Building essays
- This topic has 10 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated Jul 10, 2008 at 11:47 am by
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Can’t help at all on the writing aspect. Thats a realm I’ll never get to.
Imagery:
For me, it starts with an idea an grows from there.I have 2 or 3 “photo essays” I’m trying to compile. Most of which have started with an idea for an envisioned single shot or two. The rest just comes and falls into place. The real problem for me is limited opportunity.
A locale/destination (one of which Im trying to get shots of) is maybe the easiest and yet alot can conspire against. One such is a small river, it was that place and for that purpose I went to on the July long weekend.
No bugs
No fish
Even the light wasn’ t the greatest.Instead all I came home with were shots that I felt were forced and a bloody nose. I deleted all but two images and even they arent very good.
Fish in the rain
Oddly enough that is one that I’m trying to compile images on as well.
How many times will I get to fish in the rain this year?
The whole thing started with wanting some shots of guys standing in the rain. The actual idea started with wanting telephoto or macro shots shots of rain drops exploding on water thats glass.
Another as you know from our discussion elsewhere months ago, is trying to get images that “tell” the story, rather than “hero” shots. Everything, from guys catching a nap, to lunch breaks, to the “action” shots I strive for.
This is probably my favorite thus far this year.
For me I don’t know if “Photo Essays” are the right word, I prefer “series” and thats the centerpeice of my “steelheading” series. In one or a few photos it conveys the “essence” of Steelheading in April. From teh cold, to the comraderie to the thrill of a hook set.Sometimes I’m shooting for the sake of shooting and others with a purpose. The latter can often mean frustration as you dont get what your looking for, you force it, or some uncontrolable element like a lack of subject or bad weather/light mean no keepers and thus no further along.
Oh and btw.
fantastic Stones Will.Not too much to add at the moment except great shots Will and John,…absolutely love that last picture.
I’m nowhere the level of any of you; I’m horrible at planning, usually forget to pack something, don’t fully understand my D70s and all it’s capabilities and fish just well enough to land something on occassion. Guess you could call me ‘The Accidental Angler’.
If I was able to really do any of the above, I might take more time to set and plan shots. But if I was to do an essay of sorts I guess I would just usually ending taking shots, kinda like what Zach mentioned, that start with me and my buddies packing up the car. Pictures of unpacking the car and setting camp, pictures of us around the campfire, pictures of angling in action, lunch,…you get the drift. Then I would look back through all my shots for the story being told and hopefully it would be something along the lines of 3 buddies gearing up for some fun, having some time away from home and enjoying nature in all it’s glory.
Very early in my career a very old and wise photographer gave me this advice about shooting magazine stuff.
He said to take the reader with you – show them what you see in both the big picture and the detail.
It’s great advice and has served me well.
I see far to many shots of some guy holding a fish and a rod with little else, yes you need a shot like that, but also the landscape, the weather, the tackle and the atmosphere.
Great shots BTW..
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
Will, Fantastic thread and great shots! Personally, I’d enjoy seeing a couple more environment shots mixed in with the stunning macros. Maybe a shot of a big hatch on the river .. or a fish coming up after one of the bugs .. or, even one of those bugs on a anglers hat. I’m guessing that your intent wasn’t “fishing”, but it would help to keep my interest level in the ‘story’. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I have had a particular photo essay in mind for a about a year now. I have started putting together my locations and contacting some relevant people … So, hearing everyone’s thoughts has inspired me to really get organized about my approach …
First thing — Print and put visibly in truck as a reminder “Take the reader with you – show them what you see in both the big picture and the detail.”. Thanks David, that is good advise!
Next .. I think will actually make a “storyboard” of shots I am looking for and try to envision exactly what I want to present. Hopefully, I wont loose any of the spontaneity.
Zach and the other writer/photographers … I’m sure this is a cart and horse type of question, but … I’m curious, do you mainly write your story around the images that you have brought back .. Or do you mainly supplement your writing with the images that you shot? Let me guess, lots of both…
I like an essay to convey not just a moment but an entire set of experiences. When I go traveling, I shoot things like road signs, food, people getting ready, hotels, etc. as well as the ultimate destination and/or the quarry. I think it gives context that allows the audience to appreciate the effort and dedication that went into putting something so small in front of the lens. Ultimately, fly fishing is more about the road than the terminus.
It helps to be situationally aware while you are in the field. But, I think it is also important simply to keep photography at the forefront of your mind. If you are always thinking, ‘I need to get more shots,’ as opposed to just ‘I need to put my waders on, string my line, bring my box, etc.’ then I think you will come home at the end of the day with a more complete record.
Writing requires a fermentation process. I have written trip articles on the plane ride home and they usually sucked. They tend to be blow-by-blow, over literal, and they lack perspective and artistic scope. Phil at AA rejected my first attempt to write on the plane out of hand and made me wait six months to write the article. Ultimately, it really helped, and the result–my Brazil piece “Down and Out on the Xingu” (anyone catch the Orwell reference?)–remains one of my favorite pieces I’ve written.
Trouble. Seriously; nothing interesting ever happens in a hotel room. You want a story? Go to the whorehouse on the other side of town. (Actually, do NOT go to the whorehouse; trust me!) But do take risks. Fish in the rain. Explore roads that look impassable. Deviate from the main stream. Accept your guide’s proposal that you go further downriver or further out on the flat than anyone else. Don’t worry about running out of gas. The best travel tips I ever got came from Jim Klug, who owns Yellow Dog, and I learned them less from them being verbally expressed than from watching him react.
Travel’s a hilarious bitch most of the time. It’ll steal your luggage, break your gear, and leave you alone, in danger, running 70mph the wrong way up a divided Brazilian highway. If you react as a pessimist and a curmudgeon, you’ll have a terrible time. That was my default when I had a bad travel experience before going to Brazil. But in Brazil, *everything* went wrong. I was a bitch about it. Klug laughed it off, drank a beer, talked up the fun parts of the trip, and generally had a much better time than me. Since that time I have tried to emulate his mentality; and it works. Running out of gas on the flat in the Bahamas was hilarious rather than scary, because I’ve seen a lot worse. Enjoy the stuff travel throws your way, because you will truly have more fun and get more material out of the bad than the good.
Zach
This stuff should be bronzed…seriously…you have the beginnings of an article here…titled…”The Itinerant Optimist”
Thanks for all the input- this stuff is making me realize I have to raise my game a few notches- I love that!!!!
David- “take the reader with you”
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