The Art of photography

WhattheCameraSees

TheMakingofaFinePhotograph

Scenario

1:Abusinessmanishalfa continentfromhome,walkingthrougha

citywithacamerainhishand.Hisappointmentsforthedayare

over.Rather

thansitinhishotelroomandreaduntildinnertime,he hasdecidedtodevote

therest oftheafternoontohisnewhobby

—

photography.Onthiscrispaf-

ternoon,thecityisevenmorephotogenicthanhehadexpected.Sunlightis

sparkingoffcarsandbuildings,andagentlewindis

rifflingflagsandcoats.

Strollingtowardtheheartofthebusinessdistrict,hekeeps

his

eyes

alert

forpromisingsubjects.Manysightstempthim:aclusterofstreetsigns

mountedonasinglepole;anewspapervendorwithnarrowed,cynicaleyes;

amoving

van

debouchingdesksand

chairs;

a

helicopterclatteringoverthe

roofsofthecity.Buteachofthesesubjectsseemstoo

limited.

Hisattentionisarrestedbyonehugenewofficebuilding.Gleamingand

stark,itlooksmorelikeamachinethana placewherehumanbeingsspend

theirdays.Atthegroundlevelis
a

long,emptyarcade,borderedononeside

by

black

marblecolumnsandontheotherbya

glass-walledlobby.The

buildingstronglyappealstohim.Buthowshouldhephotographit?Hecould

aimhiscameraupwardorhecould shootdownthelongarcade.Eitherof

theseapproacheswouldexpressthegreatscaleoftheofficebuilding,buthe

isaftersomethingmoreoriginalandmeaningful.

Suddenlyhespies apossiblesolution.Insidetheglass-enclosedlobbyare

smallpottedtrees.Severalpeoplearesittingonabenchnearby,butitisthe

treesthatinteresthim.Surroundedbythestern,rectilinearstrengthofthe

building,
theyseemveryfrail.Thereissomethingbothtouchingandabitri-

diculousaboutthem.Why,hewonders,doarchitectsconstructcoldedifices

ofglass,steelandconcrete,thenfeelcompelledtoimportabitofnatureinto

theirshiningtechnologicalworld?He
suspects

thatthese

potted

treesare

going
to

helphim

makeanextraordinarypicture.

Hisfirstimpulseistogoinsidethelobbyandtakethephotographfrom

there.Thenhedecidesthatthe treeswouldlookmuchmoreinterestingif

seenfromoutsidetheglasswalls.Anexteriorvantagepointwouldgive
a

clearindicationoftheir
setting,whichiscrucialtothepointhewantstoget

across.
Apicturethatdisplaysthebuildingaswellasthetreeswillcommu-

nicatetheironyofoutdoororganismssurvivinginanair-conditioned,

hermeticallysealedenvironmentinwhichnighttime
anddaytimearriveat

theflickofaswitch.

Havingdecided

toshootfromtheoutsidein,hemustnowcopewiththe

problemofreflectionsintheglasswallsofthelobby.Thesemirroredimages,

ifpickedupbyhiscamera,arelikely
to

obscure

the

view

ofthetreesonthe

othersideoftheglass;theycould
beeliminatedwithaspecialpolarizingfil-

ter,buthedoesnothave
onewithhim.Justasheisbeginningtotaste

disappointment,
ananswerpresentsitself.Allhe hastodoismakesurethat

ANSELADAMSIhaveoftenthoughtthatif

photographyweredifficultinthetruesenseofthe

term

—

meaningthatthecreationofasimple

photographwouldentailasmuchtimeandeffort

astheproductionofagoodwatercolororetching

—

therewouldbeavastimprovementintotal

output.Thesheereasewithwhichwecan

produce

a

superficial

imageoftenleadsto

creativedisaster.Wemustrememberthata

photographcanholdjustasmuchaswe

put

intoit,

andno

onehasever

approached

thefullpossibilitiesofthemedium.