Creating Meaningful Photographs

1 -  Introduction
I believe that that in order to make meaningful photographs, learning the art of seeing and vision is as important as learning craft and technique.  After over 15 years of major advances in digital photography, there is a need for artistically-inclined photographers to focus on the artistic aspects of photography, to the essence of seeing and personal expression, and to the fundamental aspects of photography as an art.
In the days fo chemical photography, the masters created emotionally powerful images without all the capabilities that digital photography gives us.  The techniques they used were fewer and simpler. For example, they matched the properties of film to specific visual emotions. While having fewer options and a simpler medium limited their possibilities, it also provided a more direct path towards expressing emotions and vision.
Today, with digital photography, there is a tendency to focus more on technology and less on the emotional experience that an im...