Subtlety

To me, I find subtlety far more rewarding as an artist and as a viewer than something that is bold and screaming in my face to “look at me”.  Subtlety is nuance, it is slight graduations, it’s a whispered voice in a crowded room and only those that are paying attention can hear the whisper and recognize what is being said.  I’m going to go out on a bit of a limb here and talk about how subtlety in images can have more lasting satisfaction than bold, overt screaming kinds of images.

I am well aware that subtle images are often not very popular or very appreciated by a mass audience.  Many people are too busy, overwhelmed or bombarded with imagery and stimulus from our various social media, television and life in general.  Those images that are big, bold, colorful and easy to understand at a glance are the ones that break through the noise of our world.  They almost scream “LOOK AT ME” to gather ones attention for a brief moment.  All too often though, this big screaming images, though nice to look at for a brief moment, do not hold my attention for long nor do they often have any type of lasting appeal to me.  They are often just about that initial appeal to grab attention, to “stop the scroll” and get some eyeballs quickly.  They have a beautiful colorful scene, but typically that’s all they have, lots of screaming color that’s been cranked up to have some initial attention grabbing appeal.  In many cases, if you stop and really examine the image from a critical compositional or artistic perspective, you may find them lacking in some of the traits that we identify with those lasting images.

As I was typing the above, an analogy came to me related to people.  We all know someone, or have been around someone, who is the “life of the party”.  They may wear the latest fashions, be well versed on the latest pop news, drive a nice car and so on.  On the surface they look like a fun, successful and great person.  Maybe this is just me, but when I hang out with someone like that for a while, I start to tire of them always wanting attention, always being the loudest voice in the room, always seeking the “next big thing”.  Engaging them in conversation, you soon realize that they are really just focused on surface attributes; how they look and come across to others.   In contrast, there are those people who I’ll call “wall flowers”. Those who don’t purposefully seek out attention, who might be wearing nondescript clothing, those who don’t go out of their way to be noticed.  But if you do happen to engage them in a conversation, you soon learn that they are not about surface appearance but instead have worked to cultivate their inner strength and beauty.  They may be very deep thinkers and fantastic conversationalists.  You can find yourself engaging with them for hours exploring different subjects, while the “life of the party” drones on in the other room.

To me, the same is true with photography.  The loud, brash photographs are the “life of the party” and those images that contain subtlety are ones that can be engaging for hours.  As an artist, I purposefully seek out the subtlety in the landscape and build compositions around it.  The act of searching out subtlety is a conscious effort and one that I’ve developed over the years.  It’s sometimes hard to narrow your vision from the grand landscape to “see” a small portion of the land where subtle details might reside. No matter how hard we train ourselves, all of us are susceptible to bright/shiny objects and beautiful vistas. It’s normal and natural.  The skill comes in seeing past the shiny objects and look for more interesting subtle details in the landscape.

What brought this topic to mind was the below photograph.  I was going through my catalog of images and came across this panorama.  Its a 3 shot pano that I merged in Lightroom.  As I worked to process the image, the subtlety contained in the shot really hit home with me and made me appreciate the image all the more!

At first glance, this image didn’t strike me as a “winner”.  Sure, it is technically good and there are some pleasing shapes in the shot, but really, there isn’t anything overt about the image that strong says “look at me”.  It was only after I spent some time with the image that the subtlety started to shine through and I came to recognize and appreciate certain aspects of the shot.  My favorite bit of subtlety in this photo is the light on the near hillside, I’ve circled it below.  It is sublime and really adds a “pop” to the image and emphasizes the layers of the landscape. For me, that bit of light, subtle as it is, turned this image from one that is “OK” to one that I quite like!

Subtlety can come in many forms that we find pleasing. I often find subtlety in shapes, such as in this one also from the Palouse.  It’s the curve of the land against the sky that makes this photograph.  In fact, it’s the whole reason for the photograph.

Subtlety can also be found in light.  In this scene from Canon Beach in Oregon, the composition has a lot in it, there is a lot to see, so at first glance it could be a busy photograph.  But the light…the light is subtle and adds a calming influence across the landscape. The quality of light can add subtlety to a photograph as long as the scene you are photographing doesn’t overwhelm the influence of the light quality.

Sometimes the subject can bring subtlety to the photograph.  A simple subject set in a simple setting can be an incredibly strong photograph.  Driving by this location, to most people they’d just see rotting pilings in the water.  But when I drove past this location, the second I saw this I started braking and looking for a place to pull over because I knew it was a shot that could be worthy.  It doesn’t “scream”, nor is that the reason for the photo.  It is a quiet whisper in a busy room.

When in the field, if you are rushing around looking for compositions, snapping photos every other step around the area, I guarantee that you won’t notice the subtlety.  Its only when you SLOW DOWN that you’ll start to see more deeply in to your location and begin to notice the subtle features found there.  When you quiet your mind and begin to connect with your surroundings, will the surface veil lift and you will see more of what’s around you. If you don’t take the time to slow down and connect with your surroundings then all you might come away with are “surface” photographs.  Not that these are “bad” or “not worthy”….they very much are.  But if you are looking to create more meaningful compositions, tell deeper stories about your experiences on location, then you will need to get below the shiny objects on the surface and dive in to the subtlety and nuance at a location.  One of the “best” ways to slow down is to use a tripod.  I’ve written several posts about using tripods and why I am still very much in favor of using them.  Yes, they do come with some drawbacks, but those are far outweighed by the advantages that I get from using them.

I do realize that some of this opinion is informed by my personality type.  I prefer subtlety and softness over brashness and loudness.  That’s just how I’m made.  I do not want to disparage the “life of the party” as they are equally valid and valuable in our world.  We need the bold and brash just as much as we need the introspective and subtle.  For me though, what is of interest to me and what drives my photography is to create images that can stand the test of time, that remain appealing for years to come, that have some artistic merit to them, that are satisfying to me as a viewer and were satisfying to me as the photographer.  To me, I find that the “shiny object” photographs don’t often hold up to all of those lofty goals.  As I look back at my photographs over the years, the ones I appreciate and value the most are the ones that engage me with subtlety and nuance and tell a deeper story of the location or experience.

I’m not proposing that you change whatever is working for you.  I am merely putting out my viewpoint and perhaps give you something to think about.  I’d love to hear from you about subtlety and nuance and how much, or little, you value it in your own work.