I’ve already given you the answer, but not an explanation…and it’s the interpretation of this that defines me – my photography…perhaps not you – yours will be different. We are distinct, you and I and what passes for acceptable to me may not for you, what I feel comfortable with may make you feel uneasy. We view the same scene differently, no matter how small, and what it holds for me means something else for you, perhaps.
If we all shot the same scenes the same way, post edited in the same manner photography would be a boring place and not the rich world that we know it is. In my last post I mentioned stamping your personality on your work and it is in fact our individual personalities that are the key here.
What are the motives for your photography? I frequently ask this question of myself…now, in days long past I’m not sure that I did ask myself this question, in fact, I’m quite sure I didn’t ask myself a lot of questions…I did pretty much as I pleased. It might not have been a bad thing, I moved around without constraint, not a great deal of thought or planning. I was living in the moment, and so was my photography.
Allow me to start in the days of my youth, shooting with a manual focus camera, loaded with film, those days long ago when I still had a full head of hair and bags of energy, but not much thought or consideration – life was a lot easier. It seems to me as I have progressed through life, I have become ever increasingly burdened by countless things, they have taken over much of my time and thinking - many of them share the same name…responsibility, and let me say for the record, I don’t really care for it! But it’s there and it weighs down upon me, as it does for so many of us. It is part of life and we accept it and learn to cope and deal with it as we gain experience and knowledge…well some of us do, I’m still barging around with not too much thought (and a lot less energy), grab my camera and we’re off! Somewhere, where will it be today?
Jokes and all aside, life does seem like it was a lot simpler in days past, although there is a great of deal of automation and there is a good deal more convenience now, I think life has become complicated. Has the same become of photography?
In past posts I have written about going out to shoot, usually alone or, occasionally in the company of one or perhaps two people. Before I go on, I’d like you to think about the previous few paragraphs in this post, as they will play a part in this story.
As already mentioned, we are all different and for the purpose of this post – the secret of my photography, we’ll concentrate on me!
I do like people, I enjoy good company, going out with friends has always been enjoyable and indeed on many, many past occasions when I have gone with family and friends, I have a camera with me. It’s probably an odd thing for those I know not to see me with a camera. Going out on my own, with the sole intention of taking photographs has probably yielded most of the best photographs I have taken. Yes, there have definitely been exceptions, I can think a goodly number, but being on my own has yielded the greatest number of successful images. Simply put, there are no distractions from anyone you happen to be with, you don’t need to be mindful and considerate of others (I will come back to this), you are on your own – except for your camera…and your thoughts. Go where your feet take you, you may have a plan, there may be an event or something in particular you’ve been wanting to photograph, it is solely up to you.
My long-standing friends Pete and Steve, who are keen photographers, are the only exceptions to me – there have been a few others I have been out shooting with, but Pete and Steve, we’ve been doing this together for nearly forty years. There is an unspoken understanding between us.
One more exception here I’d like to mention, is my long-suffering wife – she has been considerate of me when we’ve been on trips and holidays and it has been a balancing act for me. It is a hard line to keep to, that’s why I prefer shooting alone…and this will be put to the test later summer.
I don’t want to go into it too much in this post, as I feel a follow-up about being “in the zone” will be useful and relevant. Later this summer I’ll be off to England to see my family and for my oldest nephew’s wedding, there will also be a short trip to Portugal with my wife and daughter – so a test is coming! There will also be some constraints, when I’m in London – I will be trying for one or two days out to shoot, hopefully with Steve and perhaps Pete, who no longer lives in London. Because of our short time in London and family considerations, my time won’t be my own – there’s a good deal of family, spread out over an area that makes seeing them harder, who I will look forward to seeing, but it all takes time! The flip side is that I may have the opportunity to take a few family portraits, but as I have mentioned previously – that’s not always an easy thing to do.
When I think of my recent photography, we’ll concentrate on that for now, pretty much all of it has been shot when I’m out on my own, some of it, it has been planned – some of which has been projects, sometimes there have been days when I’ve just followed my feet – but all of it on my own. My thoughts are my own, distracted by no-one else, allowed to go un-tethered to follow whatever I might be thinking of at the time.
Times are changing and shooting anywhere (especially where there are people) these days can have additional factors to think about…everyone has a cell phone and no one seems to notice or care about people taking photos with one. Whip out a camera however, especially a large DSLR, point it at a child and you could be in all sorts of trouble. I use that as an example, but you understand, I’m sure, there could be so many different circumstances. There have been a few occasions when I have had a confrontation with someone who thinks I’ve taken their photograph and has voiced their objection…it can be a little worrying, it’s has never come to blows. These are times when shooting with someone else, or just having company can be a reassurance. Getting older and not being as fit and as healthy as I used to be is another consideration now…I can’t be out, as I used to be, all day.
All things considered though; I prefer shooting on my own…before I end this post, I will relate a little about a trip to Mexico and another to Montreal…a few years ago with my family. We travelled to Mexico for ten days and I would regularly go out on my own with the sole purpose of taking photographs without distraction…I did get a little lost once. But alone I was far more able to engage with my subjects, mostly people and though some of what I shot was strictly street photography I did stop to ask people if I could take their portraits, which I found more fulfilling than street photography.
When my wife and I travelled to Montreal a couple of year ago, I would go out early in the morning, by myself and do an hour to ninety minutes alone, where I would capture as many street portraits and other things I found interesting, as I could. Returning back when she was awake and ready, we would go out for the rest of the day together, I carrying my camera and my wife armed with some patience.
One last thing…I am never satisfied, whatever I have shot, no matter how good an image I feel it is, it is not enough. I am always questioning my photography and that, if you allow it, can be a lonely place!
That’s my story then…my not-so-secret ingredient is “loneliness”, preferring to shoot alone and always thinking and questioning…now you know the how and why. How much thought have you given to your photography and style? Whether shooting in a busy city or out in the woods, I am never “alone”, for indeed, the world is full of life and I just haven’t seen nearly enough!