A Picture Book Of Water Photography

About the Book

People are asking me now, "What is your book about?" There is no snappy answer to set the record straight... It concerns how one slowly breathes in the perspective of an artist, in this case, a photographer. It took me a bit of time to assemble the reality of how my mistakes taught me. Another aspect was keeping me in tune with artistic inclination, or thinking like an artist. These elements were in no hurry to get my attention, either. It came to me that hurrying these inner guides were only going to irritate them. If that happened, one or more of these voices would just evaporate; they weren't really using words and paragraphs anyway. I introduced a focus to the whole mix... The surface of the lake was my subject, which entailed needing a constant awareness of light conditions, wind, and colors around the edges of the lake and out on the water at most times of the day. People on the shore asked, "Why are you taking photographs of the water?" So, as the New England summers melted into foliage fests, the shape and mixture of colors on the surface of this large, gangly pond brought my attention to the possibilities of mixing light, color, and the unexpected conditions suitable for capturing abstract shapes. Much of my learning hinged around a grumbly pontoon boat and its wakes. These were watery tails which liked the interplay of colors from a gaudy sunset. It was my job to make a decent record of how the sky colors refreshed into watercolors, as the waves left temporary troughs behind for my adolescent efforts at creating water art.

About the Author

“It just happened… but in a slow-motion kind of way.” When asked to comment about his book of photographs - all of them depicting water in some way - Robert Payne doubled back and tied a square knot of conceptions on becoming an artist. “Seeing” like an artist” mixes in with keeping “feelings” at an arm’s length. But always remember to keep one or more fi ngers near the shutter. Th en the matter asserts itself of anticipating an upcoming “photographic moment,” or in layman’s terms, “Don’t leave your camera at home.” Besides the shutter, there are other buttons which Mr. Payne fi nds appropriate to set every year and make do. A gentleman he met on a golf course in Scotland, gave him this advice on explaining the fi ne points of golf: “Don’t even bawther.” Run-ins like this led to blending together many sophisticated approaches to taking pictures, playing golf and living life. Even on rare occasions Robert Payne has taken risks like photographing water hazards on golf courses. It is refreshing to know that people like Robert might be thought of as an artist. He prefers that others make such claims. When it comes to explaining how anybody would call him an artist, a golfer, a photographer or a person who fi nds satisfaction in snapping shots of the surface colors of a northern lake, he would venture this: “Enjoy the photos. But take an end-round approach to explaining how to become an artist. “Don’t even bawther.” Robert L. Payne