Knut Skjaerven: Picturetaking and photography

At The Beach. © 2006 Knut Skjærven. (Arromanches, France.)

"I had to find a way of describing the transitions you have to go through
when wanting to take photography seriously. The best phrase I found was
that this was a transition from simply being a picturetaker to that of
being a photographer. Picturetakers take pictures, obviously.
Photographers literary take picture too, but they do it with a clear
purpose, high dedication and by knowing and using the alphabet and
grammar of visual communication. Metaphorically speaking. The alphabet
consists of  the single units used to tell a story. The grammar is the
way you put units together.

Being a photographer takes experience and knowledge. Being a picturetaker does not.
That is the difference.
It is huge.

It is all too easy creating some sort of result when you use a camera.
Everyone can buy one and start shooting. They don’t even have to leave
the shop to start their new career. Knowing how to press the button,
however, makes them no photographers. Buying canvas and brushes and
starting using them does not make people painters. You need to know how to
use these tools before you will become a painter. You have to study and
you have to practice. You need to know something about colours, brushes
and canvas before you can start painting as an artist. You need to know
something about perspective and composition as well. That learning
takes years.

Anyone can cover a canvas with paint using a brush
as anyone can cover a film/card with light using a camera. That has,
however, nothing to do with painting or photography. Having the gear is
only the first beginning.

Photography means “drawing with light”.
I simply asked myself what does the pencils look like when you want to
draw with light. I started coming up with answers and I tried
deliberately and consistently to use the pencils I carried in my bag.
And I looked for new ones. Most importantly I got myself a mentor. Now I
have many. All these things were part of the new beginning.

Having a mentor does not mean that you copy stuff. It means that you use
established experiences and results but walk down your own path. When
you look at my photographs I hope that you will see that there is no
copying but a lot of inspiration.

One of the most important things in messaging is the form and structure of that message.
If you have that right, a message is conveyed. Do it wrong and no message will
not be conveyed. I try to do very simple photographs. The lucky ones are
also precise. I do simple things with the camera. That is the only way I
know. I have that from advertising, actually. Other may have this very
differently.

I found that it was much harder to do a simple
picture than a complicated one. The last type you very easily get by
just shooting away. Left and right. Up and down. That world belongs to
the picturetaker. Could be so complicated that it ends in confusion. A
message mess.

To do a simple shot you have to evaluate all the
time. Get rid of all the access information. Make sure that things fit
together. That can be quite a task. That world belongs to the
photographer.

Mind you a simple picture can be complex, but never complicated. That difference is important.

I have also found that you are not 100 percent photographer, or 100
percent picturetaker. These attitude often mix, but the ambition must be
to be a photographer most of the time, and picturetaker less of the
time. The good thing is that the new information you acquire, for
instance, by having a mentor gradually link into your spine and becomes
second nature to you. Even when you are only picturetaking the results
could end up as photography. That is the reward.

Some will say
that this sounds like a strain, difficult and even academic. And
photography is supposed to be fun. Maybe so. But think about in another
way. It takes about 5 years to become a lawyer, even longer to become a
medical doctor. Takes a lifetime to  become a painter, a songwriter or a
good harmonica player. Why is it that as soon as some people get a
camera in their hand they become instant photographers? You tell me.

The point is that they don’t. It is impossible.

The good thing is that photography is a craft and like any other craft it
can be learned. You cannot teach anyone to become a Picasso, a da Vinci
or a Bob Dylan. Or for that matter a Cartier-Bresson, but you can teach
how to hold the pencil, how to wait and to point it the right direction
when the decisive moment is there.

That said, I also realize that some do photography mainly by instinct.
You can see it in their individual works, and even better in their portfolios. Such people are
very rare. They are the onepercenters. Or even lesspercenters. Call them
talents. Even these talents have to cultivate their capacities, and
that is just what the process from picturetaking to photography is all
about.

I am afraid that for the rest of us it is even harder work. My 2P."

                                                                                     Knut Skjærven

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I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!