Snapper figured if he bought the best he’d be the best. So he made the call and ordered himself one of the finest digital single lens reflex cameras money could buy. This puppy came with 24.5 megapixel full-frame capability, a magnesium body shell, a carbon fiber composite shutter, a 922,000 pixel LCD monitor, and it could shoot 7 frames per second.

Snapper was elated. In just a few months National Geographic would be asking him to do assignments—he just knew it. The $8,000 he’d just charged on his VISA was investment, he told himself.

The next day FedEx delivered the camera. Snapper tore into the package. He couldn’t wait to begin using this gem. Nonetheless he took some time to study the manual. It seemed to address every conceivable function and contingency.  “For sure, this baby has a ton of buttons and menus.” He thought.

After taking some get-acquainted shots Snapper was anxious to do some serious picturing. But this was Monday, it was late, cold and raining outside, and he was tired. He’d wait for the weekend when he’d have more time. Over the next few days he continued to familiarize himself with the camera’s menus, sub menus, buttons, functions, and combinations.

Saturday came and Snapper was ready to roll. But what would he photograph? What should he photograph? Where? Why? He hadn’t really thought much about these questions until now and it occurred to him that they were not easy to answer. Feeling a tinge of buyer’s remorse, Snapper thought, “I just bought a camera that can photograph nearly anything, under almost any circumstance and I don’t know what I want to do with it.”

“Maybe I missed something in the manual, maybe I can get some ideas there,” he thought. He pulled the plump booklet from his camera bag and began flipping the pages—all techs and specs—nothing about what to photograph, why or when. So he spent the next few hours wandering around his neighborhood shooting pictures of this and that—nothing in particular.  

He got bored and decided to stop at the Supreme Bean for coffee. There he noticed a poster for an exhibition currently on view at the University Art Museum. It featured the work of some photographer named Henri Cartier Bresson. Snapper decided to go, hoping to pick up some pointers.

The exhibit was a revelation for Snapper. From one of the wall labels he learned about something Bresson had called the decisive moment. “What was that all about?” Snapper wondered. Did his new camera have a decisive moment function on one of its menus? He’d have to find it. On another label he read that, Bresson had made his pictures using a completely manual camera—something called a Leica. It had no auto focus, auto exposure or zoom lens. The label also said Bresson rarely used flash. Snapper was dumbfounded. “How could Bresson make such stunning photographs using such simple technology?” he wondered.

Snapper resolved to find the answers. He rushed home and pulled his new camera from its bag. He turned it on and systematically punched up every menu item for review in the LCD viewer on the back of the camera. He searched and searched but he could not find the decisive moment option nor could he find menu selections, dials or buttons for:

·      Inspiration

·      Beauty

·      Meaning

·      Passion

·      Creativity

·      Observation

·      Awareness

·      Appropriateness

·      Good taste

·      Cliché avoidance

·      Good composition

·      Preparation

·      Readiness

·      Imagination

Snapper was disappointed. The advertising had promised him that the technology built into his new camera would assure great photographs with every click of the shutter. But after seeing Bresson’s work it sure seemed like there was a lot more to photography than just the camera. Apparently greatness as a photographer, even basic competence, did not come easy.

Snapper sulked for a few days until he had an epiphany. He would not have to spend years and years learning the art of photography as did Bresson, Evans, Weston, Avedon, Mapplethorpe or Leibovitz. He would not have to study the history of photography, art and design. There was no need to pull himself out of bed at 3:00 a.m so he could get to the right location to capture the perfect pre dawn light. Every effect, every correction, every addition or subtraction, could be done with Photoshop. In fact with Photoshop Snapper knew he could create an endless variety of pictures from just a few. How hard could it be—clicking a mouse and applying filters? So Snapper made another call and ordered the latest version.

© Michael Maurer Smith 2009