This was crazy. It felt crazy. Drive down to Houston for a workshop and then back when I was fighting something? No one to talk to on the drive? Well, except for the usual conversations I have with other drivers *cough*semitryingtogetinfrontofme*cough*
It was worth it, crazy fun.
It was one of those brow-furrowed-deeply workshops. It’s what I do when I have to listen because I’m trying to mentally digest. And there was much to digest! Fer Juaristi is a great shooter and he is not hesitant about sharing what he knows and how he sees things.
Sarah and Adam of In Tandem Photography were great to work with.
Big thing: it’s an issue of distillation. Take out what’s unnecessary and keep what conveys what you want the image to say. Keep things visually quiet so what you want to say comes through loud and clear. That’s me paraphrasing, probably poorly!
This next image was hard for me to get. It very much involved leaving my comfort zone.
Normally, I would have worked with a 50mm lens. What I do with a 50mm lens is tend to keep it right at my eye and very rarely to I change my vantage point. But I have this hate/love/hate/etc. relationship with 24mm. A wide angle lens like this is so out of my comfort zone. On top of that, being assertive enough to use it the way it wants to be used—up close and personal—was a challenge as well. It’s very difficult to “distill” the image down when there’s so much in your frame. But part of my goal for the workshop is to get out of the zone, to push myself and change my point of view.
I am so glad I’m not the only one who does this. It took me long enough to learn that being on your back is infinitely better than laying on my tummy. If your back is dirty, you don’t have to see the expression on the faces of those wondering why.
This next one? Madness to someone like me who shoots bright, high-key images.
Photographer and good sport, Matt of Mattthew Johnston Studios.
This last one? I am not sure if it is quiet enough. I am waiting to see if it grows on me but I am open to opinions so I am putting it out there.
Thanks, Fer. It was a good day.
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