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A Weekly Column By Mike Johnston
Key Thoughts and The Zen of Fishing
I liken the thoughts that I keep in mind when photographing to "swing thoughts" or "key thoughts" in golf. Sam Snead used to say that he'd just hit some practice balls and try to find one or two swing thoughts that worked for him that day, and go out and hope for the best.
In golf at least, the more swing thoughts you have, the worse you do.
Two of my best "key thoughts" while shooting are two mottos I heard about from two different photography teachers. They are "Never clever" and "The name of the game is to fill the frame." I try not to complicate things beyond that. It ain't easy.
"Never clever" (which comes from a California photo teacher whose first name is Tom, by way of one of his former students, now a real estate agent in Vermont) is helpful because it prevents us from trying to assert ourselves all the way into every frame. Too many photograph...

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