Hello everyone! This is the introduction to the article. but since I’ve done so many of these I’m starting to run out of things to say… I hope you enjoy my photo ramblings!
School was almost finished by this point in time. I was shooting a lot of fashion shows and events. Most of the images I took that were pretty standard, but every once in a while I’d look towards the audience to get reaction shots. This was the fun part of the job. It’s always fascinated to see how people react to being presented to.
Models walking along the catwalk are a bit easier because the pathway’s predetermined, but with the audience you need to be a bit quicker. It’s hard to tell when a good photograph will appear when your only indication are the small little movements that people make. Part of being a good photographer involves reading these motions and trying to predict what’s going to happen next. It’s a mental game, you need to pretend the subject is going to move their arms or someone else will enter the frame based upon what you previously see (a lot like a boxer or matador does when reading the movements of their opponent). you need to be prepared beforehand to know whether or not that change in composition will create a final image that’s balanced.
This next image shows just about everything I love about the Halifax Harbor. This particular kind fog where the sun is just starting to break through, while still creating shadows, is undoubtedly my favorite weather to be in. And the Halifax Harbor has plenty of it. Another reason I love the waterfront is because of the people. Perhaps there’s something indicative of being around a beautiful place and enjoying the company of strangers. Beautiful places makes everyone feel more familial, it makes people want to congregate and be in the same place together.
This image was used in my “Find Yourself” exhibition last year. I was pretty lukewarm on this image until Chris, the person who owned the frame shop/gallery “picture it in a frame” told me he really enjoyed it. Although I’m the kind of person that prefers to only show images that make me happy, it’s equally important not to curate your work to death.
The images that other people respond to are rarely my favorites. Maybe I’ma bad judge of my own work, or maybe there’s something else to it. Perhaps the very act of being a photographer makes me a little bit blind to what makes a good image. There are lots of artists in the world whose work doesn’t affect me but have garnered tons of respect from other people. I’ve found that whenever I talk among photographers they tend to discuss the composition and technical qualities of an image. But the images that really hit an emotional note are the ones that have had some kind of honest to god feeling attached to the experience of creation. The tools are just the medium through which to express, nothing to get caught up in.
This image probably becomes worse the more I talk about it, so I’ll just let it be what it is.
This last photo was taken at the Halifax Library. At the time I was really inspired by Paul Strand, a man whose work often depicted light and shadow along everyday objects like plates and chairs. Emotion in photography doesn’t necessarily mean you need to make photographs with subject matter that makes you want to cry. Sometimes it can be as simple as enjoying the way the light hits objects. Photographers are painters with light, so it’s good to practice appreciating light.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my photo ramblings.
-Jeremy