No wait-it's all about
I believe that photography is a dialogue between two people.
That could just as easily be the dialogue between my husband and I (who I met in photo classes in college during the Paleozoic era when everyone used film and fire was a novelty.)
...or the dialogue between my students and I.
...or the dialogue between me and someone I'm photographing.
We all know that a photograph can reveal more than just what you look like-it can tell people who you are.
 |
| That's me. I feel like that's pretty descriptive. And accurate. |
"What kind of photographer are you?"
and I say
"I mostly make portraits." But-to paraphrase Imogen Cunningham-I will turn my camera on whatever is in front of it. I think of photography as story telling. It's a record, too, of a specific time and place and person. But I want to tell the story of the person in front of the camera-and I want that image to be timeless. I try not to buy into the trends and gimmicks. Good lighting, good exposure, good composition should equal an image that is as relevant now as it will be in 50 years. Not to say that I always hit my mark, but I'm always aiming.
"Why teach?"
and I say
"Why not?"
I mean, really, why wouldn't I want to share my love for photography with a 160 enthusiastic teens? Photography is the magical blend of science and math and art and literature and history and critical thinking. It's pretty much everything else tied together. And I get to explore all aspects of my craft with these young people. Not a bad gig.
"What's with the sometimesitalktostrangers thing? Didn't your mom tell you that was dangerous?
and I say
"Well, yeah, but I was five and I can run faster now."
I was in a grocery store once and a little girl in the cart in front of me said:
"What's your name?" and I said
"Tara, what's yours?"
"Jennifer, what's the man's name behind you?"
(awkward silence: um, I think his name is strange man.)
then I turn around and say to strange man,
"Hi, my name is Tara. This is Jennifer, what's your name?"
and we managed to make friends with everyone in that line. And that's not a bad life philosophy.
Sometimes I talk to strangers.
