Before...before (waves hand out across the entirety of the last 22 months), I was having folks jump up and down on a trampoline I'd borrowed from my neighbor.

Smashing idea, loved the results. Loved having folks get all giddy and exhausted bouncing around, loved seeing them surprised at how much fun they were having.

Ciena and I took the trampoline down the street, off my block, away from the traffic and the folks who'd honk when they saw a photo shoot. Bounced around in that golden hour light, and she'd prepared perfectly, hair flowing, dress flowing, movement everywhere. We couldn't stop laughing, or shooting, or jumping up and down.

One of these days, I'll get a trampoline big enough for two, three people, get up on there and bounce around with my subject, probably smash my camera and break my hip and laugh about it the whole way to the hospital.

Tags:   1.2.20 Ciena Rae Nelson portrait

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Yesterday, a friend asked me to if I would be willing to take pictures of her band. I like this lady, and I like taking pictures.

I said No without a moment's hesitation.

Because, I'll tell ya, I just do not enjoy taking pictures of more than one person at a time. It's a distinct limitation, to be sure. A valuable skill...but I can't get into it. Creating any kind of rapport with a group of people, tricky. It's about the composition, the mood. All the things I find secondary when photographing subjects.

My little act, it's about me getting to know my subject, getting them to relax, so I can get something different, better, interesting.

With several people, now it's like I'm on stage. And while my act still hits, the jokes still work, I can still get folks to do what I want...now I'm also a conductor. All the participants need to work together, visually. And that so rarely happens. They look different, they move differently, one person is looking the wrong way. Maybe two of the four people aren't giving me the right look at the exact right moment I need it.

Juggling and a performance and conducting, while also trying to get into a groove and compose the shot and make sure the light is right for everyone in my frame. Oy vey...I have a job! I should want to do all this, too?

The night I shot Ash and her friends, I alternated between taking pictures of all three of them, and shooting them individually. And frankly, the group shots were not where I was focused. Make 'em decent, sure, but it was mainly just a way of getting them comfortable with me, so I could shoot them one-on-one.

And it got me to a comfort level with Ash where I could take a shot like this, so no complaints. But being asked yesterday really did force me to articulate Why I'm not into group photos/band photos/etc.

And as hard as that can be for an artist, I think it's invaluable. Knowing Why you do something can only help illuminate your path going forward.

Tags:   1.4.20 Ash Larona portrait

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Just a bunch of folks hanging out by the hot tub, taking pictures, laughing it up.

I'm at a bit of a disadvantage, when it comes to pool shoots, as all I'm really interested in are people's faces. Excellent photographers have made work with underwater cameras, but all that movement, or the way water distorts...really just gets in the way of what I want, more often than not. It's background, rather than an element I'm seeking to incorporate.

Oh, but it's still fun, and now, looking back, could've done so much more, where's the splashing, man, where's the movement?

You try to do movement! It was dark out there!

Yeah, but you had lights! Don't you tell me darkness was a problem!

Oh, it's so easy for you to sit back in your comfortable office chair and criticize me, but where were you? I was there, in the shit! Getting my gear wet, my lens fogged up, no picnic, mate!

But I digress.

I often get to a spot and start griping about the difficulties, but in the end, with enough time to play around, feel it out, I'll get things sorted just the way I like.

Really comes down to giving myself enough time, and enough patience, to find what I'm looking for. A lot of experimentation, noodling. It's all about noodling!

Tags:   1.4.20 Steph Sinn portrait

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Old story, but it happened yesterday. Showed Alana this photo, got the, "oh, I never like my smile, but THIS!"

It's bad photographers, everybody. Making it both harder (someone is less apt to show something of themselves they've seen portrayed poorly) and easier (all we've gotta do is get it right to dazzle them) for photographers like myself.

A friend told me, the other day, that most people aren't photogenic.

Maybe not in front of HIS camera!

Some people are more of a challenge, but I'm of the belief that a great photo can be taken of anyone. My dad had the sale belief, in terms of sales. He could convince anyone to buy his product, all he needed was the right "lever", the right angle of approach.

And that's the way I look at it. Alana liking her smile, that's just going in at the right angle of approach, finding what I like about her smile and capturing it as well as I can in a photo, reflecting that back at her.

Hell, that's one of the first tricks I learned.

Tags:   1.7.20 Alana Schoen polaroid 680 portrait

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This is the close-up, and everything I want in a shot: movement, excitement, authentic emotion, a bit of the uncontrolled.

And I'm thinking I might put away all that for a bit, seek out a different set of criteria.

In the seven years I've been interviewing photographers for The Photographic Journal, I've seen a word, an idea pop up repeatedly, usually from the mouths of photographers I very much respect: Tension.

The collision of contrasting elements, be they aesthetic or thematic. A collision that forces the viewer to linger, to stay with the image, in an attempt to reconcile the collision.

Not sure I'm up to the challenge, but it's where my gut is leading me...

Tags:   1.7.20 Alana Schoen portrait

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