Medium Specificity

I am comfortable with photography; however, that comfort comes from trust in myself, rather than my instrument. I have taken classes and studied other photographers’ work in order to arrange my subjects, manipulate light, and edit my photographs with appropriate software. Having worked as a photographer in both amateur and professional settings, I didn’t believe there was much for me to explore in this field. However, I used this project as an opportunity to rely on my camera. I set the shooting mode to a continuous frame, meant for sports or fast movement, and did nothing else to adjust the camera’s automatic settings. I directed my friends to play in the snow, and I followed them with my finger down on the shutter button. I did not look through my viewfinder, I did not set up shots, I did not offer direction to the subjects—I just allowed the camera to capture them.

I feel fortunate to have had this new perspective on camera work. In comparison to the two staged photographs on the blog, the other photos captured real emotion. People put on a different face when they know a moment is intentionally being frozen in time. By keeping the camera lowered, I photographed without creating pressure and ended with photographs that, while being out of focus and poorly framed, show joy, love, friendship, and fun. I was overjoyed to find that art does not only occur because of the micromanagement of an artist, especially when portraying real lives. 

Full album: https://goo.gl/photos/RFsDPHeCp3nHYd7Q7