Maya

I have known Maya spiritually since before she was born. Her mother, her aunt and I taught at the same school when both of them were single and not related to each other. Maya, and her cousin, Lily, were just something that happened in the ten plus years that the three of us worked together. I am not related to any of them, just kind of "adopted".

Tuesday Maya turned 5. I was off shooting a wedding when she turned 4 last year so her mother wanted to make sure I took photos to commemorate this year's event. Even then, it was close because I am leaving town tomorrow.

We hurriedly drove to Freestone Park in Gilbert and I shot like the wind because Gloria wanted to attend the Commencement at Mesa High. (Some of our sixth graders graduated this year.)

Well, Maya is no model wannabe, but she is a great trooper. Dancing is an important part of her life right now. That meant two wardrobe changes. And although the shoot was about Maya, mother managed to sneak into a few poses. Maya photographed beautifully. Somehow, we ended up with a decent number of keepers.

Her mother will not be able to receive the proofs or final product until I return from Texas. Nevertheless, she can get a quick peek here.

I recommend that her Daddy start saving up for a nice, handy shotgun. It is going to come in in about ten more years.

A Documentary Travel Journal

In a week or so I will accompany my daughter and her family to the area where I grew up in Texas. I do not get back there often. Funerals are usually the motivation so that the photos I grab are related to that event and snapshots of survivors.

This time I will be traveling with three grandchildren, ages 2, 4, and six. The drive is long. They may not handle it well. This may be the last time they ever make the trip since my elders won't be around much longer.  So, I have decided to create a documentary travel journal. It will allow occasional breaks and let the grandchildren participate.

There will be the usual posed family shots. We will note tombstones at various cemeteries. (My family has left few other notable monuments to record or remember.) At my step-mother's farm, I hope to let the kids interact with the wild hogs, roaming deer, and ostriches at the nearby ranch. Perhaps, the fireflies will be out. (My own children slept through them 20 years ago.) Maybe we'll visit the Peter Pan memorial in Weatherford like we did in 1990.

There will be dinosaurs outside of Holbrook, AZ and the LDS temples in Lubbock, Tx., Albuquerque, N.M,and Snowflake, AZ. All of these things will be noted in the photo journal and photographed with the kids in front of them, but the highlight for me will be a visit to Ft. Sumner, N.M. After all, Billy the Kid is buried there. If now one else is impressed, then, they just take a picture of me standing by his grave. I will loan them the camera and they can put my picture in the journal.

Viewing a Photograph

When someone hands us a photograph, it takes only an instant to respond or react. We can take a longer time ruminating over the image, but we make up our mind pretty darn fast.

We forget that a photograph is the capture of an instant in time on film or taken digitally. Sometimes the photo is pleasing. Sometimes it is not. Taken an instant before or an instant after, our reaction might be completely opposite of the one we are experiencing now.

The photographer can use composition, lighting, viewpoint, framing, shutter speed, and depth of field to affect the outcome. When he shoots landscapes, he has the most control. When he brings people into the scene things change. Even when he has the control of elements and poses in the studio, he cannot control a person's self-perception. Shooting people in situations outside the studio puts him at great risk of failure, rejection, and condemnation. There are so many variables that he cannot control. In the instant that the shutter clicks, maybe he will get lucky.

Keep these things in mind when you view a photograph. A moment before or after the click, you were probably beautiful.

Whether or not a photograph is taken outside or taken inside a studio, it is documentary. Posed, you look pretty good because of all that is disguised. Otherwise, you are stuck with awful truth, which may or may not be discomforting. That is how you looked in that instant.

Is Wedding Photography Over-priced?

Personally, I think so. Many of the items connected to the wedding event are over-priced. (I also think my dental  needs are over-priced).

After the wedding and reception are in the past two tangibles remain: the wedding dress (which one may never use or see again) and the photographs. A photographer often uses this to justify his price. They do become memories and relics that brides and families will cherish for years to come (unless there is a divorce). This fact adds value to the price one pays.

The price one pays may include a second or third photographer and/or a videographer in order for one to be able to see the many elements of an event that one misses while being the center of attention. The price also includes matters related to the photographer's gear, insurance, studio, transportation, life style, and, in some cases, child-support. The photographer is probably worth it.

Being cost conscious I look at things from a skewed viewpoint. If I pay $10,000 and only view the photos on my anniversary for the next ten years, the rate is $1000 a year. If  I continue in the same fashion over the years, the rate goes down as long as the marriage lasts. If I view the images 1000 times, each viewing costs me $1. Less viewings than that raise my viewer's fee. If I divorce within 3 years, I may wish I had some of that money in my pocket for current expenses. (In my case, it was an annulment.)

Well, I am just ruminating, being rational in my cash-strapped stage of life. A bride can use whatever criteria she wishes for justifying the price she pays or the photographer she chooses. Price alone may not guarantee memorable images. I doubt that many brides realize that view these pictures in 20 or 30 years will change. Some may cringe when they look back and see how much they paid for photos that are now "dated" and somewhat embarrassing, especially if the images follow the current style instead of being "classic".

Since I will never be the bride, I do not have a real answer to the question.