Bruce Lee and the Art of Photography

The other night I was watching one of the greatest martial arts films of all time – “Enter the Dragon” starring Bruce Lee. One of my favorite lines occurs at the beginning of the film when Lee is sparring with his student: “It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.”

This sums up how I feel about gear and the art of photography. Too often I hear photographers talking about the latest upgrade, megapixels, ISO, high speed sync, blah blah blah. What I almost never hear is talk of the art of photography. What makes a beautiful photograph? What moves one to take pictures? How can a photograph communicate the essence of its subject?

With the move to digital photography, in a society that is obsessed with technology, it’s easy for some to forget that what we do is at its core - an art form. Our photographs do not only capture moments, they capture emotion. They can bring viewers into worlds otherwise never imagined, engender empathy for the less fortunate, or provide hope to people facing obstacles seemingly impossible to overcome.

So the next time you’re at Borders reading the latest issue of “Camera Advertisement Monthly”, put it down and head over to the art section. Pick up Richard Avedon’s “In the American West”, James Nachtwey’s “Inferno”, Henri Cartier Bresson’s “Photographer”, or Robert Frank’s “The Americans”. If their work doesn’t move you, hit the next shelf, or the next.

Studying the master photographers and how they “see” will do far more to improve your work than studying the MTF charts for that fancy 70-200mm f2.8 lens you’ve been drooling over. Sensors, lenses, strobes – these are all just tools that allow you to capture an image. Focus too much on the tools and you may find yourself losing sight of the big picture.