105mm, f/2.8, 1/640 sec, ISO 200
One of the photographers whose work I enjoy the most is Ivan Makarov. Each of his shots is striking, reminiscent, and master-planned to near perfection. His compositions are oft flawless and his use of exposure time nearly perfect.
There is one thing that has always gnawed at me, however, about his work and that thing is the amount of planning that goes into each shot. Perhaps its my lack of patience, but I think its more of Makarov’s appreciation of nature and the world around him, regardless of whether hes on the water, in a forest, or facing San Francisco’s skyline. If I understand what I’ve read from Ivan’s comments on his photos, he will go to a site and wait for the photo to come up before planning out the minutia of his shots. There is no doubt that this planning pays off- just look at his stream! The results truly do speak for themselves.
But I’ve learned that I can’t work like that; I know because I’ve tried. I’m not one to masterplan the shot before I take it. Often times, some of my favorite photographs start off as accidents; perfectly timed moments that happened just as I released the shutter. I suppose it goes back to a quote from one of my favorite photographers, Sonja Burgess (Favourite Waste of Time on flickr), that reads:
There are two subsets of photographers: the creators and the seekers. I am a seeker. I know what I am looking for but I have to find it. That is one of the reasons I take such pleasure in wandering my alleys. The thrill of looking. I have said this so many times but I really would love for everyone to feel what I do when I am out walking. I try to see everything in a different way, to look beyond the ordinary.
— Sonja Burgess
Through Ivan’s photography, I’ve learned a good deal about how I think about photography. I’m not quite done learning about my own personal feelings or opinions about the art, but I’ve learned that you don’t have to be able to shoot like someone to be able to appreciate their work- an important lesson for me since so much of my work has been heavily influenced by others.
(For those wondering the reason why I felt like this was a good opportunity to talk about Ivan is because of the processing I used on this shot. It reminded me very much of his work on the Walt Disney Concert Hall and his detail work of the Golden Gate Bridge.)