Show Me How You See It

Post by TWiP Contributor: Patrick Reed

A call to add David Duchemin's “Vision Is Better” to your photography arsenal.

If you haven't yet ponied up to Starbuck's today for your grande vanilla latte, you're in luck.  Because even without a TWIP discount, David Duchemin's ebook “Vision Is Better” – 115 pages of inspirational imagery and, most importantly, inspiring writing about photography – is well within your $5 budget.  I am writing about this ebook because I am stunned at the “deal” that this is.  It is true that all of these articles were originally published on Duchemin's blog for free, but to have them all in one place and so beautifully illustrated is more than a sweet deal.  It's a no-brainer that we should all have this resource in our toolbox.

Duchemin is engaging and real in this composite of essays – and so his connection to the reader is natural.  He leads us from foggy frustrated thoughts at 5 a.m. in Ethiopia about the challenges of the job to a mini-biography about how he journeyed from theology student to comedian to photographer.  His easy, conversational style makes this ebook one to pick up when you need a little inspiration – or simply to enjoy as you sip your first cup of coffee.

Ultimately, these are almost philosophical essays, delving into the why's of photography.  Instead of telling the reader who or how to emulate, David shares the reasons why the serious photographer must realize her style.  Instead of circling the ‘professional' wagons and scoffing at the amateurs, he elevates all of us lovers of the craft and finds the constant behind each of us who proudly call ourselves photographers:  we are passionate!  Throughout his essays threads his main contention – that we each have a unique vision which must be expressed in our images if we want them to truly sing.

So, check out this informative book which contains articles with titles as intriguing as:

– Confessions of a so-called pro
– Make More Mistakes
– Vision-priority mode

I will leave off with some of the most inspiring words I have found so far in my readings of this treasure.  Duchemin sums up his thought about ‘vision' with an call to focus on the ‘how you see' when you focus on your subject and trigger the shutter:

“You have vision, sure as you have an opinion.  Maybe we should move to another metaphor, another series of words.  After all, using the term vision as metaphor for visual perception is not terribly clever.  Perhaps we should go straight to it and call it what it is – opinion, thought, viewpoint (oops, another visual reference.)  Ok, hang it all, I'm going back to the obvious stuff, heck I'm just going to restate it in different words.  Don't show me what you see.  Show me how you see it.”
David Duchemin's ‘Vision Is Better'  p. 32

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