He slipped in silently and went about his work. Dusting away the spider webs. Sweeping with a brush made of sticks. An assignment. He caught my eye. In spite of his swift movement toward the light, I could feel the weight of his task. Pokhara, Nepal
Get Closer
One of my favorite documentary photographers, Robert Capa, once said “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” It’s true. And it’s not just about the positioning of your feet or your lens. It’s about tightening the distance of your relationship with your subject. The best way to improve your documentary photography skills with people is to focus first (and frequently) on the people closest to you. Watch them move. Study their gestures. Get comfortable creeping in close with a wide angle lens. Be silent. Move your body to craft the composition without disrupting your subject. Wait. Remain alert. Working in this way will teach you how to anticipate action and be quick with your click.
Sequence of Steps Before the Click: I propped my elbows on the bed and used my Nikon D3s with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens on it’s widest 24mm setting and set the aperture to f/4.5 to let in a fair amount of light while retaining enough detail for elements in the field. I fired an external mount flash (Nikon SB900) tilted behind me at a 45 degree angle (and slightly off to the left) to soften the light. To capture the best quality image, I make every effort to shoot on the lowest possible ISO setting (200 in this case). After making an initial image or two with my f/4.5 aperture setting (with the default shutter speed designated by aperture priority mode), I moved to full manual mode and adjusted my shutter speed a bit to compensate for light. This image is one of 33 shot in that sequence. I knew, at some point, she’d lean in close.
Illusion of Sequence
As most of you know, I shoot most frequently (and freely) with my iPhone. You just never know when moments worth capturing might appear, so it’s good to be armed and ready. Seated in a plastic chair at Unboundary following the TEDx Atlanta event a few months ago, I leaned in close to capture a bit of electricity from this Athens, Georgia band – Modern Skirts. Using Hipstamatic app‘s BlacKeys Super Grain film and the standard John S lens, I made a few clicks, then placed these two square-format images side-by-side in a 600 x 300-pixel canvas in Photoshop Elements. Because the BlacKeys Super Grain film “prints” with a heavy vignette, the image borders merged seemlessly, offering the illusion of sequence in a still frame.
Try experimenting with motion and sequence today, then share your illusions with us.
Capturing the Warmth of a Moment in Sepia Tone
My daughter’s been on an indefinite hiatus from piano lessons, yet just recently she expressed an interest in making music again to her teacher/grandmother. “I’m going to play in the recital!” she announced one morning after returning home from a sleepover at Mama Sue’s house just a couple of weeks ago. And from that point forward (with no prompting from me), she practiced her “Christmas Waltz” each day to prepare for her moment in the spotlight.
It’s a familiar cycle. The entrance, exit, and return of inspiration. The birth of a vision. And the decision to make it real. Acknowledging the need to practice and prepare for the moment when we’re meant to stand in the spotlight. Assuming that courage will sustain us despite the presence of fear. I was so proud of her at this moment, I almost forgot to click.
Most of my favorite documentary moments are captured with my super wide 14-24mm lens because it gives me the ability to capture more than less of an experience. This image was shot at 14mm with an aperture setting of f/8 and ISO setting of 200. I used my Nikon Speedlight 900 and fired the flash to bounce off the wall behind me to balance the harsh light streaming in through the windows in the back of the room. Then, in Aperture, I applied a subtle amount of Sepia Tone (something I don’t normally do) to soften the bright red Christmas dresses in the audience, and put more visual emphasis on the warmth and gestures of the moment.
Spread some warmth with your sepia tone experiments and discoveries in the comments.
we’re focused on you
Can you believe that the first Shutter Sisters post marked the start of this community almost exactly three years ago? Gosh, we’ve grown so much since then and we’re truly thankful that you’ve found a home in this sisterhood. As we look ahead to 2011, we’ve got some exciting new ideas to share! But before we get knee-deep in planning, we want to focus on you, your interests, and your hopes for this sisterhood. So, we’ve got some questions for you!
Please take our brief survey now (just 15 quick questions) to share your thoughts with us and we’ll enter your email address in our drawing to win a fabulous Epiphanie camera bag courtesy of Epiphanie creator and Shutter Sister Maile Wilson. You’ve got until December 31, 2010, 11:59pm to be eligable for the drawing on January 1, 2011. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Give Epic Thanks
It’s not often enough that we take the time to pause and embrace gratitude – to reflect on all that we are and all that we have at this moment. To set aside the wants and wishes of tomorrow and focus on the gifts that sustain us today. Love. Joy. Trust. Courage. Compassion. Peace. Hope. Gifts found within each of us and intended to be shared with others.
This young girl in Nepal was sent away from her home to work and earn a place to live and food to eat out of necessity. When I met her that day, she was eager to share her gifts of joy, peace, trust, and courage with me. I watched her laugh with her friends while she washed dishes outside the restaurant and peeked over my shoulder to admire images of herself. She trusted me to make her image. And I felt the strength of her courage as she moved confidently in her surroundings. But I’m most grateful to have shared this moment with her. She gave me a good look at hope. A hopeful heart is not always connected to a smiling face. Embedded deep within hope you’ll find longing. A longing that just might propel you in ways you never dreamed possible one day.
I’m beginning to realize that the best way to help keep the light of hope thriving in a child is to give them an opportunity to learn. To support the work of changemakers like Subhash Ghimire, founder of Sarswati Peace School in Nepal, and Mama Lucy Kamptoni, founder of Shepherds Junior School in Tanzania.
Shutter Sisters, I hope you will join us in supporting EpicThanks today – a global celebration of gratitude and giving that honors inspirational changemakers (including Subhash and Mama Lucy) who create hope in our world. No gift is too small. We’re grateful for you.
Snap Happy
I grew up playing cars and wrestling with my brother. And secretly wished for a sister. Naturally, I’ve collected and kept a number of girlfriends by my side; however, I can’t say I know exactly what it feels like to have a sister. But these girls come close. Jen Lemen and Tracey Clark. “So how did you meet these Shutter Sisters?” people ask me in real life.
“I met them online,” I say. And I smile because it sounds a little bit crazy to admit that you’ve discovered and embraced a big handful of kindred spirits – sisters – in the wide-open space of the internet. I never would have believed it to be true. But it is. And for that, I am truly grateful.
We’d like to share a great big thank you to those of you who joined us (in person and in spirit) for our Shutter Sisters Snap Happy Hour on November 11 in New York to celebrate the launch of our book, Expressive Photography. Thanks to Focal Press for their eager support and to Marriott for graciously hosting us at the super swanky VIVID Lounge at the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel. It was such a treat to just relax, soak in the light of night, and spend real-life quality time with people who click. Let’s figure out a way to do this more often.
Focus on the Motion
At the front of this barbershop located outside of Kigali in Rwanda, there’s a row of stylish, slender African men moving swiftly behind their clients seated in upholstered chairs. A steady beat of music carves the space into segments. But in the back, there’s a row of curvy African women moving gently over their clients seated in upholstered chairs. Fluid conversation and laughter emit light. They soften the edges.
Let’s get a glimpse of what’s in motion today.
Freedom of Expression (or Confession of an iPhoneographer)
Shot with the Hipstamatic app for iPhone, BlacKeys SuperGrain B+W Film and John S Lens
These days, my primary method of creative expression is my iPhoneography – images shot, processed and shared exclusively with my iPhone. Composing (and tweeting) images on instinct has become a daily practice for me. Admittedly, a bit of an addiction. It keeps me limber and stretches my creative capacity because I’m giving my myself permission to move freely beyond the boundaries that define my professional documentary style of work. I make no rules. I try lots of different apps and processing experiments. I alter my view of reality, if necessary. I shoot whatever attracts my eye (the way lines connect, a bit of irony, or a wall of brassieres) and I don’t question it. I just follow it.
What I’m also finding is that my not-so-serious iPhoneography is actually strengthening my more-serious documentary work – the instincts I need to predict and capture spontaneous moments. The ones you can’t recreate. The ones that won’t wait for you to adjust a myriad of settings. The ones that would go flat if your subject felt self-conscious on the other end of a professional-looking lens. Nobody seems to take me seriously with my iPhone in my hand. And the less influence I have on my subject, the more I like the result.
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Are you practicing iPhoneography or another form of mobile photography? If so, how is it freeing you up to express yourself more creatively and where can we see your images? Intrigued? Start by following a few of my favorite fellow iPhoneographers in Twitter and stay tuned… I’m compiling a bunch of secrets to share with you.
What We Possess
When I followed the young boy (one of Renu‘s students from Koseli School) into his home in Kathmandu, Nepal, I didn’t find things like a chest of drawers stuffed with clothes or a closet full of toys. I didn’t see a shelf for books or trophies. There was no kitchen or bathroom in this home. Just two small beds and a handful of possessions including this bicycle. It spoke to me.
Each time I visit a new friend’s home in a place far from mine on this Picture Hope journey, I question the quantity and value of my own possessions bit by bit. I sketch imaginary circles around “needs” and “wants” with a shaky hand. I carry a dose of guilt and shame when I let my mind wonder how I let myself get so caught up in superficial things. Stuff. I struggle with the idea of letting things go and figuring out the best way to teach my children that the value of our lives should not be measured by what we possess. Sure, I can say it, but I don’t know how to demonstrate that yet. I don’t know how to embrace it and really live it. But maybe this is where it starts… when someone like this young boy opens up his heart and his home to share a bit of his wisdom, and a view of his bike, with someone like me.
Enlighten us today. What are your images teaching you?