” Art teaches us what it is to be human”

To which I say amen. That is why I photograph. That is why I pursue images with people. I’ve never enjoyed shooting landscapes or abstracts. But if you put a person in the frame in front of my eye my heart thumps in my chest.

I work hardest not at the technically “good” image, but rather at getting to know the people I photograph. I love the consults I have with brides and grooms. I get to know them and their story.

I studied (among other things) Anthropology in college but fell short of ever exploring another culture. So maybe I’m a frustrated anthropologist, my camera being my way of studying people.

Henri Cartier Bresson said the hardest thing was to get his camera between the shirt and the skin of the person he was photographing.

Maybe so.

I also think it is the point. To get not only between their shirt and skin, but under the skin and into their world and then reveal the captivating uniqueness of the person I’m photographing.

That’s why I shoot weddings and portraits. Because of this need to know and understand. When I’ve captured it in an image I think somewhere in my head I feel I’m contributing to the world body of knowledge of humanity.

Doing my part to learn and share what it is to be human.

(thanks to Kirk for the quote)

Do these images mean anything to anyone else? Does it matter?

I read on forums where people ask “What should I shoot? I’m bored…” and it amazes me. There is so much beauty everywhere. Who has time to capture it all?

You might need to read the entire post to follow where I’m going with this but those words struck a chord deep with in and they where resonating with in me still on Saturday when Beck and the kids and I headed out to Sea Bright for a little fun at the beach.

For those of you who are only at Santa Cruz beaches in the summer during peak tourist season you are missing out. A little known secret is that the best time to visit the beach is in the winter. The crowds have dispersed and the light is low and gentle and you can have all that beauty to yourself.

Heading out of course I brought along the camera and the 50 1.4. And like any creative I was pre-visualizing the images, meditating on the light, thinking about angles, etc. But when we got to the beach and settled into our day all that melted away and the images simply materialized before me as the story of our day together unfolded. To be honest that is exactly how I prefer to find images. Just watch the story and pick out images as they happen.

My best girl Beck. She really is a wonder woman. She’s the kind of woman that when you find her you forget your self, your agendas, your own way of doing things. She’s the girl those country and indi bands write tunes about. She’s the prettiest girl I know who doesn’t know it.

Kaleb is all about being nine and a boy in all the best ways. He likes dirt and picking on his sister and fart noises.

Sonja is her momma’s daughter and entirely her own person fighting hard to hold onto her last days as a child.

LAND SHARK!

My best day yet

Classic West Coast Nor Cal Sunset.

So like Kirk asked, “do the images work?” I dono. They work for me.

That first image of Beck is exactly how I always picture her when I’m not with her. Reminds me of that song by Rogue Wave “Eyes” the way she looks at me. The images of the kids are exactly who they are. The set of images will always be there to remind me of our day together. So they work for me.

So much beauty everywhere, every day in all our lives. Who has time to capture it all? Shame on any of us when we fail to see it.

Technical Strobist Type Stuff: the last shot was pretty basic: One SB 800 hand held with SC 17 chord TTL, knock down the ambient to pick up the hues of the sunset. Not the greatest shot but it works cause it means something to me. The other images were all 50mm 1.4 ISO 160 about 3200 shutter speed. But honestly, who cares it is who is in the images and that they were found that matters right?

The point is I read a lot. I don’t know. Maybe I’m trying to make up for all the goofing off I did at KU.

When you read as much as I do you are bound to come across a ton of stinkers – or as a friend calls them “steamers” as in steaming piles of ….

So when I find a book that really resonates I slow down and bore into it. And I love that. I love finding a book, or any creative work really that I resonate with – that makes me think “me and that guy/girl could be pals. I bet we even like the same beer.”

Matthew B. Crawfords “Shop Class as Soul Craft: an inquiry into the value of work” is one of those books.

I haven’t always been a photographer, but I have always been in the trades in one form or another. I’ve always felt like there are two ways to approach the trades. There are the guys (sorry, they are mostly guys) who don’t see it as a vocation and feel no fidelityto the work (Crawfords word) and there are those who do. I’ve never been the best tradesmen. I’m not the worst by far but there are some real masters that I’ve met and worked with over the years that have a kind of Zen Master-Obi Wan mastery over their particular specialty that at times can make you feel like a rank beginner. Crawford writes about the value of the trades and our need to return to teaching them as a valuable soul-crafting endeavor. Ever more so in todays out sourcing, pseudo-do-it-your-self-er times.

One of the concepts he talks about that I have believed for a long time but have never really been able to articulate is that of fidelity. In context he is talking about fidelity to the bike he is working on and fidelity to the customer who brought it to him for repair. He shares his struggle with wanting needing to do justice to the machine itself and repair it to it’s former glory Vs. his fidelity to not run up the customers bill and yet still do right by his customer.

What has this to do with photography? Everything.

When I’m out on a shoot my two fidelities if you will are to the image. I’m a photographer. I watch and plan and prepare all for what Henri Cartier-Bresson called the “decisive moment.” That moment that is so rare that arises and disappears quickly but that if you are attentive and prepared you can capture in the opening of the shutter. It is the moment in time that is essential to telling the story, expressing the idea, creating an image that resonates with the viewer. But there is also a fidelity I feel to my clients. I feeling that everyone deserves the best images yet not everyone can afford a photographer who can capture those images and tell their story. Which leads to a struggle with my fidelity between my art and craft as a photographer and my business as a photographer who has rent to pay.

I haven’t yet figured out how to bring those two fidelities closer into alignment.

Anyway. When I get all gummed up thinking about these things I find that going out with my camera and walking the streets hunting for images for no other reason than to make images helps to clear my head. Which is good because as a photographer you have to constantly be working on your craft, as well as shooting “just for yourself.” Doing so results in a further perfecting of your abilities, which should be a no brainer for anyone who considers them self a “pro.” There is nothing like just doing your art that reconnects you with your own true self especially if you’ve been doing to much thinking about the art. Or as Yoda would say “there is no try, only do.” Or something like that.

Following are a few images I found while on one of these little excursions. The first two are from today. The last is from a few weeks ago when I wandered into the local flea market with a 50 year old Rollei TLR film camera.

I can’t say that after finding these images I got any further along the path of reconciling those tensions I wrote about above. However, I can say that in finding them I also found a deep soul level satisfaction. And in the end that is why I’m a photographer anyway.

Hope you enjoyed the images,
Mike

*Until I got a huge fine and they wouldn’t let me back in.
**Highly Recomended