I believe that thinking out of the box is the key for a photographer who wants to make a difference.
Making a difference does not mean necessary to make more money, but it means giving emotions through images. It means that the image tells a story. It means that anyone who is watching the image can dream. It means drawing a path that no one else has yet drawn.
The picture that I’ve posted here I think it’s the essence of thinking out of the box. I knew what I wanted to do but I didn’t know how to do it. The goal was to see the dandelion “splitting” but I knew that I would needed a lot of information if I wanted to catch with the camera that idea.
First of all I would needed to find a field where there were dandelions; then I would needed to understand how the wind blew and then I would needed to be ready with my camera settings because I wouldn’t know how fast the wind would blown it. A lot of information even before to get the picture taken.
Good pictures never come out good at first but a lot of thoughts, skills and patience are involved.
Once I’ve found the right field and the right sunny day, here I am, ready for the picture that I’m dreaming since years.
Ready, set, go. I lay down on the grass, get my camera settings ready and I wait … wait … wait …
At some point the wind is picking up and my dandelions are bending but .. wait a second… the wind is coming from another direction and they are bending in the other side. No problem, I get back in position and I wait … wait … wait … Now the wind is too strong and is wiping out all the dandelions.
7 hours later, after no one good picture, no dandelions left nor patience and the sun ready to set, I gave up and left the field without those dream pictures that didn’t come true.
Driving back home, parking the car I saw in my own backyard 1 dandelion and I thought:
I called my wife and I explained her what I wanted to do: I’ve laid down, I focused on the center of the dandelion and asked her to blow the flower gently. At that point I knew where the “wind” was coming from and I knew that the flower would bend in a specific direction.
I knew my camera setting and I knew what I wanted to do; a lot of patience and a lot of dandelions after, picture was taken and here is the final result.
I promise you, there is no post production editing: just a lot of thinking out of the box.