Do you need Iceland or a foreign space to take great photos?
It is a common misunderstanding in the world of photography that foreign places will allow you to make great photos. In itself, there is some truth to the idea that great places make great pictures, but only in our mind. The perception that we get the best photos while traveling, it is that these are new places that construct more of a wow factor, which consider that all our photos are great. You don’t need foreign places – you need a better way to see. If you take some steps to look slightly darker, each worldly place can be extraordinary.
Why simple matter
Photography is not about foreign places; It is about observation. Learning to be a better observer will open an entire new world with your photography. Being a better observer, you start paying attention to how extraordinary can be ordinary. If you feel that you have to go to these far-flung, foreign land, then you will take more photographs until you are a millionaire with time and money to travel to these places. Truth is told, it is simple what we will do. I have a firm belief that if you can make great pictures, you can make fabulous pictures in any situation. We want the audience to join us the work done. Everyone can connect with foreign places, as it is not normal for them. When I am taking pictures of local destinations throughout the midwest, people have a strong relationship with my work. This is because these places are reliable to them, as they are part of their everyday ideal.
If you look at the work of William Eglston and Vivian Mair, both had a common topic. William Eglston became a pioneer in color photography, known for lively images of everyday scenes and places. These places were usually considered “ugly”, yet Eglston created the striking images of everyday, familiar places with his specific style. Taking a look at the work of Vivian Mayer, an already unknown street photographer and grandmother of Chicago, who recently recognized her work – documentation of everyday life of his subjects. He photographed himself through self-portraits of reflections in the windows of the store, and his work shared the unique attitude of his everyday life of his subjects.
These two photographers demonstrated that one could create images of worldly, allowing the audience to take ordinary and join them by converting them into extraordinary images with their surroundings. They did not travel to far-flung places in search of their next picture, and you don’t even have to do it.
Shifting your mentality
The first step you can take a simple view to convert a picture, it is how you see it. Most photographers are waiting for an exciting moment: a foggy morning, golden light, or a large road trip. However, a few moments go far ahead of those exciting pictures in front of them every day. Start looking at the world in light, shape and meaning. Study how the remains of the last dinner are being highlighted through a window on a dinner table left with reflections in a puddle of rain or rain. These are everyday moments that are there to be photographed if we change our way of seeing and look at these moments.
Treat every scene as it matters, because it does. When you are waiting for the theme “worthy” there, you will remember the ninety -nineties of opportunities that are present. I started taking time out to focus on these moments, while in normal places, such as the way light hit a glass of water in a restaurant or the lights coming through the blind of a dealership when I was waiting for an oil change on my truck. The more I did so, the more interested I got in everyday moments, and I started asking myself, if I had my camera, how would I make a picture? I was practicing looking at images that I knew that I would not make, and in a long time, it helped me when I was out with the camera, because I used to find interesting things and moments. This eventually led to my latest project, The last town overI find out these moments in Iowa cities and see where the population is 500 or less.
Photo is easy to fall into the trap of jealousy. We do doom through the images of Icelandic waterfalls and cities around the world, immediately think that we need to live in these places to make great pictures, as we see our world dull and uninterruptedly. This is because we are so accustomed to our everyday life and places that we no longer see them as foreign and interesting places. By chasing these trends and comparing the work we and us, we take away the joy and honesty of our work. Your best work comes from the thing you love with the photo, not what the algorithm likes.
Technology to find magic in worldly
- Light is everything: Start studying lighting in everyday moments, as I mentioned earlier. Study light and learn how it creates and shapes your image.
- Overview: Take a moment to sit and observe the scene, thinking how you can make a picture from what you see. Look for moments that are happening and study colors, shapes and compositions within the scene. Clearly observing is a great way to take better photos. You are not focusing on camera settings. You are focusing on shapes, color and composition.
- Description on drama: Separate the elements in your image in small moments (coffee on the table next to a window with a glow of warm morning light). Find these short narratives in everyday life and tell the story.
Cities did not tell me to be photographed
Over the years, taking a picture of midwest, I am often asked, “Where did you take this photo?” I will tell them where I took the photo, and sometimes, I get a response, “Actually? I drive there all the time and never paid attention to it.” In 2020, I was looking at something, as there were many people. The question was again raised through a Facebook message, and I asked myself the question, “Why do people remember what is clearly in front of them?” project Pop 500 Was born, and five years later, it has been converted The last town over After a brief break, and I started thinking more about the project. I took a break because I felt that it did not have a clear direction. Like many things in my work, I had an idea with me one day, and finally I found the clarity that I wanted.
The last town over The smallest cities of Iowa have a quiet look, with less than 500 people, peace, flexibility, and stories are left behind when the world moves. In the simplest words, this small town Iowa and everyday moments are often ignored. I have a strong belief that as photographers, we take a picture of the environment in which we were raised, and finally, we leave it behind. The project has helped me catch everyday moments that we often ignore as worldly and should not be ignored.
I want the project to show that small towns in Iowa still matter. Even though they can be considered as a run down and are not worthy of the second look, there is still a story to tell, not to ignore everyday moments that make our lives. Nobody asked me to put a picture of these cities, and no one would ask you to put a picture of everyday moments. By doing this, you will be able to catch the moments in any situation that many people ignore, which expands your ability to tell a story with your camera. I find details and places that are often ignored; These are the scenes I always attract.
Why does it matter more than ever
Every day life is fleeting, and “boring” becomes a history of tomorrow. These moments are the memories that we remember in our life. We cannot forget these foreign trips and places, but in the end, we often find ourselves discussing worldly aspects of life. If they were really boring, we will not talk about them; Our life is made not only from crazy places, but from moments. As photographers, we capture the times that we will reflect, along with others with stories of our own life; These are everyday moments – moments that bring us the greatest happiness.
Exercise to practice
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“10-foot rule”: Take 10 photos within 10 feet of your door.
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Limit yourself and use a lens to take a picture of your daily routine.
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Photograph an object in five different ways.
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Just practice observing, no camera.
Ultimately
When you feel that there is nothing for the picture, see again. There are many everyday moments that you can capture and photograph. Remember that these are moments that can produce extraordinary images, if you allow them to happen. Challenging? Yes, it is not always easy to take a moment every day and make a great picture. Wait, and take another form; These moments are the most incredible stories that you can tell. A final idea: Art is not what you see, it’s how you see it. It is not always about the subject, but how do you interpret it.
