I´m Cole Thompson, ask me anything

[Cole_Thompson]

Sherry! I answered this question under your deleted one!

Here’s what I said:

First, congratulations on looking forward and creating a new portfolio with intention, I like this method a lot. I’ve tried creating a portfolio by looking backwards, and grouping together similar images, but it always felt like a “collection” of images, rather than a portfolio.

Here’s how I work: first I look for something that inspires me. It could be a subtle inspiration, such as it was for my “Ceiling Lamps” portfolio, or it can be a big inspiration like it was for “Moai, Sitting for Portrait,“ or a HUGE inspiration for “The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau.“

What I’ve learned for myself is, if I feel any inspiration, I must act immediately. I cannot say: I’ll come back tomorrow, or I’ll come back next year. Because when I do that, I often find the inspiration is no longer there.

Then, I must have a Vision for the project, a way that I want to portray it that isn’t imitative. I have always disliked the attitude that good artists borrow and great artists steal. I was to create as uniquely as I am capable of, and that comes through my Vision.

Next, I must have a Passion for the subject. I must be excited about it and want to work on it constantly. I believe Jay Maisel said (paraphrased): If you’re not excited about the subject, why should I be?

I find my best work come at the intersection of Vision and Passion.

Next I shoot the “easy pickin” images, the obvious ones that initially caught my eye. And then the hard work begins: how do I see more deeply, beyond the obvious?

That comes with time and contemplation. Sometimes I’ll just sit at a location that I initially feet there was no good shots, and just look for awhile. And often it works!

That’s my process:
Inspiration
Vision
Passion
See beyond the obvious

Thanks Sherry!

[Cole_Thompson]

Hi Mike, i’m glad you asked that question. Often I am criticized for my “photographic celibacy“ because people say that I am foregoing a great source of inspiration. And I do remind them that there are other sources of inspiration other than photography, such as paintings, sculptures, poetry, music and dare I even say…the world?

One of the most important goals of mine, is to create “honest work.“ For me that means that the idea was mine (it was not borrowed or stolen), that the work was created through my Vision, that it was created for myself with no thought of how others would receive it, and it is work that I love.

If I look at another photographers work, and see an idea that “inspires me“ to create a similar project, for me that is not honest work. If I would have seen someone else’s photograph of a single cloud over the landscape, and then I went out and created my Harbinger series, that would not have been honest work.

In my opinion.

But I think your question was: what besides others photography inspires you?

Music. I find a tremendous connection between music and photography. One of my favorite things to do, when I’m trying to see uniquely and differently, is to listen to the Beatles. As I listen to the evolution of their music, how they kept changing and experimenting and trying new things…that inspires me.

I imagine them talking to the record company “suits“ and being encouraged to keep doing the same thing because it was selling records. Don’t change a thing! You’ve got a winning formula!

How boring…how stifling.

Books: there are two books that I regularly read because they have so influenced my photography and my approach to photography. The first is Ayn Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead” and the other is Edward Weston‘s “Day Books.“

Another inspiration is the natural world itself. I’ve never understood people who criticize me for not looking at other’s images and their interpretation of the world, when the world is there for me to view firsthand! Why not try to find my own inspiration by viewing the world directly, rather than viewing someone else’s interpretation of the world?

Okay, rant over!

Thanks Mike.

[Cole_Thompson]

This isn’t my nephew Josh Young…is it?

Since I just got back from the Faroe’s, I’m in the middle of my culling and processing right now.

I like to immediately process my images, perhaps to keep the Vision fresh? I could not process images months or a year later, it just doesn’t fit with how I work.

I first go through the JPG’s to cull in the best images. For any one shot, I might have 20-50 shots of that one scene, and that’s because I’m exposure bracketing and because I’m generally shooting a long exposure. That means I do a lot of different exposure times, and I look for the one that got the water/sky the best.

I put the potential good candidates into a folder called “Working” and go through my six step processing routine. From there some might get culled out, because I don’t feel they are good enough, conceptually or technically. This is a hard thing to do, cull out images, because I might be emotionally invested from the experience of creating them. Sometimes I’ll hold onto an image far too long, trying to convince myself that it is “good enough.“ In the end it will get thrown out, and it’s better to do it sooner than later.

Next, I let the images sit for a few days to a week. This gives me some emotional distance, and when I see the image again, I can be more objective. Here I will start tweaking the images and throwing some more out.

And then I’ll let them sit again and I’ll keep repeating that cycle until I no longer make any changes. That’s when I know the image is done.

I’ve learned not to publish an image before I’ve gone through this entire process. Sometimes you’re excited and you want to show people this new image that you’re working on, but I always regret it, because it never looks as good as it will when it’s finally done.

How much actual time working on each image? I would say an hour or less, on average. But sometimes you have an image that you work on a lot, here’s a new Harbinger image that I’ve been working on for many, many hours:

When I have gone through the working images, and no longer make any changes, they go into a new folder called “Finals.“ Here I do a final cull and throw out any images that just aren’t quite good enough, no matter how badly I want them to work.

The entire process takes between 4 to 6 weeks and might result in one good image for every thousand exposures. I’ve never actually done the math on that, but that’s how it feels.

[Cole_Thompson]

My good friend Seshi! You have asked the hardest question of all: What is Vision?

Vision is so difficult to describe with words! I remember hearing people talk about Vision, and I generally understood the context of how the word was being used, but I couldn’t understand what it was.

Is it a style? A look? A technique? Is it something that some people have and others do not? Can you take a course and get your Vision?

Nope!

Vision is simply the sum total of your life experiences, that allows you to see the world in a unique way. Or put another way, Vision is what’s left over when you throw out all of the ways you have been taught to see; the rules, the conventions, the common wisdoms, the way your mentor taught you to photograph, and the way that everyone else sees.

The most important truth I learned about Vision is that we all have one. You cannot, not have a Vision, because it is simply the way YOU see!

I have come to believe that we are all born creative and with Vision. But as Picasso said, the challenge is to remain creative (and retain our Vision) as we grow older.

I was absolutely convinced that I did not have a vision, but had been challenged to find out if I did. It took me two years, with a lot of work and soul-searching. And once I finally had my “aha!“ moment, it all became so very clear, Vision was so incredibly simple, it is simpler how “I” see.

But for most of us, we’ve had years of training in conformity to bury our creativity and Vision. It is a very hard thing to again find your Vision, but it is possible, and it is rewarding!

For those who have not read it, here is a link to an article I wrote, entitled: “How I Found My Vision.”

https://colethompsonphotography.com/2014/05/09/finding-vision/

Nothing terribly deep, it outlines the 10 steps that I took to find my Vision. Maybe some of the steps will be useful to others?

Seshi, you said that the look of American photography is different than the UK photography. I believe that has nothing to do with Vision, but rather it has to do with styles, which are quite different from Vision.

Vision is how I see, whereas a style is a look that I would consciously apply to a body of work (which I don’t believe in doing).

You also asked how I can earn a living through my Vision. I can’t! Fortunately, I never chose to work as a photographer, believing that turning photography into a job would take the passion out of it.

I have never regretted that decision.

[Mike_Lindeman]

Cole

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I also love the Beatles. I often think of Mothers Nature Son as I walk through the woods.

As Ringo would Say

“Peace and Love”

Mike Lindeman.

[seshi (Seshi Middela)]

Thanks Cole, Just come back from the restaurant…good meal. Not drunk yet, so I am going to pester you with another one.

I would say in your case your style is distinctive. Is vision also distinctive and global? Is vision project specific? or did I just answer my own question? its probably the Shiraz

[Cole_Thompson]

Mark, I’m using a Kodak Instamatic 124.

What camera do you use?

I’m glad that you’re comfortable when the viewer gets a different message than what you felt when you created it. I’ve had people tell me that your image has failed if the viewer doesn’t get same message.

Well, firstly I never have a message that I intend to convey to the viewer. When I create an image, I am expressing myself and I recognize that the viewer may not get it! And recently, I’ve come to appreciate that the viewer brings their own Vision to the viewing process, just as I bring it to the creating process.

And I believe that’s a good thing!

Now, regarding peoples reactions to our images: I have thought about this before and have asked myself “what is the best reaction I could hope for?”

If someone gives me a sincere: “I love this!” I can’t ask for anything more. As long as the person’s reaction is sincere, I am happy with it.

How many times have we heard the “interesting…” comment? Or worse, the “what were your settings?”

When you create from your Vision, you have to be prepared that many people will not understand or like your work. But my experience has been that the personal satisfaction that comes from creating something honest, and that you love,…is well worth it.

[Adam_Burke]

Hello from Aurora IL. I really just wanted to say HI. But I guess I can turn this into a question: Harbinger #1 has had me in its grips since I first saw it. How did you do that? Not how did you physically capture that photo but why is THAT photo so dang captivating? What elements do you think make up its core attributes?

[Cole_Thompson]

Was it a good meal Seshi? I hope so!

I see Vision and style as two different things. Vision is how you see, and style is a treatment that you choose. I prefer the look of the work be dictated by Vision, and not by an applied style.

A lot of people ask me if once you find your Vision, will your images all look the same? I say no! Your Vision may change from subject to subject, it may change from year to year, and for me it changes from mood to mood. And my Vision changes as I have new life experiences.

While I suspect that most people think of my images as dark and contrasty, at times my Vision has dictated other looks:

I always seek to follow my Vision, and not a style.

[Cole_Thompson]

Hello Adam! (Adam and I have a connection through Aurora, Illinois!)

Harbinger No. 1… I love that image and the whole Harbinger series, it is my favorite portfolio.

When I created No. 1, I never believed I would have a No. 2, much less portfolio of 20 of them. What are the chances that I could find solitary clouds over interesting landscapes?

But that image taught me a lesson: when you are passionate about something, you start seeing opportunities everywhere. Well, not everywhere, but more frequently than I would ever have imagined!

What makes No. 1 so captivating? For me, it is what that little cloud represents, a harbinger of things to come. Whenever I create an image, I name it with the first words that come into my mind, and what did not come to mind was “single cloud“ or “solitary cloud.“

The first word that came to mind was Harbinger, and for me that word had power and meaning.

Now here’s something interesting about this image and my Vision of the project. I never tell people what my images mean, what they mean to me or what they should mean to the viewer. Once I create the image, my job is done, and it’s now up to the viewer to interpret them.

Last week Brooks Jensen mentioned this project in his “Here’s a Thought” audio podcast. His interpretation of the little cloud was: a harbinger of weather to come. That was not at all what I thought of when I saw that harbinger, but that’s the beauty of art: we each bring our own Vision to the viewing process.

If you’re unfamiliar with LensWork’s “Here’s a Thought“ then you should give a listen, it’s a 3-5 minute daily podcast on photography. And it’s free!

https://www.lenswork.com/index2.html

You can find the three most current podcasts in the upper left of the page. I listen to this every day.

[Cole_Thompson]

I’ve got blisters on my fingers!

I’ve seen Ringo and his All-Starr band several times, it’s great!

[Cole_Thompson]

Hi Fritz, do you know I’ve never been asked this question before: do you ever go back to a pre-Vision image and rework it?

I do not and it’s because of “Cole’s Rule of Thirds.“

Cole’s rule of third states that a great image consist of three parts:

Vision
The shot
Processing

But it is the Vision that comes first, and which drives the shot and the processing. For too much of my photographic life, I only focused on the shot and the processing… and I was out of balance. My images were technically perfect…but they were soulless.

And because all three components are necessary for a successful image, going back now and trying to retrofit a Vision on a non-Vision shot, just would not work for me.

And you also asked if I ever go back to old images that I had a Vision of, and rework them. No, not really. I might make some small tweak as my skills have improved and I can clean up some small thing that I had missed before. But no significant changes are made later.

A part of my personality is: once I’m done with an image, I’m done with the image. I don’t like to go back.

[Cole_Thompson]

I sort of feel the same way, thinking kind of messes me up!

[Cole_Thompson]

I think you and I think a lot alike Jason.

For example: both you and I think Barclay would benefit greatly if he enrolled in a Photo 101 class at his local community college.

Isn’t it nice not having John here!

[Jason (Jason Eldridge)]

This is John we are talking about, he should learn to read first.

I do agree, it is much nicer without him here bringing everyone down!

[mark9 (Mark Bargen)]

Oh, yes, “interesting…” My pet peeve is “what am I seeing?” As if that mattters?

Oh ,and then, “why did you go black & white?” Usually, my honest answer is “it was too pretty in color” . If they go the next step and ask what I mean, then we’re set up for an interesting conversation …

As for my camera, it has a whole bunch of knobs and dials and buttons, and if I twist the thing in front the picture gets bigger. That feature is kinda nice.

[Cole_Thompson]

“As for my camera, it has a whole bunch of knobs and dials and buttons, and if I twist the thing in front the picture gets bigger. That feature is kinda nice.”

Hahaha!

[John_Barclay]

Oh I’m here lurking … just waiting for the right time…

[John_Barclay]

Hey!!! I resemble that comment!

[John_Barclay]

It seems since you have grown out your hair and started traveling with John Barclay, your work has grown and improved massively. Do you think John has had that big of an impact on your work or is it your hair?