Photographic Vision: Created or found?

I started this thread and then got busy with family and then work and I haven't had the chance to participate, but I've read through all of the responses. What can I add? There are already plenty of responses from photographers more talented and experienced than me, but I can say that I've learned a lot. It's always interesting to see how others think and see. It's opens new doors. Thanks to all.
 
I started at age 12 or 14 with the 620 brownie box. I am now 64 with the E~p1. There have been many cameras in between, with mannny lenses. When I look back I find that my "vision" has changed very little. My tech has gotten better to alow me to "capture" that vision. Most of my equipment changes have been more about personal likes, not needs, to be able to "get the shot". I'm getting very close to the "perfect" setup. Of course, I've been very close for over 20 years. I just never quite get there. But my personal vision seems to have matured, and yet still is growing. Reading others personal journey is very helpful in really "looking" with clearer eyes at my own.
 
There does seem a real drive in humans to ask "This OR That?" ... as if any or every question can be reduced to a pair of alternatives ... a lot of apparent difficulties evaporate if we allow ourselves to either replace the "OR" with "and", or allow ourselves to think that there might be many possibilities ... or ... maybe the "created or found" question arises as a result of a belief that a photograph somehow capture a "truer" version of reality (whatever that is) ...
... interesting to revisit this in the week that Gursky's "Rhein II" was in the news -- an image which Andreas Gursky manipulated to remove elements which didn't fit his artistic vision ... created, or found?
 
I went back and read the entire thread. Interesting read. I'm not sure where my vision has been the last 6 or so months. I'm a problem solver type person, so I think I'm going to say that artistic vision is created, or if anything, molded by experience.
 
I would have to say experience has significant value. Not only the technical aspects of handling a camera, but also seeing how a subject would be interpreted by the equipment and how you envision it to be what you want. I often see things that look incredible in the idea that comes to mind, but then technically, it is not possible to present it with the camera. Then there's the opposite case, where something comes from something I never expected. It happens more often than case number 1.

In any event, I've been at it for less than a year. I stepped up some years ago, during a tour of a band, where I took several thousand pictures and kept them all. Most all were bad, but by chance, I got a few great ones, all from a Fuji f460 with no manual modes to speak of. The bad ones allowed me to understand what I did right and wrong and identify what I needed in technical terms. I had an slr, but my results were poor, as I didn't really know how to handle it. I took reasonably good pictures compared to most around me, however. Then I moved and put the stuff away for a few years, but then it hit me again. Then keeper ratio went up, artistic interpretation went up, etc. I'm an amateur, but I'm developing my ability to see things and not only see what's there, but see what they could be after PP.

So certainly, I think it can be learned, to some extent.
 
I'm trying to get help wherever I can find it. Usually by looking at stuff I like/admire, and then wondering: "How did they do that?" or "Why can't/don't I do that?". So the next step is learning how it's done and then deciding wether I want/can to do it, too, or wether the effort/cost would be too much for my taste. Because for certain results, one obviously needs certain skills and certain equipment, and not everything is for everybody, or at least not for me.

I have been following a simple "less is more" approach for several years, hence I obviously like creative paths that allow me to get good results with simple, limited and often cheap equipment, with limited funds and limited time/effort. I don't want to triple my effort/investment in order to improve the quality of my results from 90% to 95%. Or even quintuple them to eventually maybe get to 100%, to what people call "perfection". Actually, I don't think I have ever shot a perfect picture in my entire life. Personally, I always see aspects that could have been done better. Always, with every single shot. But this doesn't make me unhappy. Perfection is nothing I'm trying to achieve, even so I see plenty of other seemingly "picture perfect" shots published from other photographers.

In a way, my photographic vision is very efficient. This may sounds uncreative, but it's actually quite the contrary. Because efficiency gives me the freedom to travel light, to think more about the subjects than about schlepping equipment, changing lenses etc. Plus: Simplicity always means inherent constraints and limits, and those limits need to be overcome by creativity in order to achieve decent results. You need obstacles and challenges in order to grow.
 
Since my last post, I have gone through 3 camera changes and seem to be moving backward, instead of forward. Now using a E-420 and 25mm pancake. Is this "it"? No probably not. My photography has taken two paths. One is the attempt to capture of what I see. The other is the tools. What I see is becoming more focused. The equipment is about what I like to use. And that has many elements hard to define. Most of the fun is in the chase!
 
Since my last post, I have gone through 3 camera changes and seem to be moving backward, instead of forward. Now using a E-420 and 25mm pancake. Is this "it"? No probably not. My photography has taken two paths. One is the attempt to capture of what I see. The other is the tools. What I see is becoming more focused. The equipment is about what I like to use. And that has many elements hard to define. Most of the fun is in the chase!

Equipment-wise, that seems like a good spot to be in to focus more on the photography. 50mm is a good all-around focal length to work with.

I think a lot of us here are on the same dual path. In regards to equipment, there are a lot of choices today and I think it takes time to try them and wade through what works for us. And at the same time we are all working on the photography itself, which has its own evolution. Luckily, I think my photographic vision and my equipment choices are both becoming more focused and purposeful.

I entirely agree with your last statement! The most fun is simply doing what we do. I'm resigned that I'll just always be a snapshooter, for lack of time to be more serious about it, but that's OK because it's just damn fun.
 
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