Idollatry: the fashion of plastic pseudo realism
I get an idea for a photograph; maybe a series of photos. I work with haste to get it captured on disk. It’s rough but I like the concept. The next day I shoot 50-60 shots and narrow them down to 5 that I really like. It still looks a little like the original idea but better. Another day and I shoot over 100 images. These I narrow down to 8, then delete several from the first shoot. A series is starting to take shape. I’m further from the original idea but closer to something I hadn’t thought of. A third attempt, about 70 more shots and yet another idea emerges. The concept is refined; I believe I’ve found what I’ve been looking for.
Then I stop for awhile. I take a step back and look at what I’ve done. I throw out almost everything except the 1-2 images that keep resonating with me. I start over and look for only the kind of photo that lives up to the standard set by the 2 shots that I can’t get out of my mind. More and more and more shots. Many hundreds of shots. Exploring. Failure. Learning. Success.
Larry Torno
