I found this course interesting and quite difficult. I don’t think that I have ever taken so many pictures of people. It has certainly taken me out of my comfort zone. Although I have often taken discrete street photographs, this is the first time that I have ever asked complete strangers to pose for me, as I had to do for Assignment One and for Exercise 2.4.
Doing so was a different experience, and I have to commend the people who offered their time.
I feel that I have learned quite a lot during this course, and this year I have decided to take an external class to improve my street photography. I have learnt about several photographers who were new to me, and I have also been lucky enough to meet a couple of them during the year.
In the process of this course, I have learnt that to produce good photographs you need more than a good camera. You need to show an interest in your subject, and that to obtain a good portrait requires you to do more than just sit the subject in front of your lens. I need to learn to know my subject and take time with them before pressing the shutter. The same applies to all photography. As David Hurn said in his joint book with Bill Jay, “The photographer must have an intense curiosity, not just a passing visual interest, in the theme of the pictures.”(Hurn and Jay, 1997).
Reading their book has caused me to make one important change to the settings on my camera, in that I no longer have it set to show an instant preview of the image that I have just taken. The preview tempts me to take my eye from the viewfinder. That means that I may miss that decisive moment which would make the perfect picture. I now only look at my preview screen after I have completely finished shooting.
On a side aspect, purchasing the Ricoh camera for Exercise 2.2 has opened up some new possibilities. Although the camera does have some obvious flaws, the results from both still photography and video are definitely interesting. (see http://bainb.com/wp/iandp/2018/02/27/360-degree-photography/). This is a form of photography which I will continue to pursue and try to improve on during the coming year.
Reference:
- Hurn, D. and Jay, B. (1997). On being a photographer. Anacortes, WA: LensWork Pub.