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| image © Scott Jarvie |
Last night Justin and I went to a meet up with photographer Scott Jarvie. He gave a little bit of a talk on fate and how you can plan all day (all week, month, year) and still not find that "perfect shot", but occasionally (or more often if you are him), you can make a perfect shot happen by stumbling upon a spot randomly. Crouch down in the bushes or walk across the street looking for a different angle and suddenly you have a beautiful scene before your eyes.
In the past, I've gone to a talk with Lindsay Adler and watched a number of photographers speak on CreativeLive. As much as I love those artists from CreativeLive, they all had one thing in common – planning. Brooke Shaden in particular is big on planning each individual aspect of her shoot. For example, she picks out one element (e.g. the location, the model, a piece of clothing) and develops the rest of her shoot around that particular (or those particular) elements.
As for me, I'm more of a "Scott Jarvie" kind of photographer. I like to plan where I'll be when the sun sets, but other than that…who knows?? I especially loved that he talked about not wanting to be "in the way" of other people. He says he doesn't like to ask people to move when they are in his shot, he would prefer to step out of his comfort zone, challenge his skills, and find a new location to shoot. I absolutely loved hearing about this skill in a photographer I like.
And then of course, he talked about the equipment he used and his methods of post-production which were also interesting to me. He mentioned using a polarizing filter to keep glare low and how he uses subtle vignetting to draw the eye in. The more he talked, the more I felt I had in common with him (in terms of photography). Except for the whole Nikon thing. Grrrrrr Nikon! (Not really. I actually like Nikon.)
So now I am even more determined to buy a wide angle lens and a polarizing filter. I am encouraged to continue searching for the "decisive moment" and challenging my skills as a photographer while looking for beauty in what seems to be an ugly space.
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| image © Scott Jarvie |
One thing that Scott Jarvie said that really inspired me was the concept of being prepared for anything. He was talking about shooting stars and using the moon to help guide his shots of buildings. It really intrigued me and made me want to go try it. I love stars. I love photographing. That should be easy right? ;)
Justin suggested we go on a tour of Atlanta (Georgia?) and find everything there is to photograph which I am totally up for. (If Scott Jarvie can travel across the US, then I can travel across the state.) I love the prospect of getting a wide angle lens to practice shooting some architecture…and I'd love to get a polarizing filter to practice shooting water. I was very inspired by the talk yesterday, and I only hope that some of Jarvie's ideas can be used and reflected through my own work.
** A January Break using prompts from The Idea Room's Photo-A-Day Challenge. Feel free to join in!
