RE: [Leica] The Eyes Have It

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

You have hit on something quite interesting, Rob. I know that the photos I
take of my own family do not even come close to the quality of the photos I
take of strangers' families, and I believe there are several reasons for
that:

The first reason is that when you are shooting your own family, you are
shooting that which is familiar to you, and when something is familiar, you
do not "see" it; those things which are familiar tend to strike us as
uninteresting, not worthy of photographing. After all, we see them all the
time;

Second, when you are shooting your own family, you are a participant in
events, rather than an observer, and as a participant your vision is sharply
altered from what it would be if you had no connection with the people you
are shooting.

When I spend a day on a shoot of a family I simply watch events unfold, and
look for the visually interesting; Aunt Tilly's new dress isn't worth a
photo; Uncle Jack's sitting by himself and petting the dog is. If Uncle Jack
were my Uncle Jack, I probably would have seen him sitting by himself
petting the dog a hundred times; and therefore I wouldn't photograph him
doing it because I wouldn't "see" him doing it. But because he and the dog
are new to me, I "see" the image.

Ah, but you say, 'the people who get the photos have seen Uncle Jack pet the
dog a hundred times, so why do they want the photo of it?' They want it, and
are thrilled to get it, because they haven't "seen" it a hundred times, and
when they look at the photo they experience that flash of recognition, a
sense of deja vous all over again, if you will.

As to the question of controlling the setting, etc., that comes down to how
we are used to working. You work very successfully by carefully selecting,
and thus controlling, your settings, and posing your subjects in the sense
that you are telling them where to go and what kinds of things to do. So
when you find yourself in a situation where you have no control, you are at
a loss. I, on the other hand, work without any kind of net; I am just a
photographic fly on the wall, and that works best for me. But when I am
forced into a situation where I have to put people into a setting, or
situation, set up the photos, I don't do nearly as well. It's all a matter
of what we're used to.

BTW - Great kid shots - as usual!:-)

B. D.

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Rob Heyman
Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2002 7:56 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: [Leica] The Eyes Have It


Hi everyone.

Well, the Big Reunion was a success. The candid photos taken at the
event were not. My current thinking is that events like this are best
left to people who have no family ties with the people involved. I found
I was not able to stay aloof from the very familiar people and
surroundings and consequently was unable to recognise locations that
were condusive to interesting photographs. (Familiarity breeds contempt)
I found myself photographing in a candid, uncontrolled way that I tell
others not to do. Maybe I was just having a bad three days.

I think if there is ever a next time I will hire competent people like
Robert Appleby or Kyle or Doug Kim. People who can recognise a shot
without the distraction of favourite aunts who should or should not be
in the picture.

My normal method of working is to be in complete control of the location
and the people are there specifically to be photographed. Neither of
these criteria were satisfied at this event. I have often found it
difficult to photograph people I know well. Is this some type of
syndrome?

Anyway, to redeem myself, at least in my own mind, I have posted a few
shots that have a common theme. The eyes of these kids are the main
feature of the set that I have posted at:

http://www.leica-gallery.net/heymanphoto/folder-3429.html

There may be some more eyes from this weeks stuff. If so I will add them
asap.

Rob





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