no photo, just a comment about emotions

VayCayMom

I recently found myself in someone's home that I just met. (the mother of the bride for my first wedding shoot in July)
I commented on the many framed photos in the home, some color, some very old sepia, all kinds even snapshots. One framed snapshot really stood out to me from a wall full of images in the bedroom.

I asked about it, was this the happy parents? Were you married in this snapshot because I got such a sense of love from the image. I really could not see the man's face. He was turned to the woman looking at her, they were walking towards the camera head on, she was beaming, they were very young and good looking. I told her I could tell how much he loved her even though his face was turned away, he only had eyes for her! She told me the story of that moment. That photo was taken after they were married and he had a one week leave [R&R] to visit home in the middle of his tour in Viet Nam. And that snapshot caught the emotion, there must have been 20 photos on the wall plus on the table beneath, many taken in department store studios as the baby grew up. But the candid was the gold crown in my opinion.

I hope I can capture some moments like this for their daughter's wedding!:lust

Caspian

Thanks for sharing that experience. It helps us see that photography is more than the mechanics of capturing light, it is the wonder of freezing time.
David

jeffreaux2

ahhhhh......and so it is....

...and it brings up the point of what I am hoping will be a very special project that I have embarked on.....that is....creating a handfull of images that will hold a world's worth of meaning to a few folks on this planet.

Lets face it...technical ability doesn't get those types of images....although it helps to be capable on the ins and outs of the gear you choose. The real trick is getting deep into the heart of the matter. Right?

...and that requires some sensitivity, some emotion (even on your part...not just the subject), and some sentamentalism (if that is a word?).

It requires heart....to get to the heart of the matter. A good lesson in that is to look at the images created by some of the VERY talented dgrin photogs. You know who I speak of....the ones who seem to produce stunning images each time they post...but...BUT....when it is a photograph of someone who is SPECIAL to them there is something entirely ELSE within the images. Something MORE.

My project...technically...is really beyond my means. I am a "people" shooter and am embarking on a project that is "landscapes" at it's core. My father in law has alzheimers...and we know what we are in store for. In the mean time his home is for sale. The same home my wife and her siblings grew up in. The only HOME they have ever known.

I have been getting there...to his place each Saturday morning to shoot a few frames....of the home....his "magazine worthy" vegtable garden...cats....whatever chance brings...and even my father in law...as he is apt to step into my perfectly (or not so much) framed landscape compositions at any time(lucky is as good as good ...right?). Surprisingly I have taken quite a few "people" shots on this "landscape " project. But I AM getting to the heart of it...I hope....with plans to put books together for them of these images...on St Anne Street.

...and Ive taken steps to be sure I am getting to the heart of it.....by putting a LOT of thought into each frame. Im doing the project on fim...rather than digital....with a Medium Format Twin Lens Reflex camera that FORCES me to think a great deal about the compositions. In its waist level viewfinder...everything is backwards....EVERYTHING!!! Whats left is right and visaversa. Its a trip. And I am only shooting up to 12 exposures per trip. One roll. Thats it. I dont have the luxury...or laziness of shooting a hundred per trip and deleting the chaff. I want them each to COUNT.

Dig
Laugh
Cry
Feel
Get to the heart of it!

VayCayMom

Hi Jeff, what a labor of love you are involved in.Knowing what is in store, and what you are recording is so sad . My mother passed away from the same disease the very night my daughter got married, even though she was in another state, everyone around her kept her "informed" about the wedding and I think she knew there was something she needed to wait for and then she could go. Looking back in candid family snapshots , hindsight is so darn sharp, you can see when the eyes began to dim a bit, when we attributed it to other things like fatigue and diabetes. So when I think of my mom I think of her eyes in the year or 2 before the diagnosis.
How wonderful you are saving the family home in images that will be around for a long time and for many people yet to come.... yes indeed a real labor of love, priceless.

l.k.madison

Mr. Jeff, good luck with that Alzheimer's, that's some mean stuff there. The last time I saw my grandmother, she had NO clue who I was. Sad, sad day for many reasons, that one is just the most heartbreaking. I've embarked on an Alzheimer's related project myself, I'll send the info your way if you're interested.

As far as the emotions behind the picture... we have a huge frame on our living room wall that holds 21 4x6s of me, my husband and my son over the course of about a year and a half. While none of the shots in the frame are "pro" shots (why pay somebody to take our picture when I can do it myself?) I love them all for different reasons. One of them is my favorite picture from our wedding - us during our first dance, captured by my father. While the flash went off and the background is nearly dark, the look on both of our faces makes it just amazing. I love it, above and beyond any of the shots our pro photog took (I hope she's not reading this ). Second favorite in the set goes to one my mom took, I'm sitting down looking up and my husband is behind me bending over to kiss me, a complete candid (as evident by the purse and the bottle of water beside me) but it's so us, we do it all of the time. I just love it.

I second what Mr. Jeff said about the emotions versus the gear, while the gear does help, being there at the exact instant the love between the subjects show matters more than the gear you need.

Since it was a shot during the Viet Nam War, then it was taken on film, which probably means the negative is long gone, thrown away or just flat out lost. Just goes to show that you don't *have* to have the top of the line gear, you just need to know when to click. Haven't we had this discussion before? Seems like one of her children needs to find a way to blow that up as an anniversary present for them one year, or find a way to re-create it so they can have a "then & now" shot.

What about getting the bride/groom to do that during the wedding pictures? Kind of a second generation same shot type thing? I'm sure Mom would LOVE to buy it and frame it side by side with hers.

VayCayMom

l.k.madison wrote: »

Mr. Jeff, good luck with that Alzheimer's, that's some mean stuff there. The last time I saw my grandmother, she had NO clue who I was. Sad, sad day for many reasons, that one is just the most heartbreaking. I've embarked on an Alzheimer's related project myself, I'll send the info your way if you're interested.

As far as the emotions behind the picture... we have a huge frame on our living room wall that holds 21 4x6s of me, my husband and my son over the course of about a year and a half. While none of the shots in the frame are "pro" shots (why pay somebody to take our picture when I can do it myself?) I love them all for different reasons. One of them is my favorite picture from our wedding - us during our first dance, captured by my father. While the flash went off and the background is nearly dark, the look on both of our faces makes it just amazing. I love it, above and beyond any of the shots our pro photog took (I hope she's not reading this ). Second favorite in the set goes to one my mom took, I'm sitting down looking up and my husband is behind me bending over to kiss me, a complete candid (as evident by the purse and the bottle of water beside me) but it's so us, we do it all of the time. I just love it.

I second what Mr. Jeff said about the emotions versus the gear, while the gear does help, being there at the exact instant the love between the subjects show matters more than the gear you need.

Since it was a shot during the Viet Nam War, then it was taken on film, which probably means the negative is long gone, thrown away or just flat out lost. Just goes to show that you don't *have* to have the top of the line gear, you just need to know when to click. Haven't we had this discussion before? Seems like one of her children needs to find a way to blow that up as an anniversary present for them one year, or find a way to re-create it so they can have a "then & now" shot.

What about getting the bride/groom to do that during the wedding pictures? Kind of a second generation same shot type thing? I'm sure Mom would LOVE to buy it and frame it side by side with hers.

what a wonderful idea! I might just have to recreate it for both couples.....hmmm I feel a sneaky photo being taken( of parents somehow convinced to walk/pose like that) so the bride can give it as a gift to parents......if the day is not too hectic..... thanks!!