I'm republishing this from a few months back because I think it's a lesson worth getting out there. Enjoy!
Okay, let's begin at the beginning. Kenny Rogers is
(or was) a very big name in Country music. Not an obvious introduction to a
post on street photography you might think. Well, you see, among his many chart
topping hits, there was one called The Gambler. He made that tune
famous!
Anyway, it's about a couple of guys stuck on a
"train to nowhere". One, a gambler, starts talking to the other guy
because they're both too tired to sleep. He says (and forgive my paraphrasing)
"You know son, I make a living out of reading people's faces. And I reckon
that yours suggests you've seen better days. So, if you give me a swig of your
whiskey I'll give you some advice, an 'ace' you can keep". Or words to
that effect.
He then drinks the whiskey and starts to give
the guy some really good advice about knowing when to walk away, knowing when
to run; when to hold your cards and when to throw them away. Still, I hear you
saying, what's this got to do with street photography? Okay, here's the bit of
the song I'm talking about:
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin' is done.
Still not being real
clear am I? Alright, here it is in street photographer lingo:
You never chimp* while you're on the street and still making photographs. There'll be plenty of time later once you've uploaded your memory card to your computer for checking how many good ones you got, and how many you didn't; what you've done right, and what you've done wrong.
Now, all of us who use digital cameras have been guilty of
such behavior. And it's a very bad habit! I mean, while you're busy peering at
the monitor on the back of your camera, you aren't there and then; you're no
longer on the street. You are no longer of the street—and you are no longer in
the moment either. You're off in your head somewhere, analyzing. You've left
the Zone'! Not only does it take some time to get back into the Zone when you
lift your head once again to the street, just think of what you have missed as
the life of the street has just flowed right on by while you've been distracted
by your monitor analyzing.
Many street photographers actually turn their
monitors off, so they aren't tempted to 'chimp'. And of course this is where
our film using sisters and brothers are ahead of the game. They have no choice
but to wait till later to see what they've got.
The gambler gives his advice about not counting your
money while still at the table because he knows that once you take your eyes,
mind and heart off the game, you set yourself up for a losing streak. Think
about when you last caught yourself chimping. Do you think you missed some good
opportunities? Did you miss some good moments? Did it take you some time to get
back into the game, sorry, I mean the Zone?
So, here's what I suggest you do: Resist the
temptation (and after several years of photographing on the street, I admit I
still succumb occasionally—and pay the consequences too). Just don't look at
your monitor. Turn it off if you like. It really is that simple; Tough love of
this sort is the only solution. Actually, that's the tough part. You can add
some love by setting up a reward system for when you find yourself not chimping
for a whole session on the street. Here's what I do: I remind myself that I am
going to sit down "in a little while" to have a coffee or cup of tea.
Just to rest my legs you understand. If I've been good and not chimped, I will
then—and only then—allow myself a quick run through of the images I've made so
far.
But, even then, though, I don't like to spend a
lot of time analyzing what I've done. If I do, I run the risk of getting too
much into the thinking mode, and right away from the Zone where I am
really in and of the street, and in the moment. And, really, that's where the
best street photographs are made.
*The Urban Dictionary defines 'chimping' as:
What one does after taking a picture with a digital camera
and looking at the result.(My Note: The street photography take on this would
be: checking whether or not we have "captured the moment").
Derived from the words they (photographers) speak when chimping:
"Ooo-oo-oo!" (as in the sounds chimpanzees make)
Disclaimer:
I do not endorse
gambling. In fact, I believe gambling (as in poker, horse racing, sports
betting and the rest) is a curse and
more often than not simply another way for the rich to get richer on the backs and with the money of the poor.
