Form and Function
Originally uploaded by John Setzler.
This is a recurring theme for me. Form and Function... What does that mean?
I often find myself photographing components of something larger. In this photograph, I focused on the mechanics of an armature of an antique steam locomotive. I suppose this supports some of my previous thoughts on photography as well. How and why do we choose to photograph something?
When I browse various portfolios, I often see themes in play. Certain people like flowers while others like landscapes. Some like children and others like insects. What do I like? That's the problem. After five years in this hobby, I still don't know the answer, but one of my recurring themes seems to fall into the realm of form and function.
I don't choose particular subjects when I'm out photographing on my own. If I see something that catches my eye, there is usually more to it than what it actually is. This locomotive, for example, is a lot like several others at this site. The parts of it that fascinate me most are the smaller pieces of it that make it interesting. I often choose to look at those smaller elements through the viewfinder. These smaller subjects within the whole are the character or personality of this locomotive. This gets lost if I choose to photograph the subject in its entirety. In this particular case, I couldn't have photographed it entirely anyway.
I don't often stumble across portfolios where a photographer looks closely at specific pieces of a larger subject. Maybe this would be an interesting exercise. Pick a subject and see how many different interesting compositions you find without photographing the entire subject. This locomotive might have offered several hundred of them. A flower blossom might have offered ten.