Finding Your Voice
On Thanksgiving I had a delightful conversation with a young man who is a very good photographer. Although he likes many forms, he tends to focus on street photography walking during his lunch hour. He commented that some days he looks outside and wonders if there is anything new to capture. It is the same stretch of downtown that he walks everyday. We commiserated about those days when we lack motivation. I shared some of what I have learned from watching tutorials by Jay Maisel and Karen Hutton. When I returned home I decided to go back and examine their teachings further.
Stay open. I was struck by this piece of wisdom when watching Jay's video. He doesn't have a plan. He goes out for his walks with an open mind and lets what is there come to him. When I am less motivated, having a plan, like looking for patterns can help me get out the door. But I must say, that there is something very freeing about being open. I am amazed by what I can find if I do this.
Tune into what you love. Karen Hutton has a ten step approach to finding your voice, which to her means defining your unique point of view and a way of seeing the world. It is about learning about yourself. Of the many ideas she shared, tuning into what you love struck me the most. She asks us to think about our favorite way to feel. I personally like to feel in motion, up early to meet the day, and exploring. That is why Camera Walking resonates so much with me. The key is to find ways to translate your feelings into your photos. I love taking photos of the EMP (now called Mo Pop) and the Monorail, so I felt fortunate to be standing under it when it came through the tunnel. Also I loved the look of wonderment on the child's face in the front seat of the Monorail.
Look for unusual perspectives. We all have our own point of view, and while out Camera Walking take the opportunity to show a new aspect of yourself, or tell the story in a different way. This not only clarifies what you love, but it helps to stretch us to see the world differently. This sometimes means looking up, as this image seemed to suggest to me.
I love taking photos of the Space Needle, so this one I took today is an unusual view of Seattle's icon through the rain spotted glass.
Experiment and learn. All of the good photographers I know and follow talk about experimenting with elements, color, light, shapes and patterns, and much more. It is not to just focus on technique, but it has more to do with expanding your way of seeing. We all have our preferred way of shooting. I love tight, close-up shots, so much of my photography reflects that, but expanding my ability to see other subjects and shooting them in a different way is making me a much better photographer.
Tell the story. Karen shares that the best art touches us emotionally, and our images tell the story of each of us. She asks "what do you want them to say? What will make your heart sing and make your inner self shine more?" These are important questions that we sometimes miss, but I would suggest that if we answer them our images will become more compelling and we will be more inspired to go out searching for more.
I am grateful for that conversation with my young friend last week. By sharing our mutual perspectives, challenges, and our love of photography, it inspired me to dig a bit deeper into myself. So thank you! Hopefully, some of this will inspire you to grab your camera and go out Camera Walking to help you find your voice as well.
