these qualities.

Shapes that contribute to geometric expression include—

  • Leading lines move the viewer’s eye within the frame
  • Triangles create a sense of stability
  • Diagonals contribute to motion
  • Patterns attract through repetition
  • Perspectives create a sense of depth
  • Silhouettes make people look dramatic through backlighting
  • Simplicity reduces the number of visual elements to geometric forms
  • High Contrast lighting emphasizes lines and shapes

REFLECTION

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “geometry” as “the study of shapes,” specifying that they make things fit for a particular use or purpose. This is curious when applied personally because it raises the question, “Am I fit, in good enough shape, to accomplish what I’m here to be and do—physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually? It’s a good question for contemplation, not only to gain some perspective but also to consider our fitness relative to the future. Geometric shapes exhibit stability and balance. Can we say the same of ourselves? Geometry deals with angles. What of our point of view? How do we see the world right now? It’s a critically important question, because we create and sustain what we see.

Socially, we can ask similar questions. What is the shape of the nation? Is the social body physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually fit, resilient, ready to face the changes that are coming? Are we collectively able to create forms and systems that can respond appropriately to change? Are we prioritizing properly? Is the way we talk and act reflecting our true values? Are we thinking and planning ahead or spending our time and creative capital metaphorically “putting out fires?” Are we keeping our “eye on the ball,” not letting ourselves become distracted by the voices of negativity, sensationalism, conformity and hate? While these questions may be unanswerable beyond opinion or speculation, I think they deserves some thought.

Real learning does not come solely through assimilating knowledge; it involves coming to hold one’s conceptual frameworks sufficiently lightly to allow in experiences that don’t fit well with the existing frameworks.

Willis Harman, engineer, futurist, author associated with the human potential movement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 8: Form

The shape of an object within a pictorial frame is two-dimensional. To emphasize its three-dimensions, artists use a variety of techniques to emphasize “form.” This can be “soft,” increasing a sense of presence, as if the viewer could feel the subject’s surface. Or “rigid,” angular or brittle, not inviting the sense of touch. While images in color represent forms beautifully, I’m illustrating in black and white because color tends to distract from the grays and gradations that make the sensibility of form and volume more apparent, especially on rounded and textured forms.

The jug and cocktail glass illustrate how forms evoke a certain feel. The former is soft and solid, the latter hard and delicate. Through lighting and composition, forms can lead the eye around the frame. Notice that the jug’s short depth of field grabs the eye and holds it on its thick mouth, where the glass repeats the sensibility of roundness in several places with long depth of field. There’s also a difference in volume suggested by the thickness of the jug compared to the thinness of the glass. I compare them here just to show how the different expressions of form create a sense of weight.

CREATIVE APPLICATION

Photographers use lighting, point of view (POV) and depth of field to accentuate the illusion of three dimensional subjects on paper, giving them a fuller, closer to reality, more tactile visual experience.

Lighting

Forms are enhanced when the light—diffuse or specular—comes from the side, raking or grading across a surface. It helps define a subject’s contours.

Outdoors, the angled light of “golden hour” (sunrise and sunset) enhances form with long shadows and high contrast.

Inside, low key lighting emphasizes form by creating gradations with highlights that attract the eye. The sensibility is soft and solemn. Edward Weston was a master of lighting and the use of a large format view camera. His photographs are sculptural, using deep shadows and careful lighting to reveal sensual, abstracted forms, particularly in natural objects and the human body. Check out and enlarge the titles “Shell 1927,” Pepper 1930,” “Cabbage Leaf, and “Church Door, Hornitos, 1940.” Notice how the lighting enhances these forms. Analyzing further, observe the direction and characteristics of the light source in these images. Is it specular or diffuse?

High-key lighting stresses the lines in a form through high contrast. It’s almost as if the lines were drawn. The mode is bright and energetic. Photographer Laura Letinsky plays with form, space and the aftermath of consumption in her high key images. Her themes include domesticity, ephemeralization and visual perception. And check out Platon. This renowned portrait photographer photographs world leaders and famous people against a white background, using high key “front” lighting. His images are stark and bold.

Point of View (POV)

Forms are enhanced when a subject is viewed from an angle that emphasizes its third dimension. Shooting from a low angle tends to make subjects (especially people) appear bigger, more powerful.

High angles, looking down, tend to flatten forms and diminish a subject. Wider aperture settings separate the dynamic center (foreground) from the background by reducing the depth of field. Photographic historians consider André Kertész to be one of the most important fine art photographers of the twentieth century. He famously said his objective was “to give meaning to everything.” With respect to point of view, he worked angles to emphasized form. My favorite photographs of his are “Budapest,” “Carrefour Blois,” “Chartres,” “Melancholic Tulip,” “Satiric Dancer” and “Chez Mondrian.” Enlarge to better appreciate.

Depth of Field

Form is enhanced when there are objects in front of or behind the primary subject. The relationship of one element to another contributes to a sense of depth in a two-dimensional medium, particularly when they overlap.

Form is always enhanced with rounded subjects. Shallow or narrow depth of field compels us to focus our attention on the foreground elements, the point of critical focus. Russian photographer Elena Shumilova uses shallow depth of field to blur colorful backgrounds and foregrounds to create a soft, dreamlike effect. Her collection features several images in each of the four seasons. Beautiful work!

Different levels of tonality, particularly on rounded forms that are sharp from foreground to background, contribute to a sense of depth. Take a look at images made by Alma Lavenson, an American photographer and member of Group f64 West Coast photographers in the 1930’s oriented toward sharp, detailed, and highly focused images. They rejected the soft-focus, painterly style of pictorialism. The name refers to the smallest aperture (f/64) on large-format cameras, which allowed for maximum depth of field and crisp detail throughout the image. Other members of Group f64 included Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham.

CONTEMPLATING “FORM” IN ANOTHER CONTEXT

A painting or photograph emphasizes form, the quality of presence, when the subject matter is represented in three dimensions. The number “three” in dimensions of reality, applies to human beings and everything we experience in the world. As persons we are multidimensional. For instance, we have three modes of being—physical, mental and spiritual; body, mind, and spirit.

Parsing it further, according to Lajos Egri in The Art of Dramatic Writing, there are three dimensions that contribute to the revelation of character—physiology, which considers how a person’s body helps or hinders them in the pursuit of a goal, psychology that reveals a person’s thinking, and sociology, the socioeconomic and cultural aspects relating to status. According to Egri, these traits should provide a fiction writer with the information needed to develop a well-rounded, “multi-dimensional” character. The same in photography—well-rounded forms express a subject’s dimensions.

Larry Brooks, an author, speaker and coach in the art of storytelling, provides a model for introspection—how we see ourselves and others, and how others see us—by describing three “realms” of character. His first dimension, the “exterior landscape” of character, consists of “surface traits, quirks, and habits,” the personality we present to the world. His second dimension, the “interior landscape,” consists of “backstory and inner demons”—where we come from, our scars, memories, dashed dreams and resentments including our fears, habits and weaknesses, the things we prefer to hide from others. And yet he says, this is precisely what readers want and need to know because it helps them understand and empathize with the lead character.

Empathy is the great empowerer of stories. The more of it the reader feels, the more they’ll invest themselves in the reading experience.

Larry Brooks, bestselling author of six thrillers

Brooks’ third dimension of character is “action, behavior, and world view.” We take a stand, take risks, make decisions, dive in and execute. We go for what we want or need, follow our urges, seek answers to questions and create what we can imagine. And in the process of reaching for goals, we reveal what we’re made of—character in the sense of moral substance, or lack of it.

What we do and how we behave are a consequence of consciousness—who we think we are and how we perceive the world. Combined, how we think reveals our point of view—and vice versa. A gun, for instance, can variously be conceived as a threat, an object of art, or a deterrent to crime. And a border wall can be perceived as a solution to a problem, a challenge to be surmounted, an unnecessary expense or a symbol contrary to national values.

According to Larry Brooks, the art of developing a strong, empathetic character in a story is a matter of integrating inner, outer and expressive characteristics. I would suggest that the art of developing the fullness of personhood in real life involves the integration and effective management of our physical, mental and spiritual aspects—perceived as ever-evolving potentialities. As the British would say, “Personal growth is good form.”

Joy is the feeling that comes from the fulfillment of one’s potential.

William Schutz, social psychologist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

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Chapter 7: Depth of Field

“Depth of field” (DOF) is the optical property of a photographic lens that determines the degree of sharpness between objects close to the camera and those farther away. When both distances, near and far, are sharp the DOF is said to be “long” or “deep.” When only the point of critical focus in the foreground is sharp with the background out of focus, the DOF is “narrow” or “shallow.”

There are mathematical considerations that affect the DOF, but in practice, the features that concern the photographer are a) the lens’s aperture or f-stop, b) the focal length of the lens and c) the camera-to-subject distance. Each is an independent variable, but they combine to produce the DOF. When photographing purposefully, it’s always a consideration.

APPLICATION AND TECHNIQUE
Aperture

Long depth of field, where objects both near and far are sharp, spreads the viewer’s attention over the entire image. It encourages the eye to explore all the details within the frame. When a lens is “stopped down,” admitting little light, the f-stop numbers hover around f16, f22, f32. The higher the number, the longer the depth of field. In this range, when “critically focusing” on a near subject, the background will also be sharp.

Narrow or short depth of field compels the eye to stay focused on the dynamic center, the point of critical focus in the foreground. The more open the lens aperture, the more light gets through to the recording medium—film or camera card. These aperture numbers hover around f2.8, f 3.5, f4. The lower the number, the narrower the DOF. In this range, when critically focusing on a subject near the camera, the background will be out of focus.

Focal Length

Fountain Square, Cincinnati, Ohio

The focal length of a lens determines the area of coverage that a camera “sees.” Here, a “wide angle” lens includes the sky, plaza and fountain.

A “medium” or “normal” focal length lens shows some sky, but the buildings in the background are prominent.

“The Genius of Water” atop the Tyler Davidson Fountain

A “telephoto” lens lets the photographer get a closer view without physically moving close to the subject. Here, the optics excludes everything except the figure at the top of the fountain and what’s behind it. The camera’s aperture was fairly wide open, rendering the building slightly out of focus.

A very wide angle lens, even with the aperture wide open, will likely render both the foreground and background as sharp. Conversely, the aperture of a telephoto lens has to be “stopped down” considerably in order to keep the background sharp. This is one of the reasons why professionals carry many lenses—or a zoom lens where the focal length can be varied from wide to telephoto.

Camera-to-Subject Distance

As a camera is brought closer to the primary subject, the foreground and background in the frame tend to go out of focus, necessitating a smaller aperture to keep them sharp.

As the camera-to-subject distance is increased, objects both near and far will be more in focus. A camera moving closer to a subject is equivalent to a person moving closer. It’s why movie directors prefer cinematographers to use single focal length (“prime”) lenses rather than a zoom lens. They want the viewer to feel like they are in the subject’s personal space.

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL REFLECTION

Our eyes continuously shift from wide to medium to closeup perspectives in an instant. Cameras have a single and objective “eye.” And they only record in two dimensions. We see in three dimensions and our perception is subjective—we make sense of what’s in front of us, real or imagined. This observation is so obvious, it hides the significance of perception as a process of thoughts that make meaning, which in turn drive action.

If we consider a “field” as a domain of thought, of consciousness, the question arises: What is my personal depth of field? How deep does my thinking go? Most of the time, when we’re not focused on everyday concerns, where do we place our focus? Daily, like a zoom lens, we shift between close-in, self-oriented and short-term matters, and broader, more other-directed and long-term thinking.

As an organism starts to develop it begins to resonate to a certain field, and the more the organism follows that particular path the more it becomes habituated and goes on developing within that field to its final form.

Judy Cannato, American Catholic author, retreat facilitator, and spiritual director

Becoming habituated to a particular field of thought is like viewing the world solely through a “normal” lens. But in everyday living, our depth of thought shifts continuously. Looked at analogously, a camera’s aperture controls the amount of light that reaches the recording medium. How much light of awareness am I letting in by exposing myself to diverse perspectives, higher (more complex) consciousness, creative and inspirational sources? What is currently the depth of my thought-field? What’s mostly on my mind?

Consider also the focal length of a lens that determines the extent of subject coverage. Am I taking advantage of opportunities to change lenses (perspective), to empathize, walk in other people’s shoes, expand my field of thinking by observing people and circumstances close up, broadly, and farther away in order to supplement my “normal,” routinized ways of thinking? And with regard to camera-to-subject distance, am I venturing out, exploring other fields of thought, ideas and values? Of course, there are no right or wrong, better or worse, responses to these questions, but they recommend wider and deeper perceptions when considering where we are in the unfolding process of trying to live our lives more authentically and productively.

New perceptions and insights fill us. The five senses no longer limit our experiences. We are learning to distinguish love from fear within ourselves and to choose love no matter what happens inside us or what happens outside. This is authentic power. We are seeing for the first time that the love and fear in the world are the love and fear in us. Therefore, only by changing ourselves can we change the world. All this is only the beginning.

Gary Zukav, author Universal Human

On the subject of “consciousness,” my friend Glenn Geffcken authors a blog, The Deeper Side of Things. I highly recommend it.

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My other sites:

Substack: Poetry and insights relating to creation and Creator

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique