What’s the difference between these two photographs?

Robert Capa said “If your photographs are not good enough, then you are not close enough” but what did he mean? Was the statement made with literal intent? The quote resonates with photographers across a multitude of genres. It’s one that I have adopted and it influences my work in different ways. I am a strong advocate of exploring our landscapes and seascapes by getting in close to the details as well as shooting for the grand vistas.

But sometimes it does not seem to matter what you do, something is wrong, and if it's wrong in the field there is a good chance it will still be wrong when the raw files are processed. This was a problem which confronted me on a recent shoot along the Cornish coastline, solving it was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. My time honoured process of asking a very simple one-word question. Why? Seemed to be failing me. Nevertheless opening your mind and just observing can reveal what truly attracted you to the scene in the first place. And answering questions with your lens can lead to finding compositions and subjects which will get you closer, to what you are seeking. Sometimes physically closer, sometimes optically. Is that what Capa meant? Well I thought so

There is nothing wrong with these photographs. I knew when I when I took them they weren’t lighting any fires. All the elements that attracted me to the location in the first place were there. The contrasty light, stormy breaking waves and breathtaking views are faithfully recorded. But the magic was missing. And the solution didn’t reveal itself until I started. It came from the most unlikely source. I took a few scouting Photographs in the morning. Photographs that I didn’t think would see the light of day. But somehow those raw off-the-cuff photographs captured something missing from the rest. Merging the raw power of the crashing waves with the constant rhythmic rise and fall of the swell, stripping the colour and favouring the punchy black and white tones it seemed it was possible to capture a photograph that connected me with the experience.

And why? Because It took me closer to the emotion, to the energy to the feeling of being there. Maybe Robert Capa meant you need to get closer physically. Or was he also thinking more experientially? What I am sure of is when he jumped from the landing craft crawled through sand and mud he felt everything and experienced everything beside his subjects. How close are you to your photographs?

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