 Happy 4x6 anniversary! This is my #1 pick of the last year. Of all the shots that I've posted, this is the one that I keep returning to and studying. It's not the most pretty one, in fact I perfectly understand that there's a good segment of folks who are saying "I just don't get it....". That's OK, it's just photography. I love Seinfeld, but a relative hates it. I love that there's lots of emotions in these faces, shot just a few moments before a horse race began. While watching the horses load up, I looked to my right and saw that this blank wall would give me a nice out-of-the-ordinary composition of the crowd. I framed up the lonely boy standing there, which I think gives it a sort of juxtapostion with the crowd and all their expressions that run from animated to bored. I have never tired of looking at it, both in trying to figure out just why I like it, as well as looking at each of the individuals. Awhile back, I had a need to put together an article similar to those "About you" articles that some other blog sites run. It was never used, so I thought it would be put to good use on this anniversary day of a full year of posting photographs. I once went a full year without eating red meat, but I think this photoblog thing was a bit harder. Thanks for stopping by during the last year. Will be back Monday with new stuff. Drinks are on the house tonight. ********************************************************************* If you are interested, here's some history: Tell us about your first camera: When I was small, I had a big interest in Poloraid cameras- although my parents never bought me one. Probably was a good thing, since I would have shot up a whole month's allowance in a few moments. I never did get over that, and this most likely led to a conversation with a college roommate on one boring Friday night in 1978. As it turns out, we both had always wanted to do photography. He had worked a bit before returning to school and had a Visa card, so we jumped in the car and bought a camera. Just like that, I had access to a Yashica 35mm. Neither one of us knew how to work it or how to make good compositions, but we did a lot of driving around in the horse farm areas of Kentucky while learning. It was a lot of fun, shooting at least a roll a week. Later on, I had to do an internship in different parts of the state, so my parents bought me an early graduation present- a Pentax K1000 outfit from JCPenney. The K1000 was perhaps the best camera ever built for that amount of money. After more than 25 years, I still use the lens occasionally. We would shoot exclusively slide film because a 36 exposure roll could be developed for $2.00. I credit the K1000 and slide film to teaching me exposure, since the camera was fully manual and the slide film didn't give you much latitude in error. Slide-shows of the latest rolls were a weekly source of entertainment during college. How did your photography develop: After graduation, I met my wife who also loved to roam around taking pictures as much as I did. In 1982, we took a college class in basic darkroom photography then another one on lighting, both taught by a wonderful fellow named Bill Sadler. After that, we put together a darkroom and joined a camera club at the Huntington Museum of Art, where we remained active for probably 8 years. The camera club made the biggest impact on my hobby, up until the invention of the photoblog. At the club, we had two competitions each and every month with meetings held every 2 weeks. The first meeting was devoted to color and b&w prints and the second meeting was a slide competition. The structure of the meeting was to review the pictures and socialize, then show each one individually while casting votes. We would have refreshments while the scores were added up, then each picture was again displayed while the members gave their critique. The conversation included both honest compliments and brutal criticisms. Often, you didn't want to own up to having taken the picture! After the camera club, I spent the 90s taking family pictures. Lots of them. These are the most important pictures you can take. Who would you say had the most influence on your photographic style: First, I'd have to say that I have no style and little talent- those belong to my wife! I have never considered myself an artist and probably never will. If you look through my pictures, you'll see that most of them basically are what I'd call "found" pictures, pretty straightforward captures of a subject. I'm constantly amazed with the compositions of other photobloggers who have a lot of talent in creating pictures and seeing the unexpected within the usual scenes that all the rest of us look at everyday. I would have to say that the folks who influenced my photography the greatest were the veteran camera club members of the 1980s. These guys were great, each had his/her own style, and didn't mind to give you an honest opinion of how to make your photography better. I still sometimes hear their voices in my head when I take a picture. Willis Cook is an accomplished local photographer who was a fierce critic. In life, the folks who always praise your work aren't the ones that you most want to please- it's the one who always eggs you on to do better. Willis was the one that you most wanted to please at the camera club. I still can hear him preaching "if you want a pretty picture at (insert a tourist spot of your choosing here), then go to the gift shop and buy a postcard. You need to look for something different in your pictures!" Here's an article about Willis: Huntington Quarterly - Willis Cook The late Don Howland was an inspiration to keep your photography broad and expansive. With most photographers, the viewers eventually get to the point that they can identify the photographer by their style. With Don, it was never that way. He had a way of seeing good compositions no matter where he was. I once was at his house and he was going through a stack of matted pictures- tossing them here and there. To me, he had more good pictures in that stack than a person could expect in a whole lifetime. Every style you could think of, landscapes, portraits, you name it. He was the most versatile photographer in the club and I was very sad when I heard he was gone. Lloyd Moore is a retired local lawyer who made what I would call "people pictures" with everything that ranged from an 8x10 view camera to a fully automatic 35mm Minolta. His pictures definitely tell a story. Out of all photographers, even worldwide, I believe I most enjoy looking at his pictures. Although I rarely do people pictures outside of family, I learned from Lloyd that the best pictures tell a story. Pretty pictures can be very good ones, but the best always tell a story either through the pictures themselves or from within the viewer's mind and memories. As Jessica Campbell (a friend and coworker) says, the pictures need to speak to you on some level. In retirement now, both from law and photography, Lloyd has published a very nice book of his photography. A good selection is online with both the online-edition and the real book looking very much like a photoblog. Here's some pictures from the book: Face to Face preview: Lloyd Moore Here's shots from his exhibition: Face to Face: Preparing the exhibit An lastly, a nice video: Face to Face: Documentary on Lloyd E. Moore Yes, a photoblogger twenty years before his time. And lastly, I'd have to say that the Marshall University professor Dewey Sanderson was my primary inspiration in landscape photography. Dewey loved to photograph the west and I often think of his compositions when I see a nice farm in Kentucky. Dewey had good talent in using negative or blank space in his landscapes to give both simplicity and impact. From these fellows, I learned that the emphasis is on the pictures themselves- not the camera. Actually, we rarely even talked about the brand of camera that we used. It's different nowdays, but I'd like to see things change back to have more emphasis on composition and technique, as that's what has always helped me along. Any parting words? I believe photoblogging is one of the best tools to improve your photography, particularly if you try to post a picture every day or two. It keeps you looking around and trying to improve. Every so often, try to take pictures that either tells a story, or a picture that goes along with your story. I believe this is the key to improvement and, just maybe, in making someone's day a bit better. Comment (8) | Permalink |
4x6photo.com | Top Ten Shots: #1, Minutes before the race | 08 July, 2005
