I will soon have the pleasure of leading some photography classes here in Temple, Texas, and I wanted to start off with the most useful topic possible [note: I did want to start with portraits, but due to some miscommunication between me and Temple Parks, we will do the portrait workshop in February]. How many of us would not appreciate being able to take better photos of our family and friends? The vast majority of our photos are of people, yet photographing people can prove to be one of the most difficult photographic pursuits. The focus of the workshop will not be to cram technical information…as if portrait photography were as simple as learning some formulaic technique anyway. The focus is to turn simple tips into habits through doing. We will identify the problems plaguing our pictures, learn the fix, and practice that fix enough that we all but eliminate…
Tag: belton
Yesterday, I took the scenic route back to my parking spot. I was just running a normal errand and had my one-year-old in my arms. Sure, we accidentally parked a little too far away initially, but that had nothing to do with the scenic route. The mood, history, and culture of downtown Temple, Texas inspired us to take a slightly less direct path back to the car…just for the beauty of the moment. I was less concerned with taking photos than I was with enjoying a few extra minutes of the day. What I received was more enjoyable and eye opening than I expected.
The “Learning to See” in the title is a reference to Chris Marquardt’s Learning to See Workshops. Not that I have been to a workshop, but I have listened to his Tips from the Top Floor podcast quite a bit, and really appreciate his approach to photography. I could not agree more with his website byline: “learn to see”. How we experience life, what we notice, and the learned ability to switch perspective are key ingredients to the quality of photography we produce. I learned a lesson in learning to see on that scenic walk back to the car.
Meet Dr. Ophthalmos. You would trust this guy with your eyes, right? I would. Of course, I know him personally, so that is much less of a problem for me. What I was trying to capture was familiarity, compassion, and professionalism all wrapped into one.
Here was the assignment. The clinic where he will be moving to work after residency asked him for a photo they could put in the paper. It is one of those here-is-the-new-eye-doctor-in-town paper articles, but really it is just free advertising for the clinic and for him in particular. They wanted him with his equipment, something that said ophthalmologist, and they wanted a photo that was inviting.
I would like to say I am some hot-shot photographer that made all this happen in some kind of beautifully historic way, like Yousef Karsh’s iconic photo of Winston Churchill. Alas, my doctor friend made it easy on me.