President's Exposure
June 2009
Drawing Yet More Conclusions

Following my musings last month about art, Monet and his relevance to modern photography, I have recently met and/or read of at least 3 professional photographers who each have a degree level qualification in the arts.  Two of them cover news and sports photography, one for Getty Images and the other for the New Zealand Herald.  At first glance, there is no obvious connection.  However I have also read in a couple of sources that the best way to improve your photography is not by spending $5,000 and upwards on the latest and greatest DSLR or lens but by taking drawing lessons.

Thinking there may be something more than coincidence going on here, I recently signed up to 5 Monday evening sessions entitled “Drawing for Beginners” at the Waikato Society of Arts.  The last time I did any drawing was as a teenage boy daydreaming during spectacularly boring lessons on the finer points of the Periodic Table of Elements.  This of course was all a very long time ago and I was not quite sure what to expect from an art class.

As it happens I have learnt a lot.  Yes, there is familiar stuff there about composition but actually bringing a subject to life on a piece of paper using nothing more than a pencil requires:

• the ability to recognise shapes and lines at a macro level and gradually to break the scene down into smaller and smaller shapes
• the ability to understand and visualise perspective so that a subject looks correct and in proportion and that a landscape has depth and is properly balanced
• the ability to recognise and interpret tonal shapes and changes
• a high degree of observational skills
• lots and lots of practice (of course)

Just like photography really.

And the drawings?  Well they are certainly better than my teenage scribblings and I am actually quite pleased with the results.  It has certainly inspired me to do more.

Whether it will improve my photography remains to be seen.  Interestingly though, last month I was on the field for the Chiefs' Super 14 Semi Final.  Due to the press interest in this game only 10 photographers were allowed to roam and the rest, including me, were assigned a fixed spot behind the try line.  It is not easy covering rugby from this location with a 200mm lens but you work with what you have and wait for the action to come to you.  Anyway, I found myself looking and thinking more closely about what I was taking and considering composition, shapes and tones – scrums, line-outs, tackles and yes, even post match celebrations, all have these.

See you around.  Geoff