ragman

7 Chance:

Not many photographers teachers ever refer to this, and I am surprised that they don’t, instead they seem to put good photography down to genius and planning; but rather I believe good photography comes about through coming upon a good chance and turning it into an opportunity. Chance commonly refers to: Probability, Luck, Randomness, Contingency, and Chance (an Ancient Greek concept)

Ancient Greek philosophy had two concepts of chance, both causes of effects that happen incidentally, but differentiated in the second book of Aristotle’s Physics as follows: Tyche (or “luck”) operates in the mind; Automaton (or “chance”) operates in the realm of nature.

To many earlier Greek philosophers chance did not exist. One of the surviving fragments of Leucippus records: “Nothing occurs at random, but everything for a reason and by necessity”. To the atomists the world was completely deterministic. However, Democritus also claimed that chance (automaton) caused the original creation of “the heavenly spheres and all the worlds”, i.e. that existence itself has no prior or determining cause, although everything that has happened since is deterministic.

To Aristotle on the other hand, both Tyche (luck) and automaton (chance) are everyday phenomena. However, for Aristotle chance events were not uncaused, they were simply the effect of the concurrence of two causal sequences. Thus a stone falling that happens to hit a tree is a chance event, although the falling of the stone and the growing of the tree are both determined events.

One of my modern contemporaries with whom I have a great affinity is – Michael Kenna. Michael believes nothing is ever the same twice because everything is always gone forever, and yet each moment has infinite photographic possibilities.

So chance is an opportunity, but it is also a moment. I often study and research through others photographic images as they are a catalogue of moments and opportunities which we should bear in mind. Ansel Adams famous quote is constantly in my mind. Chance favours the prepared mind i.e. if you are prepared you will find the opportunities.

I bear five things in mind when it comes to chance or opportunity –

‘Kairos’,

An acuity or sharpness is required, a keenness of sight and intellect, insight, perception and perspicacity.

‘Mores’

That which we capture comes from a way of life, and it is a fusion of the environment, civilisation, society and traditions around us,

‘Mires’

We observe and record and reflect, not directly but as looks reflected as in a mirror

‘Ethos’

Recording the fundamental and distinctive character of a scene, social context, or period of time,

‘Kallos’

And we do so with a beauty, the combination of qualities that make something pleasing and impressive to look at

Paul Strand one of my favourite photographers was instrumental in my career with both his images and his words. He said; Look at the things around you, the immediate world around you. If you are alive, it will mean something to you, and if you care enough about photography, and if you know how to use it, you will want to photograph that meaning. If you let other people’s vision get between the world and your own, you will achieve that extremely common and worthless thing, a pictorial photograph.

The image I have chosen to sum this chapter up is a favourite of mine and quite a few other Redbubblers. It is Peta, not her actual name but at the time I thought of a petal, and thus the name. The image was not set up. It was not composed. To me it was an Aristotle chance event the effect of the concurrence of two causal sequences.

I was wandering round streets in the town of Sintra, and came across a prospective scene, a little girl, on her way home, perhaps from school, perhaps she has been out shopping, or perchance she is visiting grandma. My mind raced to the tale of little red riding hood, and a series of pictures quickly captured and composed followed.

Rightly or wrongly I took the opportunity. The less we know as fact, the more intriguing it becomes, the better the prospect for story telling.
To me it sums up the five above-mentioned things in combination. Kairos, being sharp and alert to all possibilities around us; Mores happening to pass by a way of life, Mires a look as reflected in a mirror, Ethos, the recording of the distinctive character of a scene, and a period of time. It also I trust Kallos, a thing of beauty, and pleasing to look at.

It was all by chance, and chance is something (a moment) you encounter and turn into an opportunity, it is unplanned, it is done in a split second, there is no thought or planning about design; it is however at times like this you just hope the experience, the knowledge, the skills, the components are all in place, to make it work.

We do not make enough of chances. That wonderful master of monochrome Brassai once said. Chance is always there. We all use it. The difference is a poor photographer meets chance one out of a hundred times and a good photographer meets chance all the time.

Chance means that you have an opportunity to get in close to a situation. “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” Robert Capa said, before he got too close to a landmine that killed him, while covering the conflict in Indochina.

Turn chance into an objective, and not just pass it by or disregard it as an ordinary occasion. Paul Strand believed Objectivity is of the very essence of photography, its contribution and at the same time its limitation

Honesty no less than intensity of vision is the prerequisite of a living expression. The fullest realization of this is accomplished without tricks of processes or manipulation, through the use of straight photographic methods.

Believe that chance is for good. ~ Ansel Adams suggested In my mind’s eye, I visualize how a particular . . . sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice.

Chance occurs nearly always in the Mores and Mires of life’s everday occurences and events. I can recall Paul Strand saying;- _Look at the things around you, the immediate world around you. If you are alive, it will mean something to you, and if you care enough about photography, and if you know how to use it, you will want to photograph that meaning. If you let other people’s vision get between the world and your own, you will achieve that extremely common and worthless thing, a pictorial photograph _

Let me finish this chapter not with the words of a photographer, but rather a philosopher ~ Leucippus the Greek who said : “Nothing occurs at random, but everything for a reason and by necessity”

I trust this will encourage you to go out and come across chances, and be better prepared to turn them into photographic opportunities, and take the earlier Democritus reference on board meaning and being more determined.