Before we return to some final posts about Portugal (and the Douro River), there are a few remaining — admittedly eccentric —­ photographic notions to mull over. “Vision” is a potentially pretentious term that implies some have it and some don’t and that it is a precious and rare commodity. But everyone who takes a picture has a vision. It can range from prosaic to ground-breaking. And there is no reason to think a given picture taker can only take pictures at one end or the other of the spectrum. We can assume even Richard Avedon now and then took an unposed and imperfect family picture. We can assume an unschooled person with little interest in photography will take fine pictures now and then or perhaps frequently. Vision can be strictly pragmatic or inspired, as needs require and as inspiration strikes. 

Vision certainly affects what people photograph. As the prior post noted, there is an amorphous category of subjects that are less likely to be photographed. This amorphous category encompasses subjects that are rarely within the vision of most people taking pictures. Calling images in this category “just of” pictures is both unduly dismissive and accurately descriptive. The former because these subjects can be rich sources of inspiration. And the latter because few would consider these subjects worth photographing (until, perhaps, learning that they inspired many fine images by many fine photographers).  A clutch of additional “just of” images is attached to this post, in hopes they illustrate that this category can produce interesting pictures, i.e., that they are interesting enough to convince viewers that these subjects are worth photographing and that they, as well as iconic sunsets, wild animals, and natural wonders, are valid photographic subjects. 

The next post will circle back to the topic that originally provoked this Lost in Translation series: the challenge of translating vision to image. 

Playground drama:

Irony:

(Left) For rent                                                         (Right) Guide

Graphic attractions:

Ephemera: