The Lifeboat Station Project by Jack Lowe

Just a Black Box…

This morning I posted these words on my Instagram feed. It seems appropriate to share them here too…


This Sunday, here’s a thought to consider on photography:

As I’m about to make a photograph, I remove the ground glass screen (used for composing and focussing the image).

Just before I fix the plate holder to the camera, as in this case at Southwold Lifeboat Station, this is what I see:

The Lifeboat Station Project by Jack Lowe

Frighteningly simple, isn’t it?

It’s just a black box and a lens. That’s all cameras are…black boxes and a lens. Truly.

When I travel on my missions, I just use this camera and one lens; my lens cap is my shutter – I count elephants in my head when I’m making an exposure (have you seen Gregory’s Girl?).

As there are no equipment choices to make, my mind is free to concentrate on making the best photograph I can with what I have.

So many people confuse ‘cameras’ with ‘photography’. I’m afraid I cannot have camera conversations like “So, are you a Canon man or a Nikon man?”

It actually makes me shudder.

Cameras do not make you a better photographer…you make you a better photographer.

You can have all the pixels and knobs and buttons in the world. It might have cost you £2000 but, unfortunately, it will not make you a better photographer.

Q: So, what will?

A: Other good photography!

Buy good photo books. Old ones. New ones. Immerse yourself in them. You’ll find out what you like and what you don’t like and, I promise, you’ll become an infinitely better photographer in no time…


THE LIFEBOAT STATION PROJECT

With that in mind, why not pop over to see what I’ve been up to with my black box and lens at The Lifeboat Station Project?

I’d love you to join me…

The Lifeboat Station Project by Jack Lowe

Did you know that fewer than 1% of people convert their Likes, Shares and Retweets into financial support for the creators they follow?

I’m asking my online community to buck that trend. If you value my work and would like to contribute to its future, please consider donating here — it’ll make a huge difference and will help with the upkeep of our growing community space.

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Beautifully explained… beautifully illustrated. I heard a song on Sunday, something along the lines of “if this was your last day, what would you do?” and a random thought popped into my head. Would I spend all day looking at a catalogue of the latest cameras? Or would I grab my Lubitel and venture into the mirror-image Narnia that beckoned across the frozen pond? Making photographs makes me a photographer, the camera helps me capture the images.