National Geographic photographer Bob Holmes takes stunning photos all over the world. But when you ask him how he captures these images, he won’t tell you about his favorite lens or any specific technique he uses. He’ll talk to you about what he sees. He’ll talk to you about light.
That was the subject of a recent conversation he had with Marc Silber of Advancing Your Photography: light. “Most people ‘look’ and don’t really ‘see.’ You’ve got to learn to see,” says Holmes. “We all look, everybody looks, but you’ve got to go beyond that and analyze what you’ve seen… to start with anyway.”
Once you acquire this ability to ‘see,’ explains Holmes, photography becomes about reacting to and capturing what’s in front of you—the camera is no longer ‘in the way.’
The duo goes on to talk about learning about light from iconic painters, and why it’s important to find work that speaks to you and try to unpack why exactly the lighting, composition, subject etc. evokes a certain emotion. The whole conversation, about 10 minutes long, is well worth your time and packed full of little gems. Check it out up top and let us know what you think in the comments.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)