Photography Was My Teacher
I dove head-first into photography back in high school to capture the skateboarding and punk shows that consumed my days and nights.
We all have past experiences that continue to guide us. Whether they’re from school, a previous career, or a hobby that we picked up along the way. With photography, I quickly moved from a point-and-shoot camera to a manual focus SLR and from lab processing to developing and printing my own black-and-white shots. Photography was a truly humbling pursuit and the learning curve felt immense.
Looking back, the experience taught me far more than how to capture an image. Here are a few lessons that continue to inform my work.
Patience produces results.
My best photographs were rarely the first on the roll. Skate sessions always got more heated and punk shows always got more chaotic. The real action was somewhere in the middle and it took patience and a keen awareness to anticipate and prepare for when a good shot was coming.
Patience has served me well in working to provide people with enough room to feel that they’ve been heard and in finding common ground while avoiding immediate reactions that can derail conversations and key decisions.
Change is inevitable.
Times changed, skate styles changed and ultimately, the technology used to capture images changed. Yesterday’s film and darkroom limitations are a far cry from today’s digital photography and the camera-enabled devices that we all carry make shooting a snap. In fact, it’s estimated that over 100 million photos and videos are uploaded to Instagram each and every day. [1] That’s a far cry from the 24 shots that come on a roll of film.
This sort of shift is happening in all aspects of our lives. Yet, it helps to view what’s changed through the lens of what hasn’t changed. The qualities that make a great photo are still the same regardless of the format just as the types of information we seek to deliver are the same regardless of platform.
Pictures speak volumes.
As the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Great photography creates an immediate connection and leaves an enduring impact on the viewer. Maybe this is why tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images. [2]
I’ve been scanning, touching-up and sharing images of the skate and punk days over on Instagram, @twisted.time.machine. The series captures a time before technology dominated our lives and change was a little less complex. For some, the shots are a common language from a long-forgotten time while for others they’re an uncharted chapter.
Check out @twisted.time.machine if you’re curious, but most importantly pause to consider what past experiences propel you forward.
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Sources:
[1] Omnicore
[2] Buffer