All of us, including photographers, are looking for ways to
use our time wisely these days. The
folks from Out of Chicago (a
photography education outfit) put together in record time a three-day online
extravaganza which aired last weekend. Not
only was it a huge boon for education and inspiration of folks like me, but it
offered a way to supplement the income of photographers who, until a few months
ago, got most of their income from workshops.
Most workshops have been cancelled.
I offer you some pearls of wisdom from last weekend’s “Out
of Chicago Live,” presented with some illustrations that, I hope, will be
relevant and entertaining.
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| Death Valley Storm |
Before the conference began, I participated in a photo
challenge with Jack Curran. First, there was a webinar on his particular
way of presenting black and white images, and then a challenge to do the same
(to the best of our abilities) with one from our archives. His work is particularly dramatic, and I had
a great time re-processing this storm image from Death Valley.
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| Adjectives, Mojave National Preserve |
The keynote presentation was from Bryan Peterson, who spoke
on color. The quote of the hour was, “When
has a noun ever been exciting? Shoot the
adjective.” He elaborated that an image
of a flower is just documentary, but a much more interesting image will depict
shapes, colors, and textures.
Steve Simon
spoke on the Art of the Edit, in the sense of choosing our best work. He said we’re hindered by “emotional metadata,”
the memories of the experience which don’t necessarily translate into the
image. He offered this quote from Gary
Winograd, from another time technologically but still relevant today; “If I was
in a good mood when I was shooting one day, then developed the film right away,
I might choose a picture because I remember how good I felt when I took
it. You make better choices if you
approach your contact sheets cold, separating the editing from the picture
taking as much as possible.”
A little time can make us a bit more objective, though he
also says, “We are the best and worst editors of our own work.”
There were two fabulous presentations on Street
Photography. Together with an incredible
experience in Guatemalan
markets last Autumn, I’m inspired to do more.
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| Piglets in the Market, Tecpan Guatemala |
The first was from James Maher, an New
York-based artist who does a great deal of street photography. Interspersed with practical advice were gems
like, “Street photography is a little creepy but that’s OK.” He also pointed out that folks doing this
work tend to allow technical imperfections like crookedness and spotty exposure,
portraying the shortcomings and perhaps grittiness of life. As he said this, I thought of my Guatemala
work, and especially the woman with the pigs.
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| Barber Shop, Guatemala City |
Marie Laigneau
opened her passionate presentation by saying, “Street photography is a journey
which starts with the willingness to see the world differently; It’s a paradox.”
She urged us to “imagine the possible.”
She addressed the difficulties beginners have with approaching strangers
to do street portraits and urged us to “Be fearless.” On of my favorite bits of technical advice
from this talk was her suggestion that “You need a hero inside the crowd,” that
is, a clear subject among the chaos.
Unfortunately, there was a panel discussion which mostly
taught by mis-example. The subject was
processing images, but two panelists made the dubious point of saying how hard
they worked. One bragged about “chasing
away bears,” and the other about “spending hours” removing vegetation he didn’t
like from the foreground at one location, and (again “spending hours”) wading
in the water removing leaves he didn’t like from the Subway in Zion National Park. So much for Leave No Trace Principles.
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| Emotion; Altaii Eagle Festival, Mongolia |
Elder statesman and Yosemite local William Neill talked on
thinking in themes. In addition to the
opportunity to ponder his inspiring work, he said, “You have to give yourself
permission to let emotions into your photographs.” And, even better, “It’s OK and normal to be
in a rut.”
Finally, he talked about openness to photograph whatever
presents itself as the antidote to expectations, which can sap creativity, “My
approach is not to expect a photograph – if I do my interest level and
enjoyment drop. I don’t go out with a
particular image in mind [and] the editing for themes comes much later. My goal
is to see the beauty around me as a daily practice, and if I stay connected to
that purpose, I know the images will come.”
The Out of Chicago people have made recordings available to
registrants for a year, which is a good thing because each session had 10-12 simultaneous
options and I’m excited to go back and see more. Between that and trying out new ideas, I’ll
be busy until the April 2021 second annual Out of Chicago Live.
