No More Freebies!

Lesson recently learned: When one does a free photo shoot for individuals, they feel a sense of entitlement instead of ownership. It is not costing them. They are not sacrificing. It is done for them, not with them. Critical comments and demands increase. Gratitude is only minimally expressed.

I do not mind being generous with skills and talents but the final product costs money. When individuals pay for services, they are owners and participants in the end result. In this position their respect for me increases. No more freebies.

Tourist Trap

After the last blog a photographer friend expressed concern about my ideas and limitations on shooting when I travel. He is a good friend, so he was not being confrontational. I think, therefore I write. I have been thinking about our exchange. Time to write.

When I travel and take pictures, my images need to stand apart and be interesting. I already know that I can take a picture that is equal to any tourist shot. They can take tourist shots as well as I. However, by my standards, my pictures need to be noticeably different.. Also, if what everyone is shooting has been in National Geographic or is available on a post card, I probably will skip it unless there is something compelling. If I need to shoot the subject, I will challenge myself to make the picture mine and not a copy.

Here in Watertown I have not seen anyone else walking around with a camera. There are no tourists. Also, there are no postcards to buy to send home. I am home free. I get to make my own postcards. There is no competition.

Photography when I travel

Right now I am in a different state and trying to find ways to use my camera. I can always take pictures. That is the easy part. However, I am not big on the old style tourist images made for slide shows. So I get stuck trying to figure out what I can photograph to create a nice image that won't get the touristy label.

This location is different from Arizona. The weather here is night compared to our perpetual day. Wet when we are dry. Lots of historical imagery is here while we plow ours under for modernization. The people are pretty much the same. I don't photograph the food and paste it on the web as some people do.

I can shoot buildings and churches, statues and all the things we do not have back there. But then, I become a tourist and not a "professional". What am I going to do? It is hard to decide.

I know there are people who want those shots of old buildings and historical landmarks. They want to see the oddities that we lack out west. They need the posed family shots. What do I need?

I need to feel challenged. To get around that, I give up the focus upon objects and subject matter. Since photography is about capturing light with patterns and contrast, that is what I look for. Maybe I will come away with one winner. Maybe one image will jump off the screen and demand to be printed. At least the camera will not be stored in the suitcase while I am out exploring.

Photographs and footprints

Photography is a functional art. Some people do it as a hobby while others do it as a career. Some take pictures to document a reality while others shoot to document a fantasy. Parents do it so they won't forget the changes their children went through. Others do it to have memories of what they went through. Some do it to record what the world around them went through.

Photography documents an event, an era, a culture. It tells a story. It makes time stand still or takes us back in time. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on things overlooked or missed. It allows us to understand things we might have been too young to understand. It touches the inner emotions and memories and connects us to friends, family, and humanity.

I shoot pictures because I enjoy capturing individuals in their memorable moments.  I strive to help people have their memories, their documentation, and their opportunities for understanding. It is wonderful to know that these images will ripen in meaning, value, and significance on the footprints of time.

War is Hell.

I believe it has been four years since Jacob last deployed. That was his third trip to Iraq. Next week he will deploy to Afghanistan for the first time.

In a few days I will take the Greyhound to his station in New York. Again, I will capture the tearful goodbyes between him, his "Band of Brothers", and their wives as they go and serve their country. I am honored to do that.

Blue skies.

This weekend was cold, wet, and grey. It kept us housebound. Since rain is so uncommon here, people do not know how to adjust their driving for puddles, flooding, and oil mixtures on the surface. Lots of crashes happen on rainy days. I stay off the road.

Late Sunday afternoon the clouds parted and there was light. The sky took on beautiful jewel-like shades of blue. Usually we have so much light out here that skies seem more white than blue. Gorgeous.

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Future Bride

Yesterday we went over the the LDS Temple. It is well landscaped and decorated with spring flowers. There are a couple of ponds. We took the grandchildren along  to let them see things and play around a bit in the gardens.

If no one else is getting married, the Mormons are. Every Saturday couples get married in the Temple and then come outside to have pictures taken with their families. Since I do wedding photography, I like to hang out and observe how different photographers do their work.

Janie got to stay with me while Lorraine took the boys into the Visitor's Center. She climbed up and down the steps that serve as risers for so many pictures of couples and their extended families. We were not dressed like these groups, who were in their Sunday best, and people ignored us. I figured if anyone had said anything, I could just remind them that I was there to take pictures of  my "bride". Of course, she is only 18 months, but I reckon I need to practice anyway.