a personal connection...

I believe the relationship I establish with each client can make a nice difference. It's how I work. This can be difficult for some, the photographer as well as subject.

With pj I look for happy faces, where the basics show themselves. I look for happy as I see much of the other.

It's the way I want to show people. Happy to me is much better than the other emotions. Someone else can capture that.
 
Bob Michaels said:
I personally believe that if you really don't care about the person, you are dead in the water because it comes through. Maybe you have hit on the key point why some succeed at this while others cannot.
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I'm not trying to be argumentative but is it possible to care about a person whom you don't know at all, other than in an abstract or general way? I wonder about this because I often ask myself why I persist in doing this kind of shooting. I often feel I have taken something of greater value than is consistent with my empathy. I walk away with images while my subjects are left with nothing more than what they had before my picture-taking. It doesn't feel balanced somehow.
 
MCTuomey said:
I'm not trying to be argumentative but is it possible to care about a person whom you don't know at all, other than in an abstract or general way? I wonder about this because I often ask myself why I persist in doing this kind of shooting. I often feel I have taken something of greater value than is consistent with my empathy. I walk away with images while my subjects are left with nothing more than what they had before my picture-taking. It doesn't feel balanced somehow.
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Mike: good question since obviously you do not know each other well. But you are relating as one equal human being to another. Most times the scenario places the other person as representative of some particular group. You establish that you have respect for members of that group. In my case, that group is one that society sometimes looks down upon and I differentiate myself.

I always strive to create a situation that both of us feel that we are a little bit better off because our paths crossed, no matter how briefly. That really bears fruit if your paths happen to cross again at some later date and they have positive memories.

Sure you have images and they have nothing tangible. But you must acknowledge that the images are much less important than the personal interaction you shared.

I previously showed a photo of Rosevelt Dudley in Rosedale Mississippi. Six months later I was back in Mississippi, went to Rosedale, found his trailer and gave him a print. He was so pleased that he retrieved the hat he was wearing in the photo and gave it to me. Unfortunately the hat was infested with roaches and I had to throw it out the car window as soon as I got out of town, but it was the thought that counted.
 
MCTuomey said:
I'm not trying to be argumentative but is it possible to care about a person whom you don't know at all, other than in an abstract or general way? I wonder about this because I often ask myself why I persist in doing this kind of shooting. I often feel I have taken something of greater value than is consistent with my empathy. I walk away with images while my subjects are left with nothing more than what they had before my picture-taking. It doesn't feel balanced somehow.
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If you didn't know them at all, it would be that much much harder to care about them at all. I'm not saying you can't care about someone you don't know at all, because obviously you can. But do you not care a little more, understand them a little better, from getting to know them even slightly? In other words, isn't "at all" better than "not at all"?

Cheers,

R.
 
i'm not sure if it's a project i need or making more connections with my subjects…i'm not worried about the 'how to'…i'm pretty gregarious when i want to be but never felt the need or believed i should be anything more than anonymous when out out shooting.
i know that gear is not the issue…i know mine and am comfortable with it…
it could be simple frustration with the sameness of my stuff, maybe it's the heat…who knows? i might be bored with my 'vision', how my images blend into each other, like most nickleback songs…
i'd love a holiday but cannot afford one so a change of venue is not possible at the moment.
it could be as simple as doing something different, like some head shots of friends…i could set up a studio in the living room.
probably just me being in 'a mood'...
 
Hi Joe. I'm back from my motorcycle trip and took some pictures of some people along the way. When you're travelling alone its easier to meet strangers because as a traveller you are more interesting to them, and they are more interesting to you when you spend a lot of time alone in your own head riding a motorcycle for thousands of miles. Here is one of my favourites. Taken with iPhone, but a also pulled out my Rolleiflex. (Film still needs to be developed.) I spotted G.B. working on his car as I was riding by. Stopped, turned around and chatted with him for about 45 minutes. Talked about his car, his other projects, and his life.

Pics look better on my site.

16aba8150c46ae5cb146b417d7c50169.jpg
 

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