Through the Eyes of a Child

Blog the First.

Ahem. *cracks knuckles"

I have avoided the idea of a blog for quite some time, which seems silly, if you know how much I like to talk and write. I was an English major in college, so I ought to at least make use of it in some manner, since the job of "Official taste Tester for Reese's Cups" seems to be taken. Even now as I write this, I am cringing. Why would anyone read my ramblings? Still, this is my blog, and so if I want to fill it with limericks, photos of cats, or woodpeckers smoking corn-cob-pipes, then I can do that, right?

Darn, I use a lot of commas. My 10th grade English teacher Ms. Shankel would have me hung up by my skivvies for that, I'm certain. But, if you can ignore my comma-rich writing and enjoy the photos, I guess you can forgive.

Okay, off that subject, and on to photography. Nothing educational this time, mind you. Just a happy memory. When I was just a kid in junior high, my art teacher gave me an amazing gift; a Pentax K1000. Perhaps the reason she did this, was after a semester of "Drawing 1", she had pretty much figured out that all the people I drew looked like they had been riding along on the human evolutionary train, and decided to get off a bit too early. She thought, perhaps, that if I was given a something to capture life with, instead of trying to reproduce it, maybe my time spent in the arts would not be a complete waste.

Isn't it cute? Nope, there is no "AUTO" setting on that thing. I destroyed dozens of rolls of film learning how to meter correctly without my camera doing it for me. To this day, I can walk outside, look at the sky and the landscape, and my brain will say "Yep. ISO 160, F4.5 at 1/125." That's a good thing, I think. It forces me to consider my surroundings instead of snapping away in hopes of nailing a few keepers. Every photographer should begin (or at least try) shooting manual. Or at least take it off that "green A". There's another world out there beyond that "grandparent mode". It's uncertain, uncomfortable at times, and it's awesome when you learn how to command your camera instead of it commanding you!

What was my SECOND camera? You probably don't care. But I'm going to show you anyway. Mamiya C330. Dude, that thing was AWESOME! I destroyed many rolls of 220mm film with it too, as well as found wrist muscles I never knew I had.

So anyway, wow are you still awake? Good. If this is boring, please tell me. I feel like I am being long winded and overly...I dunno. I need a word. Give me a word.

Good one. I'll keep that in mind.

Ok, when I would get home, I would turn on PBS (we didn't have cable) and watch some of the educational programming that came on after school. (Before TBS aired The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo.) One of these TV shows would end up shaping my photography in a way that I would not realize until 25 years later.  TV nerds, ready for a weird trip? Here you go!

Watch the intro, that will show you a lot. The opening theme song is catchy, isn't it? Yeah, Commander Mark is kinda off his rocker, but we'll forgive him this, because he is an awesome teacher. He taught me about shading, and foreshortening, and balance, and how to use those to turn your drawings into cool-looking works of art. He was the "Bob Ross" for kids who liked to draw dragons and alien spaceships. For me however, what he did was show me how to make my pictures not all be "perfectly centered and symmetrical". His drawings always made your eyes ZOOM over to one focal point, while making the rest of the photo CELEBRATE that focal point.

Do I still have my Pentax K1000? Nope. Gone. I loaned it to a photography student and let her keep it. What I do still have, is my Secret City Membership Card, and a way of looking through the camera that not everyone understands. That's alright though. Some people do like it, and won't use anyone but me for their photography. Maybe they see the same things like I do. Maybe they have Secret City Membership Cards too, except their drawings didn't look like the missing link.

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Ready for a change of pace and a few words to live by as an artist? Here you go:

Never be afraid to let your work be different. If someone tells you your work stinks because it doesn't look like "normal" work does, tell them to take a hike to normal-town, and walk away. A lot of people don't want you to be original. Example: I went to work for Olan Mills for a VERY short time, and was told that my style of photography was sub-par, and that in order to be successful in this industry, I needed to shoot like Olan Mills. "Were you able to do it?" you ask. Could I fit myself into their mold? Nope. I fought it. My trainer told me "Okay, you think your photography looks good? I'll let you shoot the next person the way YOU like, and I'll tell you how it looks." That photo is below. (Olan would not let me use it unless I used THEIR logo, since my work now belonged to them, bad or good.)

After seeing it, the guy who trained me said this was "cutesy" and not good for sales. He also said that I took too much time talking with the little girl and making her smile. He then proceeded to pose people in the same 12 poses for the duration of our time together. "We don't have time to be creative here. Just pose them this way and shoot. They don't know what they want, it's our job to show them!" was what another Olan Mills trainer told me. Remember that next time you book with them. ;)

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So on to Romania! Wow, that was a transition, wasn't it? I'll tell you all about the country that has become an inseparable part of my heart in later blog entries, it's time to make a point of this one! When I first went there (as a photographer for our mission team) I asked God to show me a new way to shoot that would honor Him while I was working with these beautiful children. Sure enough, when I got there, the classic style of portraiture I had embraced for years seemed to evaporate, and a new way of shooting things awakened. The following year when I returned, the same images began finding their way through my lens. Everything was off-centered, with a focal point of the child's eyes, and a huge space off to the side...reserved for God. I began too look at these images even further, and I noticed something.

Commander Mark.

Foreshortening, shading, vanishing points, areas of interest. All these were there, and God had brought them back to me to use in a NEW WAY. Look back at that intro to "The Secret City" below:

Now look at the photo below. God showed me this image, and later on, I will tell you more about little Maria, who captured MY HEART in a way I cannot explain in words. Look at the photo though. Do you see it?

Do you?

Let me know if you do.

I bet you watched "The Secret City" too, didn't you?