Where is your big red X?

 Photography, Spirituality  8 Responses »
Apr 082009
 


Peaceful times (Tamron 11-18mm @ 11mm)

If you’ve not read David duChemin’s blog, I highly recommend it. There are lots of good nuggets of wisdom about being a professional photographer and following one’s passion. There are two articles of interest that I read: One yesterday. One today. They are: Know your place: A Sermon in two parts and Know your place, part two. They offer a good amount of food for thought.

Though I’m not in the market, just yet, to be a professional photographer, it’s great ground work for what lies ahead. In the second part he talks about your big red X. That is, the photographer that you are. Your brand, your unmistakable style. He says that there is room for everyone. You may not be Moose Peterson, but you can still be a professional wildlife photographer. You just have to hone your skills and direct yourself to be the best ‘you’ that you can be. You need to be the biggest, brightest X that you can be. He also talks about dilution. Are you the go-to guy for destination weddings, or are you the guy who does weddings, and macros, a landscapes, and … If so, how will your customer find you? How will they see your particular style? How will they choose you.

Zack Aria mentioned something similar to this about choosing pictures to go in your online galleries and especially your portfolio. Choose those that suit your style and are examples of your best work, etc. I wonder, periodically, what it is that I would do as a professional photographer? What am I good at? I point my camera at all types of things, but could see myself photographing the desert southwest, like Alain Briot. Or, closer to home, making a living photographing the Blue Ridge Parkway, of which I miss dearly at this time. By far, I think, most of better pictures are of those subjects. Subjects that I seem to relate to. Also, most anything with water in it, especially rivers and streams.

Food for thought: Where is your big red X? What are you good at? If you are, or were to become a professional photographer, what would be your area of focus? Where is your passion?

 Posted by Paul at 8:29 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

Real Life

 Photography  3 Responses »
Mar 072008
 

pdl_20080224_3957.jpg
On the road again

If you’re interested in the various facets of the life of one of the worlds top shooters, pick up a copy of: The moment it clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters. By Joe McNally. Joe’s resume is quite impressive, having shot for Time, Life, National Geographic, etc. His most famous work is Faces of Ground Zero – Portraits of the heroes of September 11th.

This book is an easy read and is not exactly a how-to guide on photography. It has a few ‘secrets’, rather techniques, on lighting and how he got the shot. However, it’s really a great book detailing defining moments in his career. It’s filled with lots of anecdotes to get the point across. It’s a very interesting read.

The part of this book that grabbed me the most was a chapter entitled: Choosing is never easy. In this chapter, Joe talks about missing a lot of his children’s childhood. He speaks of his first big assignment with National Geographic, a 4 week trip to Africa. He speaks of saying goodbye to his daughter Caitlin, who was three years old at the time.

He says of his departing cab ride:

I slid down in the seat and began to weep. I wept for her, for me, but mostly because the siren call of my first big story with a yellow border around it was more powerful than the call of fatherhood.

I was floored. Sometimes I have pictures in my head, admittedly a romantic view, of what it would be like to be a globe-trotting-camera-toting-super-photographer, like Joe. However, the reality is not all that sexy, as you’ll find out if you read the book. Most of the time is spent away from home, on airplanes, in modest hotels, in lands far away. Also, most of his shots have very limited time budget, sometimes as short as 10 minutes when photographing the ‘stars’.

What really got me was the personal sacrifice of the photographer and of his/her family. I simply could not imagine missing so much of my family’s life. Perhaps that’s why I wouldn’t be a globe-trotting-camera-toting-super-photographer, like Joe. No judgment on him, certainly. He loves what he does. I just don’t think that I have heart, or perhaps have too much heart for my family, to leave so many times for so long.

So, if you get a chance, pick up the book. It’s a great read. I’m starting to read it for the second time.

 Posted by Paul at 8:52 am  Tagged with: , , ,
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