what have I created?

I was killing some time with my oldest son and I wanted to go outside and take some pictures. At 3 1/2 years old he wasn't really that interested in my idea so I had to come up with plan b. I pulled out my Canon Powershot and offered to show him how to use it. That got him going and 202 pictures later I think I created a budding photographer.

He created some cool abstracts, interesting portraits and documented some things that I would have never thought to shoot. Most interesting to me was a project that he thought of himself. He took a picture of our mailbox then turned to me and told me that he wanted to take a picture of all of his friends mailboxes. So, we walked up and down the street and took pictures of many of the mailboxes on our street. His compositions were pretty good and I offered no help along the way. He was pleased with the results and so was I.

Photographers are often best served if they approach their photography with a project in mind. It helps the creative process and keeps you focused. I am certain I am making too much of his decision to approach his photography as a project. I hope the creative process comes easy to him and his brother. It will be a major advantage over their old dad. Only time will tell, but my son reminded me that I need to work on more projects with my photography.

He dropped my camera only a couple times. Now the memory card door isn't closing but it is still working fine. I have already decided this camera is gone and it will be inoperable by the time he tires of it, but that is fine. If he can keep teaching me to be a better photographer it is worth it.

if a photograph were a movie

Sometimes it wouldn't work. But this scene as a point in time works for me because it looks like this little girl posed for me to show off her Halloween costume. Nothing could be further from the truth. As soon as I pressed the shutter she ran away and I didn't see her the rest of the night. I love the tilt of her head as if to show off her tarheel. Her deep blue eyes and blonde hair are so nice against the green background. It looks like I had a plan.

Photography is wonderful in its ability to stop time. In this particular case stopping time was necessary to tell an interesting story. At other times, stopping time with a photograph can increase the impact to the viewer by creating an emotional reaction that a movie may not be able to convey. My attraction to photography is that it is a different way to view the world. Our eyes only see constant motion and cannot process one frame at a time. In essence, a photograph allows us to slow down and enjoy details that are often overlooked in our nonstop world.

what do you shoot?

I went to Tybee Island to shoot a sunrise with some other photographers. When we arrived we set up our tripods and got ready for that first light. I shot for a while but soon found myself wanting to shoot the other photographers that I was with. I had spent the better part of 5 days shooting people and realizing how much I enjoyed that interaction. So, I went up to my friends and began shooting. I tried to stay out of their way because most were interested in shooting the sunrise.

I found Harry with Nick in the background working some of the waves as they arrived on shore. I enjoy this shot because it shows Harry working very intently with his shutter release in hand. I am not sure whether Harry even knew I was doing this, but at this point I am sure he wouldn't have been surprised that someone was pointing a camera at him. At this workshop we spent together we shot each other so frequently it became comfortable and expected.

I wanted to show this shot because I was talking with a friend about what we like to shoot. My friend said he is becoming more interested in shooting people and less interested in traditional landscapes. We both agreed that shooting people in beautiful landscapes is a great idea. I think this shot meets this description and will be a souce of future projects for me when the opportunity presents itself.

If we take what we like to shoot a little bit further I am intrigued by what your favorite project would be if you could shoot anything? Would it be shooting landscapes in Tibet, a celebrity event in Hollywood, or a big time commercial shoot? For me I would enjoy shooting Scarlett Johansson for a day (nothing wrong with dreaming big). I am interested in documentary style photography so this project would not be a stylistic photo shoot in a studio setting. Instead it would allow me to shoot her naturally in a natural setting hopefully conveying her personality. I definitely appreciate some of the masterful shots of people like Scarlett Johansson in studio, but I believe that many fall short of capturing the true personality because they appear too staged.

This idea came to me while looking at a photo of Robert Redford at his home in Utah. He was leaning back in a chair that appeared to be set up on a wall overlooking his glorious view. The shot attempted to look normal and laid back, but the chair looked awkward in its location. This photographer might have only had a few minutes with Mr. Redford and did what he could but imagine what he could have done with an entire day. That is interesting to me.

If anyone can put in a good word with Scarlett I would apprciate it. What would your dream day in photography look like?

congratulations brent

I wish that I had a picture for this post but unfortunately I do not. Brent Lorenzen and I went to high school together and swam together. We got back in touch with one another and competed in our first Ironman together. Brent is an incredible athlete and always has been one of the hardest working guys I know. He manages to race as a professional triathlete despite the fact that he is a full time medical school student. That in itself amazes me.

Brent raced at Ironman Florida yesterday and had a great day until the last 10k of the marathon where he says he blew up. He finished 12th overall with a time of 8:43. It is hard to comprehend how good this is if you are not familiar with the sport. He swam 2.4 miles in 50 minutes, then rode 112 miles at 24 MPH, then topped it off with a 3:04 marathon (7 minute pace). These numbers are hard for me to comprehend and I have raced Ironman. I wish I could run a 3:04 marathon on fresh legs but never in an Ironman.

The most impressive part of Brent's race was that he suffered a bout of shingles just weeks before the race. He wasn't planning on racing and then he began to feel better so he decided to give it a shot. I am sure he is glad he did.

Brent is an inspiration. He is pursuing his dreams and that is admirable. Congratulations Brent and best of luck in Australia in 4 weeks!!!

Racing Ironman is a life altering experience....for me it is just a matter of time before I get back.

the self portrait

I have been taking more and more pictures of myself. Being a photographer I am normally the one taking pictures of others and tend to be left out of pictures. An occasional self-portrait is a good way to document that I was here. One advantage of the self-portrait is that I can control what I look like.

I am constantly looking for ways to get a self-portrait. In this image I simply noticed a mirror on the ceiling of an elevator at a museum that I took my sons to. I cannot say that this is a fantastic photograph. It may have been a bit better if my youngest son had been looking up, but that was a difficult request. I think the self-portrait is more than capturing an image of yourself. I think that the process of taking the self-portrait is more important. Taking pictures of someone requires a level of trust and understanding. Many people are not very comfortable with a camera pointing at them and the self-portrait process helps me remember what I am putting others through. I believe that it helps me be a better photographer.

chess master

I took this shot in downtown Atlanta. Street photography has opened up my eyes to the world around me and encouraged me to continue to explore in different ways. I have thought about approaching these men who play chess in a park so this day I thought I would see what it was all about.

I was fortunate enough to meet a chess master of the streets. In this case there were about 10 guys sitting around playing chess. I asked someone if they minded if I shot while they played. They did. Another gentleman was standing by watching and said "you can't expect to take pictures for free". He was convinced I was making money despite my insistence. I said what does it take and apparently $10 was the number. I told him no thanks.

We continued to chat for a while. He was homeless and been playing chess in this spot for about 10 years. I was a bit surprised he was homeless, but I felt it wasn't something he thought I should feel bad about. He said he liked the freedom of living in the streets. I had to take this guys picture, so I offered $5 and he agreed. He wanted the shot while he was playing on his board. I was fine with that. He sat down and this is what I got. I shot for several minutes until he said "that's a lot of pictures for $5". I told him I was done and thanked him. He took me for $6. Check mate!!!

I am planning on going out this weeked to do some street shots and I am going to go back to this park to see if I can find this chess master. I want to take him a print of this picture and thank him for allowing me to get some shots that made an memorable impact on me. Who knows what else I might find.

the witches of wildwood

Halloween 2007 was a smashing success. My kids had a great time. My oldest son ran from house to house looking for treats until his legs gave out and needed to be carried home. My younger son went with the flow as he is known to do. For the past several years my mom, wife, sister and aunt meet at my house coming from as far as Seattle to dress for the Halloween festivities. This year they were witches. Witches seemed a good choice for them and I will leave it at that.