I have been blogging about how I am feeling like I'm not getting what I want out of photography lately and this has led to a lot folks coming forward showing me great support. That is greatly appreciated.
I feel I've been overly dramatic I guess to elicit these responses from people. I'm not discouraged by the quality of my work as being not good, I mean I make bad photographs, we all do, but I have been working really hard to be a better story teller with my images and push myself to 'see' better than I already do.
I am always fascinated by how others tell stories and though I know I do a decent job telling stories, I believe in having many layers of a story in each photograph and I am feeling that I want to improve my layers in my work. I get it sometimes and right now I'm super-conscious of it thats all and I'm really wanting to grow as an artist and photographer.
So I write about these struggles with improving.
I think if we don't try to improve then all we do is produce work, not create it, not find it and work it and not push for communicating an even better story.
One thing that was said on one of my posts (and this was meant to be very supportive and I didn't get upset by it because it came from a very good person trying to give me a good hug of support in a comment--Thank you for that!) was that the work I was down playing were just snapshots made for the newspaper nothing more and nothing less.
Again I know it was written with love in mind but it's sort of at the core of a misunderstanding about photography that needs to be addressed. I, and my colleagues, believe so strongly in the communicative properties of photography that each time we make a picture we are thinking about the story and therefore wanting this story to be told in the best way possible. Clear, beautiful, composed well to help the viewer understand it, capturing the essence of the moment in time and really hitting to the heart of the human experience.
My newspaper work is very very important to me. Even when its sports action, I want to capture the struggle and or grace of the athletes and when I can capture the many layers in one frame the picture goes up even a notch higher.
I love when an image tells a story in an unexpected, but perfect way.
I feel I've been overly dramatic I guess to elicit these responses from people. I'm not discouraged by the quality of my work as being not good, I mean I make bad photographs, we all do, but I have been working really hard to be a better story teller with my images and push myself to 'see' better than I already do.
I am always fascinated by how others tell stories and though I know I do a decent job telling stories, I believe in having many layers of a story in each photograph and I am feeling that I want to improve my layers in my work. I get it sometimes and right now I'm super-conscious of it thats all and I'm really wanting to grow as an artist and photographer.
So I write about these struggles with improving.
I think if we don't try to improve then all we do is produce work, not create it, not find it and work it and not push for communicating an even better story.
One thing that was said on one of my posts (and this was meant to be very supportive and I didn't get upset by it because it came from a very good person trying to give me a good hug of support in a comment--Thank you for that!) was that the work I was down playing were just snapshots made for the newspaper nothing more and nothing less.
Again I know it was written with love in mind but it's sort of at the core of a misunderstanding about photography that needs to be addressed. I, and my colleagues, believe so strongly in the communicative properties of photography that each time we make a picture we are thinking about the story and therefore wanting this story to be told in the best way possible. Clear, beautiful, composed well to help the viewer understand it, capturing the essence of the moment in time and really hitting to the heart of the human experience.
My newspaper work is very very important to me. Even when its sports action, I want to capture the struggle and or grace of the athletes and when I can capture the many layers in one frame the picture goes up even a notch higher.
I love when an image tells a story in an unexpected, but perfect way.
The two pictures above are sports pictures that I took in 2014 and I feel these both rose to the top in what I am getting at.They tell stories in slightly unexpected ways. A wrestler who has a come from behind win gets a reaction out of a usually pretty subdued coach and a little softball player shot very tight on her face showing intense joy after getting the game winning hit! Now these are extremes in emotion but I look for this sort of thing in even the more quiet moments. And they are there in the split seconds of time in-between less obvious moments of personal expression.
As photographers we know these split second instances can make a picture go from a nice picture to the 'The" picture. And when we just miss these we feel flat. That doesn't mean we're not doing a good job, just not the one we know we could be doing.
I'm not concerned that I've lost anything, I am someone who studies my craft and my own work intensely in order to get better at it. I even purposely try to make myself get out of 'doing the same ole thing,' by trying different ways of approaching my subject. It could be a change in style of framing a picture, a change in the type of light I search for, a change in proximity to subject--something in order to push myself to expand my visual communication tool box.
I do this for me and because I teach others.
As photographers we know these split second instances can make a picture go from a nice picture to the 'The" picture. And when we just miss these we feel flat. That doesn't mean we're not doing a good job, just not the one we know we could be doing.
I'm not concerned that I've lost anything, I am someone who studies my craft and my own work intensely in order to get better at it. I even purposely try to make myself get out of 'doing the same ole thing,' by trying different ways of approaching my subject. It could be a change in style of framing a picture, a change in the type of light I search for, a change in proximity to subject--something in order to push myself to expand my visual communication tool box.
I do this for me and because I teach others.
Teaching a class starting this week on basic exposure is an important first class for a photographer who doesn't know much about how to control light and exposure. Great photography isn't about the technical aspects, but you need to know them in order to consistently know how to create solid story telling images.
All of these images are from my favorites of 2014 work at the Meadville Tribune I am collecting now for a slideshow I hope have finished captioning very soon.
Each has a little something to them, the light on the little boy praying on Easter Sunday, the body language of the softball player who does this little pose every time she gets on base, the expressions on the faces of the pageant contestants and the St. Patrick's Day Parade watchers. All little things that you seek to find to help a picture 'feel' and to help a viewer relate better to the story.
In this recent post a photographer I have never met before, but have known of for years chimed in to agree with my assessment and clarify that though not earth shatteringly great images they weren't just snapshots either.
It was nice that he was the one who chimed in because his book PhotoSynthesis was a book I thoroughly enjoyed and have toyed with using as my 'textbook' for my next class that will be more about what makes a good photograph even better and how to approach a subject to get the most out of it as a story of a time.
Each has a little something to them, the light on the little boy praying on Easter Sunday, the body language of the softball player who does this little pose every time she gets on base, the expressions on the faces of the pageant contestants and the St. Patrick's Day Parade watchers. All little things that you seek to find to help a picture 'feel' and to help a viewer relate better to the story.
In this recent post a photographer I have never met before, but have known of for years chimed in to agree with my assessment and clarify that though not earth shatteringly great images they weren't just snapshots either.
It was nice that he was the one who chimed in because his book PhotoSynthesis was a book I thoroughly enjoyed and have toyed with using as my 'textbook' for my next class that will be more about what makes a good photograph even better and how to approach a subject to get the most out of it as a story of a time.
I believe the way he breaks down the process of going about making a picture in an almost spiritual way was important for me to read at the time I first read because it spoke more about the depths of story telling moment and not just capturing the height of an action. It opened up to me a way of looking at my subjects as deep souls with a story of their own to tell and not as someone I need to illustrate with an obvious depiction you'd expect or worse an illustration of who they are based on what a writer written about them.
Each subject needs to have an exploration that comes from the connection to time and place and a photographer must be open to seeing beyond what is preconceived to be the picture. To stay open and explore the story in their own way that broadens the scope of the story.
The book can be purchased through http://www.lifeinamerica.us/photosynthesis
I may actually purchase it for the students of the class when I arrange it, but if you already have a copy I can deduct the cost.
One thing I would love to have happen is that people begin to understand the difference between solid story telling photographs and the minutia of un thought out snaps done on Facebook and twitter and etc…. and really understand that good photographers really work for what they are trying to do with photography and its not just pointing and clicking and its certainly not that they have nice cameras. I've had great meals made on a grate in the woods and really crappy meals made in $30,000 kitchens.
I'll end this with a few more of my favorite images from 2014.
Each subject needs to have an exploration that comes from the connection to time and place and a photographer must be open to seeing beyond what is preconceived to be the picture. To stay open and explore the story in their own way that broadens the scope of the story.
The book can be purchased through http://www.lifeinamerica.us/photosynthesis
I may actually purchase it for the students of the class when I arrange it, but if you already have a copy I can deduct the cost.
One thing I would love to have happen is that people begin to understand the difference between solid story telling photographs and the minutia of un thought out snaps done on Facebook and twitter and etc…. and really understand that good photographers really work for what they are trying to do with photography and its not just pointing and clicking and its certainly not that they have nice cameras. I've had great meals made on a grate in the woods and really crappy meals made in $30,000 kitchens.
I'll end this with a few more of my favorite images from 2014.
A woman loses everything in a house fire this fall.
A football game at the same time as the Thurston Classic.
Commissioners confronted at public open house
All-star action, based on what is shown can you tell who won the game? Clues are given.
D-10 champs.
More to come.