Different kind of question

[david_pieniazek]

Hello All!

 

I have a unique question that may not belong here. Since I am a

Nikon F5 enthusiast and I trust your opinions more than any others

on this site I am going to ask it anyway.

 

When I hold the camera to my eye, it is always the right eye. I got

thinking about it and if memory serves me right, isn't the right

side of the brain the creative side? (Right eye controlled by left

brain and left eye controlled by right brain.) That being said, does

anyone use their left eye when taking pictures? I asked my wife to

hold a camera to her eve and she instinctively held it to her right

eye as well. I am assuming that since the left side of the brain is

the technical side that this makes sense. My curiosity is that if I

start holding my camera to the left eye, will I find an inherently

greater creativity when composing? (If any of the moderators feel

this truly should not be asked here, please feel free to remove the

question.)

[dean_tomasula1]

Actually, I hold the camera up to my left eye. I've always done it that way. I don't know what that says about me though :-)

 

By the way, don't most rangefinders have the viewfinder on the left side of the camera. At least my Mamiya 7 and 7II do. My Bronica 645RF did also. Hmmmm...

[ky2]

If that would've mattered, all cameras would have left-hand shutter releases.

[arnabdas]

I just tried it using my left eye and this is what caught my attention.<div></div>

[Matthew Currie]

I've always been left-eyed, which I think depends more on which eye is dominant (not necessarily which one is better, though).

 

Few cameras are oriented well for left-eyed people. For example (to introduce some Nikon content into the thread), I can't easily crank my F while looking through it. You can hit the back controls of an F100 with your nose.

 

I'm guessing that since we're geared for binocular vision, and our brains are used to seeing the same thing through both eyes, the right-left connection is of little significance here, but if you think it might make a difference, perhaps you can get some placebo effect. Anything that makes you think about looking at things differently might be worth a try. Just make sure you don't have focusing problems if your two eyes need different diopters.

[Ed_Ingold]

Most people are right-eye dominant. This means when you look at something, your right eye tracks and the left eye follows. This is well known to shooters - photographic and the noisy kind. I don't think this relates to creativity. Now left-handed - it's guaranteed ;-)

[ilkka_nissila]

Actually, right eye and left eye are processed in the same way. The right side of the visual field (of both eyes) is projected to the visual cortex on the left hemisphere, and vice versa.

 

It's easier to use an optical viewfinder with the right eye because that's the way it's been designed - you don't get your thumb in your face that way. However, some people have much sharper left eye than right, in which case they compose using the left, dominant eye. This can be a bit uncomfortable but people are persistent. :-)

 

I'm left-eye dominant but can see well enough with my right eye to use it for composing.

[lex_jenkins]

I wish it were true that creativity is enhanced by eye dominance. I'm left eye dominant and most of my photos seem pretty mediocre. I tried right eyed shooting but had trouble composing and focusing quickly.

[armando_roldan]

I have always been a right eyed shooter, be it be cameras or firearms all my life but in the last week I have shooting left eye since my LASIK eye surgery 5 weeks ago. I now I have 20/15 vision in both eyes without glasses( I was was 20/200 before)..I realize the the camera now covers my whole face rather than to hang off to one side. It hard to explain but now I am feel my senses are centralized..goofy as it sounds.

[michael_millard]

I forget where I read it (recently), but evidently the whole left-side, right-side & 10% total brain "usage" are both completely untrue.

 

As it turns out, the brain is much more complicated than that, and can't be characterized in those simple one-liners.

 

Still, the REAL question might be: Is it a crappy/good picture because of the brain that composed it, or the brain that reviews it? Or both? Hummmm...

[vivek iyer]

All I know, Michael, is that if I use 0.0001% of my brain all the time I make photographs, I will be alright :-)

[todd peach seattle, washi]

I generally use my left eye in the viewfinder because my corrected vision with that eye is sharper. I am right eye dominant. On very long shooting days where eyestrain is a factor, I sometimes switch to the right eye for a change of pace.

 

The 'ergonomics' of left eye shooting varies by camera. On the old FM/FE bodies, the MD-12 was pretty much mandatory for me to keep the wind lever from poking my eye out. I find the larger size of the F2 lets me shoot left eyed with just a very slight 'head bob' to clear the wind lever when winding on. And yes, my nose does tend to change the AF point on an F100. That's what the lock is for.....

[pnance]

I've always used my left eye with my camera. And I do find the results are better than the right eye users. The fact that I'm blind in the right eye hasn't affected me at all!

 

Hehe.

[walterh]

Arnab your left eye is certainly creative enough.

 

@David - its up to you to define "creative". Since nobody knows how 1) the brain works 2) what creativity is you will be safe whatever you decide. Take this from someone who worked decades in neurobiology and visual perception. Just to top this: I think a creative person could not care less what other people think about which eye they use for anything including taking pictures.

[hakon_soreide]

I've always used my left eye instinctively when taking photos. I didn't notice I was doing anything weird until a few years ago, though, so it's not been a problem to put it that way. I also hold the camera with my right hand below it when shooting vertical as opposed to the other way around as is usual for you righties out there,<p>

I am left-eye dominant, but my vision on my right eye is slightly better (still no need for glasses on either eye, though), so I guess it's just because it's my dominant eye that it's taken its position at the viewfinder by matter of default.<p>

Now, the very impractical thing about being left-eye dominant and right-handed is that when throwing or shooting with both eyes open, you have to adjust for lateral parallax error when aiming rather than having everything in line.<p>

Same thing goes for pointing at things. When I point, my index finger is naturally aligned with my left eye, so for others it would look like I am pointing slightly more to the left than it feels to me that I am. I can't think of any one occasion where this has been a problem causing misunderstandings, though.<p>

Hakon Soreide<br>

Bergen, Norway<br>

<a href="http://www.hakonsoreide.com">www.hakonsoreide.com</a>

[georgeflanagin]

I use the left eye for landscape, and the right for portrait orientation. I don't know why, but several people have commented on it .. "George, so why do you ... ?"

[Gup]

I've been saving my left eye for when I go digital. I think it will help with my speed when I'm wearing two bodies at the same time.

 

Keep Smiling!

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

left handed and left eyed. I'm in trouble then, I'll have to grow a pony tale and hang out with the other arty farty people.

[brandonhamilton]

One particular eye isn't controlled by the opposite side of the brain... Good idea though.