As Time Goes By

It’s slow for most of us right now, but I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. It gives us time to reflect on what has been, as well as what the future holds. During these “down” times I really try to take advantage of looking at other photographer’s work, reviewing what I have shot and most importantly planning out a course of action for the future – planning self-assignments, reworking the portfolio, etc…
Time is something not to be wasted. With the economy the way it is we can't sit back and get depressed, feeling sorry for ourselves and not knowing from where the next assignment will come. We have to understand that all of this is in our control, not out of it. We have the ability to change our course of action, to turn time in our favor so that it starts working for us and not against us.

Time can be a funny thing. It can either go by in a flash or take forever getting to that magical 5 o’clock hour (when it’s “okay” to have a drink). By dividing up the day with assignments, time starts to work in our favor. It all starts to look more manageable.

What we really need to understand is that no one really knows what time it is (yes I know a song by Chicago - sorry). For example look at the above photo of the clock. It is a famous clock on the corner of 5th and Broadway in NYC. The Flatiron Building is in the background. I shot this about two weeks ago on a visit with my photo friends Renee Comet and Randy Santos. It was in the afternoon around 1:30 pm. What I’ve recently noticed is that the clock doesn’t work. Now, to me, that’s strange. A beautiful ornate clock in a very public place has stopped and no one notices. Or maybe they do and they don’t care, or know what to do about it. We are so obsessed with time, but yet no one really notices it until it matters. How many times have we sat at the end of the day wondering where all the time had gone, why we didn’t get more done? Planning what we do is crucial to success. My new year’s resolution is to have a better control of my time. Write more on this blog, create more self-assignments, take more photos.

And “As Time Goes By” I will be a better photographer.

The Dancers

This past Sunday I started a personal project that I've been thinking about for some time now. Dancers can be a favorite subject of photographers. I think it because of their grace and classic curves. I wanted to get away from that - having them in poses that seemed unnatural or "unclassic". I wanted attitude and unflattering jumps, but with a touch of grace.
Here are a few. I'll show more in the coming days.

It's in the Details

This little point-and-shoot camera - my trusty G-9 - continues to amaze me. Here are three images taken during my week long stay in a cabin on the New River is southern Virginia. All taken in different types of light, they show the G-9's ability to capture detail in the earliest morning light (photo of tree), the fog coming off the New River and a spider's web (using the macro setting). All images were taken straight from the camera with only minimal Photoshop work (some levels and curves) and no sharpening.
I think it's pretty amazing for a small point-and-shoot!

The "B" Side

Do you remember when we could buy albums? I don't mean the large ones, I'm talking about the 45's. Two songs - one on the "A" side and one on the "B". What a great way to listen to new and inventive music (yes and sometimes - maybe often - bad music). The artist would record their "best" song and place it on the "A" side, and because they had to fill the other side, record a song that was just filler. How many great songs can you remember that came off the "B" side? Just for starters did you know that "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley was a "B" song?

In a round about way this brings me to photography. I just re-did my portfolio -including my web site (with a lot of help from Amanda Sosa-Stone). I gave her a few dozen images from which to choose. Now, what I've learned over the years is that never send what you think is the very best. Always send a variety of images - more than you think is needed and definitely more than the ones you love. It is amazing to me what gets chosen. Many of the images that Amanda chose are from the "B" side of my shoots, or list. Above are some examples. The first is from a shoot at Flint Hill School. This recycling photo was taken in the hallway of the school and a complete after thought. "Hey you're the recycling queen - lets have you sit on a bin". The image next to it is of Dominique Dawes. This was taken after a photo shoot for the Washington Post Magazine. She had her dogs with her and I asked if I could get some shots of her with them. She agreed...

The other two are outtakes from some model shoots. I was just trying to be a little arty, knowing they weren't going to beuse, or liked. But I just had to take them.
And guess what - they turned out to be in my portfolio.

Never forget the force of the "B" side. You WILL be surprised.