'Swagger' When You Shoot!

Have you ever watched a really good photographer work? What did you notice about how he or she approached the subject? Was there any hesitation with regard to the photographer's ability? Did he or she fumble around when trying to set up a shot, or did the photographer step right into the situation and take control?
My point is that many times people react to the way you approach them when it comes to taking photographs. Maybe an example will say it better. When I was working for the government I took a course in how to teach police officers photography. One of the practical parts of the course was an assignment to take a 4x5 film camera and 'go take some pictures'. We were given 4 hours to take the photos and return. Three of us immediately loaded up our gear and drove to JFK airport (don't try this now!)....
When we returned later that day we had photos of the pilots and flight attendants inside the cockpits of several jetliners... we had many shots of people inside the terminal (especially the pretty ladies!)... and dozens of photos of people who worked in the terminal.
As we did the show and tell later that day most of the other photographers had photos taken outside the classroom. Pictures of cars, the street, etc. Needless to say our photos were discussed in much more detail.
What I'm trying to say is this...even if you don't know what you're doing... act like you do. While it is true that taking decent photographs requires a certain amount of technical expertise, it is also true that all the technical know-how in the world won't make up for a lack of zeal in approaching the subject. It is a fact that no one person knows your shortcomings except you. And if you approach a subject (especially a living, breathing subject!) with misgivings about yourself that will be transmitted to the subject faster than you can say 'cheese'.
I used to teach a class in medical school about touching patients. The idea was that in your profession as a physician it was many times going to be necessary to place your hands on the patient. What I tried to stress was that the ideas a physician has in his or her mind at the time of doing so are transmitted directly to the patient in numerous ways, and as such become very clear to the patient. I demonstrated that by shaking hands with one of the male students in a very matter of fact way... no big deal. Then I would repeat the process... simply shaking hands... but would send a totally different message! In almost every case the student would recoil and pull his hand away!
People 'read' us all the time. It may be at work, at home, on the basketball court... but we are being watched to see 'where we are coming from'. It's part of our protective mechanism as human beings to do so. The same happens when you take on the job of directing a subject in order to make a photograph. That person (no matter what age!) is 'sizing you up'... and most of the time how the photo turns out will depend on how you handled that situation. You can bet most subjects are at least a little self-conscious when they approach a photo shoot... if not just plain scared.
When I say 'swagger when you shoot' I certainly don't mean to say you should behave in a boastful or conceited way... but rather with confidence in yourself and your ability. As you do the feelings you have will be sent straight to your subject. That relationship... between you and the subject... can be an extraordinary thing. It will be different based on each situation and each person you encounter... but it will be stronger if you pay attention to your subject, connect with the subject on both a physical and emotional plane, and exhibit your ability to have faith in yourself.
After all, if you don't have faith in you... who does?

OK....I Was Wrong!

Having just returned from a wonderful workshop experience I have to say my comments earlier about the cost of such an excursion were wrong. Not only will my photography benefit from this experience but my life as well.
I had my doubts when I signed up for the Santa Fe class. Would it be worth the time and money? How would my work compare to that of my peers? It was my first workshop and so I had many unanswered questions about the experience as a whole. I was fortunate enough when I first arrived to read a small book of essays by Brooks Jensen entitled "Letting Go of the Camera". One of the essays was about workshops and what to expect from them as well as how to approach the experience as a new participant. After reading it I knew I had some decisions to make about how I was going to handle a new situation.
One of the first things I had to do was decide how I was going to deal with the idea of being in a class with so many creative people who shared my interest in photography and who probably were much better at their craft than I was. I guess I could have tried to be competitive, but life has taught there are always going to be those who have achieved a higher level of expertise than me no matter what the endeavor. Okay then...maybe I'll just be a fly on the wall and soak up all I can by osmosis....wrong! You can't do that with folks who are engaging and intelligent. They just naturally draw you in their direction and feed your hunger for 'connections' with real people. Finally I decided maybe it would be wise just to 'go with the flow' and let events take their natural course.
The truth is once you decide it isn't a competitive situation the rules are already set for you. It's going to be fun, exciting, educational, interesting, exasperating, tiring, and on and on and on....in other words exactly what I had hoped for. And you're going to end up engaged in the situation as a whole experience....one that filters through you and can change you at the core if you trust it and let it happen.
Who would want it any other way?
I can't remember the last time I woke up anxious to face the new day with the enthusiasm I felt during my stay in Santa Fe. I think the experience may have even rolled back a few years! To be able to carve out a few days in such a creative and enjoyable atmosphere is like cool rain on your face. You just want to stand in the open with your arms out-stretched and your face toward the heavens and say "Hit me with your best shot!"
Did I mention the people I met there? :-)
To Edie, Erin, Jennifer, Dawn, and John I say thank you....thank you for your kindness, your warmth, your knowledge, your humor, your patience, your unselfish nature,....and most of all thank you for just being you.
My life is richer for having met you.
How much is that worth?

"Dancing with the Devil"

I have put off writing this essay for a while for a number of different reasons...but I think its time has come. Watching some of the activity on various web sites has led me in this direction...
I have thought for some time the computer and all its associated activities has been both one of the greatest boons to mankind and at the same time one of the worst things that could have happened to our society. Like a lot of things it appears to me to be a two-edged sword.
Put aside the patients I have seen in my practice whose lives were ruined by the chat room experts who draw others into their fantasy world and know exactly what to say to control them. Put aside the porn sites that pry couples apart and isolate people from the real world. Put aside the "You Tube" idiots who do anything for a moment's fame. Let's concentrate rather on the well-meaning folks who think they are doing the rest of us a favor by just existing and sharing their mantras and paradigms with us....
I've said previously that the internet provided unequalled opportunities for growth in many areas...especially areas such as photography...where the experience and knowledge of others can move us forward at a faster than normal rate. I still believe that...but only with certain caveats.
Take for instance the recent critique I made of a photograph on one web site. I gave what I thought was a kind, honest appraisal of a photo...not the highest rating but not the lowest either. Immediately...and I do mean immediately!...I was accosted by someone (not the photographer who took the photo...) who berated me for posting a rating he considered too low. He further stated it was necessary for us all to be 'agreeable' (whatever the heck that means!) and that we were members of a 'club' where giving less than glowing ratings of a photograph could greatly discourage newcomers and seriously hold back their growth. In essence he was saying posting lower than average ratings was a no-no. I wanted to ask how it was fair to new members (or old members for that matter) to be dishonest and inaccurate in our critiques but I chose not to do so. In my experience these folks aren't interested in any real discussion...they just want to be heard. Talk about 'dumbing down' the learning process! What a load of horse poop! The end result was that I resolved not to go back to that site and critique any more photographs.
Sound like sour grapes on my part? Maybe so...as I said I've been thinking about this for a while and something did prompt me to write it. But truthfully? I think I'm just making an observation on the current state of affairs. Let's be honest...look around at what happens every day! It's not just this one instance that causes me pain...such things are bound to happen when one can hide behind the anonymity of the internet...it's the repitition of this type of behavior I see over and over again that distresses me...
Somehow in the ether of this electronic milieu we have developed an elite vanguard of those who...most without the slightest authority or expertise...decide what is right and wrong and force it upon themselves to 'police' the activities of the evidently untrained and hopelessly lost rest of us! These folks don't even claim to be experts...they just ram ahead with no forethought for the consequences of their actions. How discouraging! And I know the same thing applies on other sites devoted to any number of vocations or avocations. I hear and see the same complaints from others.
Oh I know....this isn't a new happening! And it won't go away...time has proven that. But at least I can vent and raise my own awareness that the internet with all its associated goodness also at times shows the worst of us all. The ego, the desire to be someone else or at least exist in another place (even if it's unreal!), the selfish nature of so many people, the desire to be on top (at the expense of others), etc., etc., etc...
Like so many things this two-edged sword cuts both ways...so be careful. Dancing with the devil is exciting...but also dangerous. Keep your wits about you...judge everything based on fact and not pseudoscience...parse everything you see and read through real world facts and judgements. In other words....partake, but keep your eyes open and your head up!

"Are You A 'Pro'?

As a continuation of my previous comments on aging and artistic growth I have come to ask myself a few questions about the current state of photography and what appears to be a somewhat widely held theory that anyone can almost instantly become a successful ‘pro’ photographer. I’m reminded of the question posted on one of the forums I frequent where it was asked “if anyone could explain what a zoom lens was?”…. and the answer was needed quickly as the person asking was about to undertake a second ‘wedding job’ and might want to purchase such a lens. At first it seemed ludicrous that someone with such woefully lacking knowledge of basic photography would undertake selling such a service….but then I began to think about the context in which the question was asked.
I started my avocation of photography with a Brownie Hawkeye at 9 years of age, and have been taking photographs for over 50 years. And in no sense of the word do I consider myself a professional. I have often put off growing in this area because I simply did not have the space to set up a darkroom. (I have just recently thrown away an Omega 4x5 and a Besseler 35mm enlarger….having moved them with me numerous times for the last 20 years and seldom using them!) Now I find that anyone can undertake the most advanced forms of photography by applying the newer digital equipment. A laptop computer has become a darkroom! No more waiting for the film to be developed …sending back for enlargements and special crops…we get all that instantly! And it isn’t much of a leap from ‘instant photos’ to ‘instant professional photographer’….especially in our society where yesterday is almost a day too late.
We drink instant coffee, have instant rebates, instant messaging, speed dialing, voice dialing, redialing, high speed internet, high speed highways, high speed search engines, and on and on ad nauseam. I’ve come to expect in my medical practice that most people in this country just plain refuse to believe I can’t make them well in short order no matter what the problem. If my medicine hasn’t achieved some modicum of success in just a short while it’s often considered a failure. We have become a people expecting everything to be instantly available in almost every area of our lives. Why not success? If one can have a photo instantly on the back of a relatively cheap camera, why not photograph weddings and tout oneself as a ‘pro’?
Sorry….but I personally don’t think this is a plausible expectation. Unfortunately I believe it has become too easy to lead ourselves into just such warped thinking. Go to some of the photographic websites where critiques abound….look at the ‘instant experts’ as they give paragraph after paragraph of advice (often praising work well below what any professional would consider adequate!) as though they have the ability to qualify something as good or bad. Based on what? How quickly they reply? Most times politics and human nature seem to have more to do with such critiques than any actual qualifications on the part of the reviewer. Nevertheless, one can be convinced his or her work is ‘superb’ or ‘stunning’…when it may be woefully lacking in any of several areas.
Maybe the first order of business is to define exactly what a ‘pro’ is! Webster has one good definition…a professional is someone ”characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession”. I guess a professional could also be defined as one who gains financially from a particular vocation…but from the question mentioned earlier it appears these two definitions would then be at odds. The only way both definitions could apply is if the ‘technical and ethical standards’ were lowered enough to provide the uninformed easier access to the rank of ‘pro’. Personally I’m not ready to do that just yet. There are far too many folks out there working their tails off trying to master a craft that takes years to fully understand. Besides, if I’m going to have surgery I want the doc who’s been doing it for 30 years! My car deserves a mechanic who has enough experience to repair it completely and safely. If someone is going to photograph my daughter’s wedding I want to know I’m dealing with a person who has the miles behind him or her to handle the job.
So what do we do? Let it slide? Lower the bar? I suggest being honest when someone asks for a critique. That can be done in a kind and supportive way, and is actually much more helpful in the long run. If someone critiques your work look at theirs…make a judgment about the position from which his or her wisdom flows. Choose a long-standing and well-respected professional organization and educate yourself about what they expect of their ‘professional’ members. I would also suggest we each ask ourselves if we measure up to the definition of such a ‘professional’ in every sense of the word. And we should ask that question over and over again throughout our photographic endeavors. Sometimes that introspection is tough, but the rewards are great! So are you a ‘pro’? Do you measure up? I’m not and I don’t….but I’ll keep plugging away at it…because it’s worth it! It can still mean something to be called a ‘pro’….and I believe it should!

"Not Older...Just Better!"

I was listening to a pod cast by Brooks Jensen the other day where he talked about turning fifty years old. He said he was depressed, feeling old, etc., and decided to review some information he had gathered as a young person about the age of certain famous photographers when they published their most famous works. What I found so amazing was the ages involved were all what we might consider ‘old’….in fact some of the best works of people like Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz were done in their 60’s, 70’s, and beyond! Cool!
Then I asked myself why? What about being older seems to foster the ability to capture images that express so much in such a timeless way? And here’s what I think….maybe just a bunch of baloney, or maybe not….
There are basically two ways to photograph something. We can photograph for our own purpose (whatever that may be), or we can photograph something for what it is. Let me explain. When we photograph for ‘us’ we have a specific goal in mind. It might be to complete a contract…say a wedding job or sports event. It might be a subject we think could bring us to the forefront on the critique forums and heap the praise of our peers on our heads. It might be something we could hang on the wall and watch people swoon as they view our ‘work’, and so on. In any case we let the end result dictate what we do as we take the photograph because the end result is the reason for the photograph.
When we photograph something for what it is we photograph it for its own sake. The reason for the photograph has nothing to do with ‘us’ per se. Rather we are there to use what skills we have to capture ‘it’…and we do that if for no other reason than because ‘it’ deserves to be captured. One interesting thing about doing this sort of photography is that it can happen serendipitously….i.e. the war photojournalist who is snapping away and suddenly realizes he has a photo of Marines on Iwo Jima raising the American flag. But more often than not these photographs are the exception…not the rule. They may only account for one photograph out of thousands.
So how does a photographer see something for what it really is? I think to really see it I have to bring it into my consciousness…my psyche…let it roll around…and somehow let all that ‘I’ am tell me what ‘it’ really is! And that I think is the point…that what ‘I’ am determines what I see. I am what I am….which is all that makes me unique and individual. It is all the experiences of my life…lived each moment…the highs and lows…the hurts and pleasures…everything that has brought me to this particular place and time.
So…..(the pay off!)… how could a person with little or no life experience ‘see’ something with the same degree of discernment and clarity as one who has lived longer (and thus experienced more)? Is it possible that as we age we use the depth of our selves to discern things more deeply…more completely? (Yes yes…I know….there are young people who do amazing work….but really those who do so repeatedly seem to be exceptions…and once again not the rule). So I guess my theory is that if the objective of one’s work is to take a photograph of a particular ‘something’ for it’s intrinsic value…then that intrinsic value is best seen and appreciated by one whose years allow the full depth of that ‘something’ to show through. One who can do so does a great service for the rest of us as viewers of photographic work.
There! I said it….and I can’t wait to get older because my photographs should just get better!

Finding Inspiration

One of the hardest things for me to accomplish as a photographer is to stay inspired to shoot photographs. The first question one might ask is “if it’s hard to stay inspired maybe I shouldn’t do it?” Unfortunately as human beings we seem to adapt to this attitude in almost anything we do. It doesn’t matter what the situation before us…eventually we become bored, or less than enthusiastic, and it gets harder and harder to remain inspired.
A recent article by Alain Briot has put forth a few ways to try to let inspiration enter our consciousness. One is by putting ourselves in a location where inspiration comes naturally…i.e. the Grand Canyon (come on now…haven’t you ever said to yourself “I could take photographs like that if I lived there!”) Places seem to me to have a ‘spirit’, and many times if we are open to that spirit we can let the location inspire us to a new level of vision and creativeness.
Certain people seem to be able to inspire, just by their very nature. Have you noticed how people behave when a young child (or better yet newborn baby!) is brought into the room? The whole room turns attention to the newcomer, and inspiration once again can flow from such a situation.
How about a new piece of gear? My photographer friend Bea recently got me interested in pinhole photography. Nothing like a new idea or new piece of equipment to make me get off my rear and become inspired! (See my first pinhole photo above...)
How about music? It’s really very difficult to listen to certain types of music without becoming inspired. If you doubt this, take a young child and turn on music with a good sound and beat….before long you’ll see a response in the form of movement or voice! The ‘Mozart Effect’ has been pretty well established by scientific studies…and can be put to good use in this situation.
Finally….how about just giving yourself the time and space to become inspired? How often in this day and age do we stop long enough to hear those kinds of voices? No telling what comes our way each day that could have been most inspiring…yet gets lost in the everyday splatter of our lives.
We are all capable of amazing things, and by putting ourselves in a position to let inspiration enter our consciousness we can much better reach toward our real potential. That's the 'gas' that keeps the motor running! It's not as much a luxury as a necessity if we want to remain involved and be creative to the point of moving forward. Happy shooting!

$2000.00 for a Workshop? Gimme a Break!

Is it just me, or have some of the photographers teaching workshops gone totally overboard on their prices?
I would dearly love to go to a workshop, but the cheapest I have found that appears to be worth going to is a thousand dollars!
How does that work? Is the photography market so bad that these folks make their money from workshops alone? I mean come on! It’s nothing nowadays to find workshops that cost two thousand dollars or more….some even higher! Plus the expense of travel and room and board! I find it really hard to believe that two or three days in a class of 20 or more would give me a decent return on that kind of investment.
Is this type of thing intended for the pro who makes a living doing photography? Maybe the price isn’t too high if you can take the cost of the workshop off your taxes…
I’ve commented before on the pro who wants to sell a fine art printing ‘how-to’ CD for eight hundred dollars! I’d have to sell a lot of fine art prints to make that worthwhile!
I dunno…maybe if I was famous as a photographer and thought I could make a living teaching what I knew I would feel the same way…..but I would hope not…and who decides who’s ‘really good’ and who isn’t?
Even if the photographer is great at taking photos he or she might be lousy at teaching! You can darn sure bet the testimonials they use aren’t going to be about how lousy the course was!
Whew! Thanks…I needed to get that off my mind…now back to the computer to look for a workshop I can afford!