I went to my photography club meeting the other day and during the meeting we watched a small clip of an interview with Jay Maisel. I had heard of Jay Maisel before but I had not really known much about him and the video really gave me a few insights.
During this short clip he made a few suggestions about the way he shoots and why he shoots. While I had not, in any way, tried to copy him my shooting style was very similar so I tried a couple of his suggestions and today I managed to capture this moment.
I realize it has some technical issues, however, I don't really care. I just love the moment that I captured and I wouldn't have captured it had I not adjusted my shooting style based on the video clip I saw. I am still not trying to copy Jay Maisel but instead I internalized some of his comments and tried something I was previously afraid to try.
I still have lots of work to do to improve my images but I am certainly enjoying the journey. Like these two gentleman it's all about walking the path.
(More details in the comments below...)
no criticism from me, I love the juxtaposition of all the elements here. But I'd love to hear more about what you internalized and what speaks to you
ReplyDeleteI was first struck by the fact that I tend to shoot much of the same stuff as Jay Maisel though he's more outwardly passionate about it. I don't want to copy him but I didn't mind taking a few hints.
ReplyDeletePart of my trouble, if you can call it that, is that I always work really hard to get the shot technically perfect. In this case Jay was saying that he bumps up the ISO so he can get a fast shot. Camera always at the ready waiting for the shot, walk slowly and really look. Sometimes, you find a stage and you just need to wait for the players. In this shot, all of those things came to pass.
It was dark and rainy so I bumped up the ISO to 1600 which, on my Rebel XSi, would normally introduce quite a bit of noise. I normally avoid high ISO like the plague.. this time I "went wild".
Secondly, I found my stage and waited to see life happen around me. In the past I would have taken a shot of the windows due to the colours that were there and moved on. This time, I tried to envision what might happen if I waited. As the two men approached I prepared and shot, capturing the moment.
The big thing that was kind of freeing was that I didn't care if it was technically perfect. I just wanted to capture the moment. Just like I've been learning in karate, it is my art to do my way.