Showing is the best answer
Recently, I was perched on an edge making photographs, when I was approached by a person who asked me, “what do you see?” Given that my camera was pointed at a pile of logs with the ocean and distant islands in the background, I don’t think it was evident to the person what I did see.
Did I see seals, an orca or a sea lion, or perhaps an eagle? All of these would be possible options based upon my location, but it wasn’t what I saw.
In response, I gave a very lame answer about how I was making the photos (black and white, long exposure, with an IR filter fronting a vintage lens, mounted with a tilt+shift adapter) and what was in focus (the logs). They thanked me and wished me a good day. I didn’t give them the answer they were expecting nor one with which I was happy.
When I was asked the question, I realized that I couldn’t answer in a way that would explain what I saw as the end result. What I saw was very different from what was evident to the passerby.
Some times, what we see in front of us is in fact what we want to appear in our photographs. Work photos immediately come to mind. However, when I am shooting for myself, I usually look for some abstraction of what is evident or some interesting light in front of which people are passing. What I see, my idea of the final result, is fairly clear to me. It may not work out, but it is what I see.
After some thought, I don’t know if I could give a more appropriate answer to the passerby. The best answer would have been to show them the end result, because that is what I saw. As one of my early design instructors told our class, “seeing is seeing.” In other words, show me, don’t tell me.
The important realization to come from this exchange is that I am happiest when I do see my end result clearly. I might not be able to explain it but, if I am successful, I can certainly show it.
NB: A collection of images captured during the month of September with no theme whatsoever. I used a variety of cameras, including the Fujifilm X-Pro3, fronted with a few Asahi SMC Takumar film lenses and the original Fujichron 18mm f2 lens, the Fujifilm GFX50S II, fronted with a Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f2.8 lens, and my iPhone for the floatplane shots.
DON CRAIG photography 
2 responses to “What do you see?”
Nice to see a series like this. A collection of good images, and published for exactly what they are 😁😁, good photographs 😊
Thanks Ted! Most of the time I think that I need a theme for the photos included in a post, but this time, there is no theme to the selection of photos, other than they were all made in September. Glad that you liked them.