Greetings
to all. Here is eNewsletter 9. I hope you are
doing well. And let me wish you all an upcoming
warm but not-too-hot summer. |
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The
Fairs
 For
many years I have been working on a photo essay
of Connecticut's agricultural
fairs. There is
an amazing variety of things going on at these
fairs, and
that is what I have been trying to capture.
The
purpose of
a photo essay or a documentary
is to create a group of
photos that, together, tell a story. But each photo must
convey
its own small narrative too. Here are three photos that
I think do just that.
On
several occasions, I had asked owners to take hold
of their pigs and pose for me.  Always,
the pigs were too squirmy, and I never got any useful
shots. But
this time was different... I actually had
a willing pig. I was able to try a few different poses, and
the pig did not even seem to mind me crawling close
to him. After a little while, however,
he realized
he had had enough and
wiggled
away from the young lady.
I was
wandering through
the midway
when I
came across what looked to be a family on a
ferris wheel. I followed
them with my camera as they spun around on the ride.
The results were that the group was sharply
focused and the background softly blurred.  But
the really neat thing
about this
photo
is how differently each person seems to be reacting
to the ride.
It was
getting late
in the day and people were boarding
buses to
be driven back to the parking lots. I liked
how the ambient light from the fair combined with the
bus's own lights. So, I set up my tripod, mounted
my camera, changed to a wide
angle lens, took a few light readings, and started
snapping away. |
Bag
vs.Vest
It
would be great if I could head off to a photojournalism
assignment with nothing more than one camera and a
few rolls of
film in my pocket. But
the fact is I need to bring extra
lenses, camera bodies, strobes, batteries, filters,
etc, etc,
etc. So, the question is, "What
is the best way to carry all this stuff?"
To
me there are pretty much only two choices: a camera
bag and a photographer's vest. With a bag, you
can quickly check its compartments for
what you need. You can place a bag on the
ground while shooting and not be encumbered by it at
all. But, you do have to keep track of it. Being that
bags are designed for portability means they can be
delectable targets for thieves.
The
nice thing about a vest is that it stays on you all
the time, and the weight of the equipment is evenly
distributed around your body. Unfortunately, that weight
can become bothersome after awhile. A vest may
limit your range of movement too.
Whether
I use a bag or a vest depends on my assignment. In
fact, sometimes I will use both
at the same time!
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Pink
and Gold
Those
two colors, pink and gold, really jump out for me when
I look at this picture. When I originally set up
the photo, I thought there might be too much pink.
So, to help
break up
the solid mass of his shirt, I
had the
subject
wear a
tie for
some of the shots. But, when seeing the finished
photos, it was the tieless ones, and thus the large
area of
unbroken
color, that
I liked the best.
 A
single strobe was used for illumination. It was placed
directly on the floor and bounced into a reflector. We
then experimented with the density of the shadow as well
as where we wanted it to fall on the paper background.
The low-angle lighting and the subject's somber expression work together
to create a mildly mysterious scene. Also, I think having only one prop,
the stool, gives the image a real clean look. All in all, my feeling
is that the elements come together for an interesting and dramatic photograph.
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Quick
Tip
Take
a  break
from color and shoot some BxW film sometime.
The experience can be quite an eye opener.
It is amazing how bright colors can mask
a really mediocre picture. Without color,
good composition becomes so much more
critical. If you do not have a darkroom,
you can purchase a type of BxW film that
can be processed in most one-hour photo
labs. You also can shoot with normal
color negative film and have it printed
in BxW.
A
Joke
Two campers are walking through the forest when they suddenly encounter a
grizzly bear! The bear rears up on its hind legs and lets out a terrifying
roar. The campers freeze in their tracks.
The first camper whispers, "I'm sure glad I wore my running shoes today."
"It doesn't matter what kind of shoes you're wearing, you're not gonna outrun
that bear," answers the second. "I
don't have to outrun the bear", exclaims the
first, "I just have to outrun YOU". |
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