Strongly concur with all the praise your work has received here.
You have a powerful awareness of light - how fitting for the NM location!
I am interested in your approach to the people in your pictures. Can you share a bit of your methods? Curious as to how much time you spend chatting them up, how open or not you find people to the request and anything else you think might be of interest to us. Do you generally have an easy rapport with people or force yourself to dial it up in order to get the results you hope for?
Perhaps you already have shared this and I missed it, if so, I will go back for a look.
It is refreshing to see these "engaged and engaging" portraits compared to the usual candid "street photography" pics, so frequently of people's backs!
I confess that shyness sometimes reduces my people photography to just such a result.
Love the pics from the Taos high road, especially Truchas....that is one spooky place at twilight.
btw, I believe that the "Gallegos Cash Store" is in Villanueva.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and work, Vince!
Many thanks for your thoughts -- I think much of my 'approach' to photographing people comes from my being an extrovert. I think if I were more shy and introverted, I would not have nearly as much success in establishing a comfortable rapport with people. For example, the first two people shots in this thread (Richard and Pastor Joe) were taken at Teresa's House of Tamales in Cleveland, NM. Just by the mere fact that I was 'the stranger' generated interest (you know - the door swings open and everyone in the place turns their heads to look you up and down), and of course I had my camera around my neck, which caused even more interest. And the type of seating that Teresa had in her little cafe (a few larger tables that necessitated your sitting with others) allowed for conversation. Just so happened that I sat next to Pastor Joe, who knew everyone coming into the cafe, and was interested in who I was and what I was doing. I ended up spending 2.5 hours in that place -- I didn't really take many photos, but it was a great experience nonetheless.
With the photos of the postmasters, this is something I started last year. I figured in these tiny towns, the one place where you'd likely find at least one person was the post office. This time around I was a bit more proactive in seeking them out, and I managed to photograph 4 of 5 postmasters I met (1 did turn me down for a photo). Here again, it came from just being my friendly gregarious self -- I'm not great at getting spontaneous 'street' photos, so I've found my method to work better for me.
For the photos I did in the west side of Santa Rosa (for the Guadalupe County Communicator newspaper), I spent two solid days walking up and down that little section of Rt. 66. That was great because I came armed with the names of the business owners, plus they all knew the publisher of the newspaper. By the end of the two days, I felt like they were all friends. Can't wait to go back.
Back in 1990, I had the good fortune to interview Alfred Eisenstaedt, the great Life Magazine photographer. At one point during the interview, he asked me "How would you photograph Sophia Loren?" I was a naive 24 year-old student, and I hmmed and hawwed and didn't really know. He replied, "You get her to like you! You talk with her, ask her questions, maybe make a little joke etc, and soon you'll be taking Sophia's photo without any troubles." I never forgot that advice from him, but it's not something that I feel like I'm having to force out of me -- it just seems like that's just the way I currently am, or at least hope it is! I don't think I was like that at 24.
The other thing that has been a huge help and icebreaker is the fact that I carry a little printer with me (a Canon Selphy CP910). It's one thing to ask to take someone's photo and say 'give me your email address and I'll email you a copy when I get home', and another to say 'I can make you a print right now', and a pretty nice one at that. Initially I bought the Fuji Instax SP-1 printer for this purpose (it produces tiny business card-sized prints), but I was so embarrassed by the minuscule size of the prints and the quality of the prints, that after a month of use I sent it back to B&H for a full refund, and bought the CP910 with the battery adapter kit as its replacement. True, it is a bit more of a lump to carry around than the SP-1, but the size and quality of the prints more than make up for it (plus you can plug your SD card directly into the printer, as well as your laptop). It all fits into my Tenba bag alongside my additional lenses and extra camera body, so it's always with me when I'm wandering out there. It's a dye-sub printer, and it puts the image down on the paper in layers (first the magenta layer, then the yellow layer, then the cyan and finally the black), so even the process of printing the 4"x6" image attracts a crowd. You instantly become everyone's friend when they see the results, and when you just give them the print ('you mean you don't want any money for them???'), the people are extremely appreciative. Nice to be able to give something back instead of always just 'taking' someone's photo. Hate to say it, but that is one big advantage of shooting digital -- don't think you're going to be able to do that shooting with an M6 and Tri-X.
So really, that's about it. Being honest and humble, friendly and open, spending more time in fewer places (if that makes sense), as well as being able to give someone a print on the spot.
And yes, the Gallegos Cash Store is in Villanueva.
