By the river down the street

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I made a new friend today. Her name is Jayna. Rachel introduced me to her. Two things about her: Leica and Hasselblad. We were discussing how photographers can be of two types: they either show you something with their photos or they make you feel something with their photos. I want my photos to make people feel things. The first time is easily done. Just take a photo and write about it. This is what I ate for lunch. The second is alot harder. Being able to convey the right ambiance is challenging. There are no guidelines to what the composition is. It just needs to evoke something in you. We both agreed that Brian Ferry of the blue hour does this really well. And though the images may look like simply images of the mundane, its actually rather difficult to compose and capture. As digital cameras become more prevalent, and the urge to differentiate grows, it seems only natural to lean towards capturing the feeling. While I love what Rachel does now, I look back at her old work (scroll half way down) and think that it means so much more now.

I looked through my photo archive searching for images that conveyed mood rather than subject. The closest I get to mood is generally when I'm out of town. Roadtrips, day trips and drives that have no destination in particular. It seems that I can better communicate mood when I am relaxed. When I'm not pressured by time or people, I can think more openly. Perhaps I need to spend more time alone. While I love company, perhaps it is the presence of company that prevents me from translating mood into pictures. I am still learning.