Taking it to the streets!
I have recently been feeling a little stuck regarding personal work and direction, and also feeling tired of allowing myself to fall into the status quo of the types of images my Instagram feed is flooded with. I think there are a ton of really really talented photographers that are showing the world some beautiful photographs of really beautiful areas. I also feel like it has become super accessible to get out and take really gorgeous images. As much as it may appear frustrating to people who have been around awhile, like moi, lol, it is actually cool, and in a round about way, a good thing! Having so many players in the pool, requires everyone to rise up and stay on their “A” game, in addition to trying to stand out in a world full of excess!
I love photography, that is a given. I love being able to evoke emotion with an image, tell a story with a collection of images, show the world the beauty that *I* see and sometimes discover in people. This collection of ideas has always been my driving force. Capturing people interacting with their environment, subsequently telling the story of them, and allowing someone who wasn’t there to feel, is my ultimate.
I have felt a need lately to take a deep breath, take a step back, and really assess where I stand as far as my focus, artistic vision and personal goals. For business ventures, I shoot portraits mainly, but have delved into other commercial commissions and projects. I love this. Let me emphasize, I Love LOVE this. For personal work, I have become reconnected with my roots of film photography. I love love LOVE THIS! It is a whole different cat than digital. I adore BOTH forms of photography, and they both have high value based on what your end goal is.
I recently purchased a 40+ year old manual film camera, to add to my line up, and am enjoying slowing down a little. Film in general, but particularly on a camera like I bought, requires you to be super intentional. It requires you to think a little longer before you click the shutter or advance the frame. You have 24 or 36 chances each roll, to make a statement. Now, just like shooting digitally, not every shot is a banger. I have plenty of images from a roll that I tried to achieve something with, and fell short. But, I guarantee that I have put more effort into truly making an image, rather than just clicking through 10 -20 frames at mach speed (which I cannot lie, I LOVE that feature on my digital for the right situation lol) and picking out the best of the bunch. I don’t want this to come off as criticizing the value and advantages to being able to shoot digitally. I love how I shoot with my DSLR. What I am feeling right now is the desire to not be excessive when I don’t need to be, and come up with 36 well thought out images, instead of 300 (which is actually a low number) that I will typically shoot on a paid session (which is perfectly acceptable btw, and is just the nature of the digital arena). Therefore, for personal work, I am pushing myself to break away from what I have been doing the last 13 years or so and rediscover my joy of creating something a little differently.
I have very much enjoyed getting out and about, and shooting what catches my eye. I am amazed at how much actually does catch my eye in a way that it hasn’t in years. I am going to share some of those images from my past couple of rolls, which started as a personal project to creatively document my day. I hope you enjoy the feeling you get from seeing this collection. You may notice some differences in the images I share. Is everything as crystal clear and sharp as digital images? Nope. Is everything beautifully color corrected and perfectly composed? That would be a big fat no! lol One of my favorite images from this set completely missed the focus where I wanted it, but I had one chance, only one shot, to get what I saw as we quickly drove past the scene that I wanted to capture. Do I wish it was a little more clear? Sure! …but the story it tells is worth far more to me than tack sharp focus and perfect composition! THAT to me, is what photography is about.
I hope you enjoy!!
I would like to make a mini book out of these to document my inaugural journey back to basics. Back to focusing on intentionality. Back to slowing down and not feeling so compelled to capture everything in sight. I REALLY like what this is re-teaching me, and what it is helping me learn about myself, as well as help me develop even further in my art and direction.
People are my thing. I would have a person in every shot if I could. I am also learning to embrace non people places and spaces too, to help me grow and tell a story without human emotion present in the frame. I am up for the challenge and look forward to sharing more with you in the future!
All images are straight scans from the negative with no touch ups or alterations…with the exception of the black and white image which I did convert due to REALLY crappy white balance and lighting lol.
Do you have a fun personal project you are working on? I would love to hear from you! I love learning from others, as well as sharing my own experiences!
Until next week…
<3