Single Photo Friday:: Graveyard Walk

Many years ago, while attending Ithaca College as a photo major, I learned about a style of shooting known as 'shooting from the hip.' It is safe to say that this was a turning point for me in falling more in love with photography, and learning about my own personal style.

I can clearly remember doing the assignment with one of my classmates. While I got more and more excited, she got more and more frustrated. I had walked into my comfort zone, she was very far from hers. I would say it was a pivotal moment for both of us in that sense. She turned more and more to the lighting studio after that, while I kept my camera at my hip and took to the streets.

Shooting from the hip can literally happen with your camera around your neck, dangling at your hip and very far from your eye. Push the shutter without looking through the lens, develop your black & white film, and find 36 surprises. Or, so it would go back in 1990whatever. The element of surprise was part of what I loved about it.

The other side is how much it teaches you about your equipment. You start to see things in terms of whatever lens you are using, which is crucial for a photographer anyway. It almost seems to speed up your ability to learn about and make that piece of equipment work for you. Almost 20 years later and I'm still using the technique, though it varies and is often not dangling at my hip (except when it is). Lately, my camera strap gets wrapped around my wrist (just in case..) and that camera is put on the ground or into a bush or on some hard surface that has caught my eye. Pavement, rock and brick walls, rusted fences, piles of leaves... there are just so many places to try out!

So, the other day there was frost on the ground and an electrician in my house. When he shut the power down my camera and I went for a walk. I have often shot with a wide lens when shooting from or around the hip, but this time I put on the 85mm and walked through the graveyard. Yes, my camera went on the ground, into the frosted leaves, next to someone's grave, to get that shot you see here. It is my favorite from that day's photo excursion. And yet another reminder of why I love my 85 so much!


...

The Power of Photos:: Jen & Jeremy

Love this moment of them laughing during their ceremony.

My friend Jeremy called me the other day. I photographed his wedding this fall, but our friendship goes back to our Ithaca College days. He wanted to tell me about his recent visit with his grandmother. She's in a nursing home, and from what I understand, she is mostly unresponsive during their visits. This time was different.

Woot! Officially Married.

How cute are they?

They showed her photos from the wedding, the family event she was unable to attend, and watched her become more alert and responsive. The simple act of looking at photos brought a smile to her face and made her interact more with her family. He told me it was probably the best visit he's had with her.

The hair.

The dress.

The last minute phone calls.

Hair officially approved.

The delicate task of getting everything on the dress done right.

"I thought you would like knowing that," he told me. His voice was charged with happiness and excitement.

And he was right. I did like, DO like, actually LOVE to know those things. These kinds of stories are plentiful, and are always nice to hear. [Read my post below for some more thoughts on how important family photos are.] His grandmother may not have been well enough to go to his wedding, but the the simple act of looking through photos of her loved ones brought her to a place she hadn't been in a long time. This is the power photography has: a power to bring joy and happiness in the most surprising ways at often the simplest of times.

Fun, simple, and pretty table decorations.

Love.

Flip through pages of photographs, and relive old memories or create new ones. Pretty amazing stuff, isn't it? Yeah, I think so, too. I'm so glad he took the time to call me and share this. It's a good reminder for all of us that those albums full of photos don't need to collect dust. Take them out for you, your family, your friends, your new neighbors. Share and laugh in each other's moments, old and new.


...

Another Pretty Place

Pretty.

Maine is a pretty place to live. But I love finding new places with nice views, and luckily as a photographer I get chances to do that. I spent the past weekend in Pawley's Island, South Carolina. Unplugged from technology, my weekend consisted of my camera, a wedding, watching the shoreline, and talking for hours with good friends and strangers.


Not only was there no internet, but no keys for the doors. Many of the showers were outdoors. A hammock on one of the decks took turns calling out our names. The crazy rush I went through in the airports to make all my connections was erased by sitting in a rocking chair on the porch and listening to the surf with a cup of coffee in my hand. More than once I thought how similar this coast looked to Maine, and yet I felt like I was a world away. And with my camera I often feel like everywhere I photograph is just an extension of my own back yard. Another place to find pretty stuff.

Another gem to add to the 'Go Back There Someday' list.

South Carolina or Southern Maine?

..

Time Flies: My Year in Photos

2009 is here, and I am, in some ways, still trying to catch my breath from 2008. It was the year of re-connections and creative inspiration. There were a few risks, some adventures, lots of laughs, and many improvements. And on December 31 I punched out for the last time, leaving the place I have worked for the last four years. I am officially on my own. Self-employed. Unemployed. However you want to look at it.

It feels pretty good. So I spent New Year's digging through the photos of the past year, seeing where I've been and how far I've come. Here are some of my favorite moments....

New Year's Day, 2008. I photographed the Annual Lobster Dip, a fundraiser for Maine's Special Olympics. Crazy people jump into the Atlantic Ocean to support a good cause.

The weekend warrior started making animals out of scrap metal. I took a portrait of his latest, the pig.

The WW and I in a garage in Purcelville, VA. We bought an El Camino on EBay, and took a little road trip to fetch it.

This is my nephew, Max, on Easter. It's amazing how young he looks in this photo.

Tom Brady's love child is born in Portland, Maine. I'm kidding. This is Charlie Ellis, and he's pretty darn cute.

Hanging out with friends and therefore lots of kids is common for me. I'm a sucker for a swing set and always love photos of people swinging, no matter what age they are.

In the spring some college friends reunited in Ithaca, NY. First order of business: hit HotTruck. I saw this as a good opportunity to add to my collection of Ben Photos, and the shiny head in the Hot Truck light was irresistible, photographically speaking. Oh, and our friend Jeremy got engaged the next night. Woohoo!

I hung out on a rooftop with the band memebers of The Lomax. Later we hung out in an elevator and a woodworking workshop. It was cool. They are cool.

Just a family portrait I like. They each have their own personality.

A fun wedding shot. Can't remember what was so funny. I have to assume it was me.

Another photo from a wedding. I like it when I can get artsy while shooting weddings.

The El Camino was a hero driving up the East Coast in snow storms. It spent the summer resting and recovering in our driveway. The Weekend Warrior has a mistress.

These crazy bunch of New Yorkers left the city and spent some time in Maine. We all watch Dana as she decides what she thinks about this ocean thing. The next frame showed her running away from them laughing.

Max started Kindergarten. I of course showed up with my camera.

In September I took an awesome workshop on how to shoot film stills. This is Ryan. He was a very good photographic subject.