Magic in the Mundane

In relation to last week's post, I'm still pondering a lot of subjects.  Besides what body to add to the kit before things amp again after the new year, I've been reflecting on the bigger picture (ha ha) of photography.  Why do we take pictures?  What is the purpose?  Why do I take pictures?  Why do I take the pictures that I do?  I've been doing a great deal of thinking, reading, and listening to podcasts.  Most of the time all that information and opinion overwhelms and sends my thoughts in a thousand different directions, but occasionally someone else writes or says something that turns the light on, the muddled thoughts drift away, and I get a sense of clarity.

The other day I listened to one of the We Shoot Fuji podcasts (#9) and it was one of those times that a light was shone into darkness.  That particular episode didn't talk so much about gear or technique, but covered exactly what I've been thinking about- what really matters in photography.  What I took away was that the goal is to capture a moment, to tell a story, and to document the world.  It's an excellent podcast episode and I highly recommend everyone listen to it even if they're just a casual shooter and no matter what they shoot with.  It kinda changed the way I see what I do.

When I first started seriously taking pictures with a real camera, I was shooting everything.  We had moved halfway around the world.  Everything, everything was different, new, and interesting.  As time passed, things weren't new and interesting anymore.  The people were just people, streets were streets, buildings were buildings.  Everything that was new had become normal.  So, I started focusing on scenes and subjects that still felt new and caught my eye.  That turned into scenic photography, and then filters and HDR blends.  While that was all well and good, and I love working those types of shots, I was neglecting the simple.  I got it in my head that I had to specialize.  I started only thinking about golden hour and blue hour and exposure times.  I was starting to lose the point.

Here's the thing, I don't have to specialize.  I don't work with clients.  I don't have to convince someone that I'm the best for the job.  It's me and the camera, not me and the camera and the person who hired me to take their picture.  I'm free from all of that, so why tie my own hands and mind? If I close doors on myself by just focusing on one type of shot, I'm preventing myself from experiencing why I started shooting in the first place.  Why did I?  To document as much as I could about this experience.  It's not just sunrises and sunsets and the early evening hours, its the whole day.  It's seeing everything as if it's for the first time again.  Not just wide, but tight.  Not just dramatic scapes, but the little things, the local character, the street scenes, the rainy days, and glorious days.  It's about capturing the truth.  Not just when we're on the road, but the days at home too.  It's not just pulling out the camera when we're visiting a new place, it's about seeing my town the same way.  It's about getting out there and using the camera and enjoying it, not about making it a job.

One of the photographers on the podcast compared it to portrait photography.  He said that even though those professional portraits of the family where everyone is looking their best are important and have value, the shots that really matter are the candids taken by you when everyone is relaxed and themselves.  They're not always perfectly lit and the subject's hair, outfit, or make-up may not be perfect either, but the moment is real.  What was going on in that photo actually happened, it was a authentic moment in time.  No one was out of shot posing the subject.  There weren't any reflectors bouncing the light just right.  It was true, a special instant worth capturing.  It tells a real story, not the story the subject wanted to be told.  He mentioned how when there is a house fire, people run to save their photos.  Those photos are even more special when they're of people who are no longer with us.  Which of those photographs are more meaningful, the professional portraits or the snapshots?  It's probably the snapshots, because those images show that person as they really were.

The same thing can be applied for other types of photography too.  In my case, the sweeping scenic shots are the professional portraits.  They are presenting a location at its best, when the light is just right.  A lot of work goes into those shots both during the moment and in post afterwards.  The other shots, the street shots and the tight shots, they're the ones that usually tell a story.  They're the ones that present the heart of a location, the ones that show a place for what it really is.  The scenic shots certainly have value.  They're eye candy, they say, "Hey, look at this beautiful place, don't ya wanna visit?"  When I see them after they're done I think of the process.  The other shots take the viewer a little deeper.  When I see them I remember the moment I took them.

So, what does that mean?  I'm not going to stop shooting scapes and scenery.  However, I am not going to neglect the other shots anymore.  It's going to take some retraining, but I don't want to miss the whole experience like I have been lately.  That means I'm going to be shooting a lot more stuff, and I'm going to be presenting it here, on Instagram, and I'll start using my Flickr account again.  I'll be presenting more tight shots and more street (I'm not going to worry so much about that anti-candid movement in the EU as much as I used to).  As a part of this, I'm going to take my camera around town with me and document the place that's the biggest part of my life.  We're not going to be living here forever, and it would be a crime not to have many photographs of it.  Since we're not heading anywhere out of town until Thanksgiving, this is the perfect time to work on this project, which I'm entitling "Magic in the Mundane."  Here are a couple shots from this week that I took while walking The Dog along the Main River.  One of the river locks is in our town and it's a favorite spot for dog walking.  I took the X-E2 out with the 18-55mm lens and took a few wide shots of the lock and the river, but my eye was really caught by what was going on at ground level.  The bollards along the docking area at the lock aren't used very often and several of them have plant life growing around them.  Right now, the leaves are turning red and something about these delicate leaves wrapped around that bollard on a rusty metal plate and asphalt fascinated me.  You open the door to nature and it jumps in.

Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 19.6 Ex: 1/1000, f/4.0, ISO 800

 River barges go by all day and when we first moved here, I loved watching them.  They're from all over Europe.  Each one has its own character, something that makes it unique.  Even though I've become quite accustomed to seeing them, I still stop what I'm doing sometimes to watch them go by.  Occasionally, one stops at the lock so the crew can make a supply run.  This doesn't happen very often since we're not a large town so I took the opportunity to take a photo.

Camera: X-E2 Focal length: 18mm Ex: 1/640, f/7.0, ISO 800

 This is one of the boats that went by today.  It moving pretty quickly and had one of those big old "chugga chugga" diesel engines.  I think it would be great to participate in a cruise on one of these barges; start out in someplace like Rotterdam and end at the Black Sea, passing through industrial cities, small towns like ours, and the incomparable European countryside along the way.

Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 34.4mm Ex: 1/400, f/8, ISO 1250

This last shot is one of those that begs the whole story.  I don't know it.  I'd love to.  I see this man pretty regularly from the opposite side of the river.  About once a week, there he is, fishing with at least three or four feline companions.  I don't know if he passes a few of his catch over to his pals or if they're there to take care of the guts, but it's quite the scene.  Lots of people fish along the river, usually with a human friend, sometimes with a dog.  I'm pretty sure he's the only one that fishes with a clowder of cats!  I was originally out with the 18-55mm, but had to come back out with the 55-200mm for this one.  Thankfully, they were still there when I returned.

Camera: X-E2 Focal Length: 200mm Ex: 1/640, f/5, ISO 1250

These are the kinds of things I want to make sure I'm seeing and capturing again.  So, if you're interested in checking out some of these shots, follow on Instagram or check out my Flickr page (which I'll be updating over the next couple of days).  And, of course, there's always something new popping up on the website.  Check out the German Countryside gallery for the latest!