Commentary # 4 ~ May 2007
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Only the Journey Matters - The Kind of Photographers I Like Meeting

May 2007


- by Craig Wassel


I took a business trip (not photography related) earlier this month to our nation's capitol. If you have not been there, spring is simply a beautiful time in Washington D.C. I don't travel on a regular basis lately, which is a not necessarily a good thing for a photographer. Spending too much time in one geography can make it challenging to keep the fresh eyes needed to see creatively. On the other hand, as passionate as I am about photography, it's tough for me to miss the day to day fun of my three kids.

Since I was not traveling for a shoot, I argued with myself about whether to take any gear with me. Do I want to take the extra time to prepare and pack it? Do I want to allow extra time at the airport for any questions or extra security matters that could arise? Do I want to worry about theft? The photographer in me won out, knowing from experience that I was going to see something and feel like a body part was missing without a camera in hand.

While in D.C. I met a guy named Bill. I wished I had gotten his business card, so if you are reading this, Bill, email me! Bill is a commercial photographer, and was there covering the convention (again - not photography related) I was attending. It was easy to spot that Bill was a photographer who does not skimp on lenses, and I commented on a fast wide angle zoom mounted on one of his bodies. A photographer's glimmer twinkled a bit in his eye as he felt a hint of someone who could identify the make and model of a lens from only a glimpse.

What was that lens? What body was he shooting? I won't say because it really doesn't matter. In the end, I am sure it would not matter to Bill that I happen to do a lot of shooting with that same body and much of the same fast glass.

When we had common free moments over the next several days of the convention, we sat and talked about photography. Sure, we talked about gear, but only as it relates to what each of us is trying to accomplish. We didn't sit around discussing MTF charts or who makes the best glass, or who makes a better body. I told Bill I prefer film to digital but shoot mostly the latter, and he told me F-I-L-M is a four letter word to him. Neither of us cared, because what really interested each of us was the other's portfolio.

Bill is making a full time living in photography. I am jealous, and good for him. I showed him my website and much of my black and white photography; he was genuinely wowed, and wants to do some of the same. Bill has had the opportunity to photograph everyone who is or has been anyone in Washington over the past 20 years or so. For example, he showed me some of his coverage of the ever animated James Carville. Bill knows what is doing and it shows in the quality of his work. I can't compete in that area.

And on we talked. He let me feel the two-finger roll of a telephoto he has and I want. I showed him how I am sending photographs directly to laptop for fast review during portrait shoots. He showed me photography he did on an Alaskan cruise - the same cruise I would love to take with my wife. I showed him my first experiments with HDR photography - some of which I did in my free evenings right there in D.C. We could have gone on for hours, but he had work to do and so did I.

The point is Bill is a photographer to whom only the journey matters. Canon, Fuji Pro, Hasselblad, Leica, Nikon, PhaseOne? Kodak point and shoot? Personally, I don't care. And if Bill cares about that kind of thing even moderately, I am sure it's not as much as he cares about the capturing moments and capturing his vision. Sure, he said film is a four letter word to him, but I'll bet anything if he had to choose between being stricken blind or shooting film, he would continue the journey and shoot film. Further, there was no reaction (nor a poker face) when I told him I prefer film but shoot mostly digital. There was no smugness about brands, formats, or workflows. He was geniunely interested in what I was capturing, not the names or specs of my equipment.

That interest was mutual. Bill is the kind of photographer I love to meet.

What I know about photography has come from many places. My dad taught me alot and gave me my start. I watch and use my eyes every moment I can. I shoot alot; perhaps nothing instructs more than simply shooting and and reviewing what is captured. Though creating a great photograph is often a solitary process, photography itself is interactive. Ansel Adams said there are always two people present even in a landscape photograph: the photographer and the viewer. In portraiture work, there is the critical interaction between photographer and subject. No interaction between them results in no photograph - just a picture of a person who happened to be in front of a camera.

But there is another valuable interaction in photography - and that is between photographers themselves. My photography could exist without it, but I hate to think of things I would not learn and the inspiration I would miss. And if I approach those interactions with any smugness about equipment or anything else, I would miss out on the learning and the inspiration just the same.

And - the journey would not be nearly as enjoyable.


"There's no particular class of photograph that I think is any better than any other class. I'm always and forever looking for the image that has spirit. I don't give a damn how it got made."

~ Minor White ~








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" . . . Bill is a photographer to whom only the journey matters. Canon, Fuji Pro, Hasselblad, Leica, Nikon, PhaseOne? Kodak point and shoot? Personally, I don't care. And if Bill cares about that kind of thing even moderately, I am sure it's not as much as he cares about the capturing moments and capturing his vision . . . "




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