This past weekend, I had the pleasure of catching up with my friend Ed. Ed is a photography teacher, and it’s always an absolute delight to converse with him. His expertise in photography is unparalleled, and I consistently find myself learning something new from him.
This time, I discovered something profound about myself that has been lingering in my thoughts ever since. Ed shared that, on certain occasions, he felt a bit uncomfortable being around me while I was shooting. He explained that I could get frustrated when I missed an opportunity. I understand that my passion for street photography can sometimes be perceived as negative, but it’s precisely this frustration that fuels me.
That being said, Ed suggested I try a different approach to my photography, and I have to say I was intrigued to learn what he had in mind. He suggested that I treat my digital camera like it was a film camera, in essence, take the photo and don’t look back on the photo in the camera, just enjoy the moment I pressed the shutter button, take a breath, and move on to the next capture.
Now, this is something I’ve always told others to do; it’s called chimping. But Ed was going further. He told me to not look at the photos for a week.
He said there should be 2 parts to photography, 2 ways to enjoy the art. The first way is to enjoy the moment you’re on the streets, be relaxed, enjoy the not knowing. The second way is the discovery when you’ve almost forgotten what photos you’ve taken, the moment of mindfulness when rediscovering the photos on the computer.
This sounds fantastic, but I’m not sure I can fully commit to shooting this way. About 75% of the time, I take photos to check my composition and framing, and not being able to do this could compromise my work. I understand that when I was shooting film, I trusted myself that I had the framing and moment right, but in the digital world, I can check this, so why would I compromise myself?
If it were anyone else telling me this, I would dismiss it and continue shooting the way I do. However, Ed is someone I trust, and he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to photography. So, for the next few weeks, I’m going to fully commit to shooting my digital camera like a film camera and see what happens.
I’ll post some of the photos I capture on the blog and be honest with myself about my frustration. Maybe I won’t be frustrated when I’m taking the photos on the street, maybe the frustration will come when I’m finally looking at the photos. Who knows?
