My photo class at Tyler Junior College is still lurching about in the fog. I blame the teacher but it reminds me of how hard it is to actually SEE what's in front of your face. Especially so if you are going to drive it through a camera.
Very hard to be simple.
I had them shoot a portrait of someone else in the class during class. We went outside in a nice pice of light and I posed some folks. Then we went in the studio and I lit more people so everyone could shoot. They are still struggling to make their cameras work. Total disaster. Of course, the only person not to pay tuition...me... I'm learning a LOT.
Nothing as easy as it looks.
I spent the whole work day before class shooting stills to go with a video series that the college is doing. We were working in Ornealas dorm, a huge new luxury dorm just opened this semester. They've already had to close the lobbies to activity because the kids were going wild. The director running the dorm quit and went back to her old job. Real chaos. Signs up on every post in the lobby announcing its closure. Trash. Noise. I'm sure it was a riot.
It gave me a quiet nice place to shoot with lots of varied backgrounds and lighting situations, though it was full of strange colors of light. And I had 18 subjects, most of them young and photogenic, though there was a drama along with nearly every one.
The most drama free group I ever photographed was some MHMR folks at a sheltered workshop. They looked like hell on the outside but had absolutely positive attitudes about their appearance. To a man they thought they looked GOOD.
One of yesterdays portraits above. Window light and a foam-core reflector carelessly clamped to a stand.
4 comments:
It seems to me that good teachers do learn more than the students.
After all they are paying closer attention than anyone else in the class and they have a frame of reference to know what's important.
The kids are just there to become famous photographers or to take pictures of girls with their clothes off.
Okay, now I really must complete my Great American Novel! Thank you for a delightful experience. Love, love, love the book jacket shot. Be my teacher!
Please allow me into your class someday. I promise to bring adequate portions of drama and wit.
Well, maybe mostly drama. But I'll be funny. I promise I will learn. You are gifted! By the way, PLEASE be sure you deleted the fattest ones, sil vous plait! You promised!
I want to learn more about photography so that when my electric pink flamingoes in the backyard are shot at night, they will look like flamingoes and not hunkering villians from Star Wars. You may not believe it, but they are truly very tasteful, in a Jimmy Buffet sort of way. They go nicely with parties.
Have a great day!
Must pack myself off to work now.
Such a bother...where is that silver spoon again????
She is hot!
I can guarantee, as a student in that class, that you are definitely not the only person learning something.
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