The Art of photography

WhattheCameraSees:

MakingaFinePhotograph

Theamateurwhotookthispicturehopedto

suggest

theironyoldecoratingtheglass-walled

lobbyofaskyscraperwithpottedtrees

—

but

endedupwithaconfusedarrayofvisualelements

thatisalmostimpossibletointerpret.

trees.

Hedoesnotwanttowastefilmonashotthatheknowshewillbedis-

satisfiedwithlaterandsohecontinueshiswalk.

Halfanhourlaterhereturnsandfindsthattheilluminationisjustright.

Theshaftofsunshineis

a

powerful

spotlight

piercing

thedimnessofthelob-

byandsingling

outthetrees.Awomanisnowsittingnearthetrees,asiftheir

living

greenerywereofferinghercomfortinthiscold,modernskyscraper.

Beforeheevenbeginstoconsiderhowthepictureshouldbecomposed,

hetriestoclarifyhisfeelings

aboutthescene.Likethefirstphotographer,he

isstruckbythe incongruity

ofnatureinaglass-and-steelofficebuilding.It

occurs

tohimthattheconflictisnotjustbetweenthisbuildingandthese

trees,butbetweenanymodernurbanarchitectureandanytrees.Thereis

someessentialoppositiontobecommunicatedhere,somethingthattran-

scendsthespecificingredientsofthis

sceneandmakesabroadstatement

aboutcities

andnature.

How

canhecommunicatehissenseoftranscendentmeaning?Standing

atthesamespotwherethefirstphotographerstood,heconsiderseveryel-

ementthatmightappearinthepicture.

Heknowsthathewillhavetostayat

thispositionbetweenthe

glasswallandtheblackmarblecolumn,sothatthe

darkreflection

ofthecolumnwillenablethecameratoseethetreesbeyond

the

glass.Thisnecessarylocationnarrowshisoptions,buttherearestilla

numberof pictorialingredientstobehandled:thereflections

ofcars,a

leaf-