THE VITAL INGREDIENT IN A PHOTOGRAPH or THE ART OF ACHIEVING THE "PING!"

What is the vital ingredient of an exceptional photograph? What is it in an outstanding, memorable image that makes visually literate viewers sit up and take note? What singular aspect, component or element of a photograph can make our minds respond with a "PING!", a signal from our consciousness that says "this is it, this is unique, this is just perfect"?

As makers of photographs and as viewers of images, we all probably guard and defend our all-time favourite photographs (captured by others or ourselves) against the opinions of fellow photographers or the public. We differ too in the selection of images that we would consider as iconic. Should we be pressed though, we would probably concede that there is a particular ingredient in a successful photographic image that lifts it well above the average snap. While some of this eclecticism lies almost certainly in the realm of cult status surrounding a few photographers (the "It is great because P. H. Otto Graf took it" syndrome), there does seem to be that something that some photographers can add to their work, at least occasionally, that allows us, the viewers, to react with a resounding "PING!".

These questions, dealing with memorable image creation rather than the mere documentation of visual instances, have occupied me for decades now, both as an active photographer and as a viewer of images published by fellow photographers. When I started out in photography almost five decades ago, I read a plethora of magazine articles and books on the subject of photography. Some were anti-photography, claiming that a photographic image was just a document, and claiming too, that the ever-increasing flood of images in the media was detrimental to the development of an educated visual literacy. At the other extreme, many texts were partisanly pro-photography, claiming the photographer as a new age artist and guru. Most, of course, were 'how to' books or articles, ranging in value from mediocre to outstanding.

Over the years, my own ideas on photography have evolved, changing from an obsession with the mastering of the techniques employed to the exploration of that all-consuming and most elusive of characteristics, the development and achievement of a personal style. More important than reading, I actively sought out images, looking intensely at any and all photographs from different genres. This engagement with the work of other photographers was of invaluable importance in my own development as a taker of images. And it was this activity, still pursued today, that gave me a clue to that most valuable ingredient in a successful image: intention.

What about light, composition, framing and selection, depth-of-field, colour, texture, line, pattern, rhythm, I hear you shout - a photograph cannot exist without these elements? I agree. But, these are all visual elements, tools as it were, employed to enhance the impact of the image on the imagination of the viewer. What crystallises out of an impressive image though is more than the sum of the tools employed by the photographer. A memorable image will be composed of one or more objects arranged in a deliberate way and accentuated or de-emphasised by the photographer employing several visual elements or techniques, but, above all, a memorable photograph will broadcast the photographers intention of capturing this particular composite and not another. The techniques, the tools, the design basics, by themselves, can not constitute a photograph.

As an over-simplified example of what I am expressing, take the following comment on a photograph: "I love the DOF." My immediate response to this is "Why?". Is the use of depth-of-field as simple as isolating the subject from the background or achieving hyperfocal depth-of-field in landscapes? Surely not. If the image is of a white sphere against a blurred purple background, most people can only respond with a confused (possibly bemused) facial expression. The next response is, of course, "What is it?", "Why was this image captured?", "What does the image mean?" Obviously this example is over-simplified. So let us add some leading lines (of a golden colour) and a second, smaller, pink sphere to add the illusion of depth. I think most people would still be left scratching their scalps. The elements of design, even in complicated arrangements, can only ever give rise to a graphic. This may be beautiful, but it is essentially empty of meaning, it lacks intention.

Outstanding photographers produce memorable images when they communicate their intention through a combination of subject matter and careful composition of the image. (I use the term composition here in its most expansive sense, including framing of the scene plus the use of any visual elements employed to enhance effective communication.) When you confront serious photographers with the question "Why did you capture this image?", the answer will not only be "Because I thought it was beautiful" or "I wanted a picture to capture this moment". There will always be another, an additional aspect that the photographer wished to express. The intention may involve an intricate set of ideas and thought processes or it may be as simple as needing to capture a moment so that it can be remembered. And we all know that memory is intentional - we remember an instant with pleasure or remorse, with joy or sadness, with delight or horror. Memories are brought into consciousness with intent; our memories are intentional. They appear (and disappear) in a specific context. Our emotions too are an integral part of human memory; you can never divorce, in a memory, the function of storage and recall from the feelings and emotions that a particular memory will evoke. So memories are also evocative.

Thus, for similar reasons, photographs must be wrought with intention. Similarly too in a photograph, the function of 'storage and recall' (the process of capturing the image and making it available for viewing) should not be separable from the possible responses by the viewing audience. The process of viewing a photograph will be evocative and memorable if (and only if) the resulting image communicates the photographer's intention to the viewer and thereby engages the viewer’s imagination. Without this interplay between the imagination of the photographer and the imagination of the viewer, the image remains an unintentional snap, a moment in time captured and stored, an image produced without prodding the audience's minds towards any further exploration, thought or feeling. That feeling of 'PING!' occurs only when a photograph has been crafted carefully with intention and, so, invites and forces the viewer to ponder.

It is always a delight to stumble across a memorable photograph. There is that instant when I find myself invited into an image, and from there into the mind of another person, where I start seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting a fraction of time captured. It is at this point that my mind responds with a resounding "PING!", and I feel and know that I am experiencing a great photograph.