Passive / Active Shooting

Photographs of things are not really that interesting. Photos that just show the appearance of things are passive. They ask you to look at the subject and say, “That looks cool.” But they say nothing of how the photographer thinks or feels about the subject. Therefore they are passive and objective. 

What is interesting are photos of the photographer looking at something. This means photos that show an interaction with the subject- photos that could only have been made because the photographer looked at something in a certain specific way. These photos are active. They reveal something about the photographer, not just the subject in the photographic frame. i.e. they are subjective, not just an objective observance of things in the world- not just mere descriptions of appearance.

This is sometimes known as ‘point of view’. There are several ‘tools’ to achieve this.

            [proximity] It can be approached in a visual way by getting close to your subject, to shoot in a way that fragments the subject, making a painting of its form. This is a unique viewpoint.

            [angle of view] A similar method is to shoot from an unorthodox angle of view, again presenting your subject with a unique viewpoint.

These terms can also be considered in an emotional or intellectual framework, extending beyond the physical/ visual aspects of the photos . Proximity can be how closely related the photographer is to their subject. Angle of view can be the sociological or political attitude of the photographer.

Other ways of achieving this are to use strategies that are unique to your personal vision, such as shooting through obstacles, or waiting for people to pass through a scene that you have structured to have a compelling geometrical sense (see Cartier-Bresson). [obfuscation / previsualization] (see also, Minor White, Ansel Adams)

That is the bottom line of looking at photographs anyway. It is not to appreciate the things in the pictures. It is about finding some person (photographer or photo-artist) who sees the world in a way that is similar to how you see things. Then, when you find this person through some of their photographic inquiries, you become intrigued enough to go out and find out even more about what they do, and how they do it, and maybe most importantly, why they do it. At this point you realize that you share some portion of their life. This is called interaction and is the result of communication.

RESONANCE

The recognition that some artist shares some sensibility of the world with you is called resonance. This means that the sphere of their life’s experience overlaps your experiential identity. This overlap is where your personal energy and theirs vibrate at the same frequency. [collective unconscious] (see Carl Yung)

After you become familiar with that photo-artist and their work, you carry their images around inside you, You absorb them into your sphere of experience. This means their work has changed your life. When a photo-artist can create a resonance and change the lives of their viewers, then they have achieved success.