Reality or more precisely perception can be a tricky thing. An open mind and open eyes are key.
I never know what I’m going to find when I wander… head up, eyes open, camera ready. Oh, and the most important component, an open mind. Historic downtown Columbia, South Carolina is a great place to wander. Lots of interesting uses for old storefronts, fun restaurants and lots of eclectic stores with lots of local flavors. It was a very pleasant afternoon with Elise’s brother and sister in law ending with a very tasty beer. Sometimes I am not good company as I find myself left behind due to something shiny or wandering in a completely different direction because “I wonder what’s over there?” I often blot other things out as I take in the sights in front of me, noticing as much as possible. It’s like a one-pointed meditation. I start to see shapes and lines, as I mover I watch for how they come together. Is it an interesting shape in itself or does it frame something, what happens when I move one way or another? What happens with the light; does it get interesting or go flat. Take a shot move a little take another… Don’t chimp… stay focused on the subject. Sometimes it works and I get an interesting image. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I don’t take the shot and sometimes I delete it at home. This seeing comes from an intuitive knowing, a gut feeling of whether I have it or not.
This concept goes back to something shared by a teacher I had at Santa Fe Photo Workshops. Jay Maisel, an outstanding and influential photographer, talked about his “Five levels of s&%# realization” (he’s from New York, what’d ya expect). The first and highest level of realization: look at the scene and say no before you raise the camera. The second level: raise the camera and say no without taking a picture. The third level: you have taken the picture and while viewing the image on the light table you decide to chuck it (I took the class back in the film days). The fourth level: you are driving to the clients to deliver the images and you rip the package open to get that one stinkin image out!!! The last and lowest level of realization is that you see it in print: Yikes!!! The highest level is intuitive, a knowing, reacting subconsciously to what is before you. The lowest level is a sign that you fought your knowing and it’s just a question of when you choose to listen. The knowing comes from practice, trying and failing, trying and succeeding. From this practice and the lessons you learn, you start to see the image developing, an interesting image is starting to form before you. Sometimes it works and you get a chance to make an image, other times it passes without coming together. I have found in my years of making images that the more you try to force the image or force the subject into what you’re trying to see the farther from a great image you will get.
I know that this is only one way of working in a sea of ways to approach the end photograph. This style has worked for me for many years and it is a cornerstone of how I approach portraits. I feel like a director of a movie. I set the stage, everyone knows their parts, and with each take, I work to erase the intentional acting to reveal the real person, someone who is not trying, someone who feels at home and is comfortable. This is when real natural smiles and gestures appear, ones that family members recognize as the real thing. I cannot count how many times I am photographing someone and go to put my camera down only to turn around and see that my subject, without thought, has repositioned into a perfectly natural pose. It is the slight details that are revealed in these portraits that only the loved ones will recognize and it is these slight details, the squint of an eye or the slight upturn of a crooked smile, that touches the heart.
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