A week of shooting in Southern Utah with Alain Briot and Tony Sweet resulted in new visions and techniques added to my photography toolbox.
Alain took us to a lot of places with open shade. With all the big walls in the Escalante area, there’s a lot of open shade in Southern Utah. Open shade is an area that is not exposed to direct sunlight. The source of light is the blue sky, making it very soft, enveloping and cool. It is one of the best sources of light available for shooting just about anything. This is definitely something I’ll be looking for in the future and happily incorporate into my vision.
Speaking of vision, I also shot some of the exact same shots Alain took. This is a very interesting exercise as it gives you an opportunity to see the world the way another photographer sees it. I’ve always been hesitant to do this because I thought it wasn’t fair to copy another photographer’s shots. But having done it now, this is a powerful way to expand your own vision by seeing the world through another photographers eyes – not in the finished image but out there in the field.
Along these lines I think it’s valuable for every photographer to photograph bell peppers. What a crazy thing you say. But it’s not crazy at all. Some of Edward Weston’s finest photographs are of bell peppers. So, photographing bell peppers is not an attempt to beat Weston at his game or even tie him. Rather, it is to get your mind in the same place Weston’s was so that you can experience the process he went through and what he was thinking. Weston already did it better than anyone else could. But this exercise is not for the destination but rather for the journey.
Tony Sweet had a distinctive and very evocative style. I think his background as a professional jazz musician contributes to the freedom he celebrates in his photography. He encouraged us to play with our shots, creating impressionistic effects through camera movement techniques. I must confess, I was a bit stodgy and slow to accept this at first. But once I started trying it in the field the joy and sense of child-like freedom is exciting. So here’s another phrase added to my creative vocabulary, one that I will use on all future shoots. And, I have a ‘Tony Sweet’ image that I’m very thrilled with and will be publishing.
It’s a joyful experience to loosen up and boldly play in the field. Photos to come….
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