Hi Moo

Moo is my first out of two regular readers.  He's complaining about me slacking off here with the lack of new posts.

Hi Moo.

Last week's assignment (week 6 of 9) involved taking a  picture of someone without their permission and explain to them why I took the shot, then offer to send it to them.  I actually set out this time to "mark" a person but missed my decisive moment.  

I first found this older gentleman walking in town with a cane.  His hair is whispy and he was wearing a long winter coat on a 70F spring day.  I tried to get in front of him the first photo and he turned around.

I missed the decisive moment.

My second "mark" was much easier.  A girl sat pensively on the street smoking a cigarette.  When I first took her picture, I wanted to capture the fact that she was lost in her own thoughts.  I also was initially drawn to her hair and patterned shirt.  Part of the assignment was to explain to her why I took her picture and share it with her.  She agreed to let me text it to her and to be honest, I thought the picture was rather average.

After I uploaded the photo, I discovered other elements to the photo that work quite well.  The left to right pattern of black/white, blue/white, white works really well.  I sat and thought about this and the lesson I'm teaching myself is that in street photography, things may not feel perfect in the moment but was is discovered after lookng at a photo in post production is part of the appeal.  I can discover something much greater after the fact.  New elements, new styles, new patters, etc.  The analysis of photos after they have been shot is an aspect of street photography that is really enjoyable.  Seeking emotion, movement, patterns, meanings in photos is why I love this genre.  The search for these hidden/secondary meanings and how individuals might interpretate a photo differently determines whether or not the photo is "excellent".  I also realized something.  The decisive moment doesn't need to be freezing a moving target into time. I can capture sometihng that is stationary that still has meaning and intent.

It leads me to the assigned readings.  I really enjoy looking at street photography.  The candid nature is awesome.

That's Life - An Indian Street Photographer journal makes me miss and want to be in Asia.  Vibrant colors, energetic streetlife - you can almost smell the spices and feel the energy.  You can check it all out here:  http://www.thatslife.in/

I'm in Mexico this week.  I will definitely be brining my camera.

Bye Moo