Photography and me

We possess the ability to freeze a moment in time and cherish it forever in a rectangular frame. To me, that’s pretty mind-blowing.

Most creative folks have an eye for what makes a good photograph. Even if they are not conceptually aware of the terms, they intuitively know it when they see a good shot — when composition, framing, lighting, and color all come together to form a beautiful image.

I wanted to crack open this nut of intuition and get to the root of the principles of photography. There are tons of them. I got a camera and got busy clicking, along with a lot of post-processing.

As I kept going, I noticed a marked improvement over time in how my shots were turning out. I started to develop a sense for what makes an interesting image as opposed to a generic shot of the subject. I played with low-angles, off-centering my subjects, and dramatic bokeh effects to achieve some very cool stuff.

At the core, a photograph has to impact the viewer emotionally — you can do this by giving enough detail in the photograph that allows the viewer to paint a scene in their head and then leaves them wondering about the unanswered questions.

Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks in the perfect example of this. It’s a painting, but same idea. It’s a viscerally appealing image, but the more you look at it, the more you wonder about the stories of the people in the bar and what brought them together for that fleeting moment in time. This feeling is what I strive to achieve with the photographs I take.

If there’s one rule I’ve learned that will make every one of your shots better, it is to get as close as you can to your subject as physically possible. Fill your frame and compose it intentionally in an interesting fashion. It’s awkward (or nearly impossible) at times, but definitely worth the results.

You can check out some of my old pictures and some more hipster iPhoneography on Instagram. Photography is an awesome (albeit expensive) hobby and I’m excited for where it’s going as well. I’m curious to see the societal and cultural implications of more people having access to a camera than ever before in history.