My latest readings for my capstone class included two chapters in Anne Lamott's book, "Bird by Bird," as well as a reading from David Hurn and Bill Jay titled "Selecting a Subject." While I didn't enjoy the "School Lunches" and "Polaroids" chapters from Lamott's book as much as the others, I still think they had important points to consider. In "School Lunches," Lamott stresses the importance of not thinking so much and just writing. "Now, who knows if any of this is usable material? There's no way to tell until you've got it all down..." she says. I think this concept can apply to photography as well. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed when I'm out shooting and I can't help but think where do I even start? But Lamott reminds us to just shoot--the pictures might not end up being usable but you don't know until you try.
I could really relate to Lamott's "Polaroid" chapter. In talking about Polaroids, she says, "You couldn't have had any way of knowing what this piece of work would look like when you first started. You just know that there was something about these people that compelled you, and you stayed with that something long enough for it to show you what it was about." This reminds me of my final project in Fundamentals on a single mother raising four young children. I had no idea that the project would turn out the way it did. Just like Lamott said, I just knew there was something about this family that compelled me, and I stayed with them long enough for the true story to emerge. That project turned out to be one of my favorite photographic pieces and one that I will never forget.
Lamott also talked about her Special Olympics story and her frustration with how slow the event was, in particular the track-and-field event. She talks about feeling really anxious for the last runner to finish, totally missing the whole point of the event. Then when the man approaches her to show her a Polaroid, it all becomes clear to her. She sees how much this event means to its participants and she knows she has her story. This reminds me of a Veterans Day event I had to shoot for the Missourian, and it was pretty much just a series of speeches from various people. Needless to say I was anxious for it to be over! However, as I was walking out a woman approached me and asked me if I was with the newspaper. She told me that there was a group of women upstairs that was donating hundreds of handmade quilts to veterans and that it might be worth checking out. Once I got up there, I realized that this was the real story. You could see how excited the veterans were to get their quilts and equally how happy the women were to see the joy it brought.
I really enjoyed the reading from Hurn and Jay. I think the two made some great points about photography and their discussion was really interesting. I agree with Jay when he says, "...In order to photograph with any degree of continuous passion, you must have a fascination for the subject, otherwise you cannot sustain an interest in the act of creation for a long enough period of time in which to make any insightful or original statement about it." I know that when I'm not interested or excited about a certain subject I'm photographing, that translates over to my photos sometimes. But when I really care about my subject matter and am passionate about it, I think it shows and ultimately I make better pictures.
I found Hurn and Jay's basic principles of subject selection to be especially helpful and it really got me thinking about what interests me. The essential point they make is that the subject matter you choose must spark your enthusiasm and curiosity for a considerable amount of time, be visual, and be continuously accessible. I hope I can follow these principles when choosing my subject matter for the projects in this class.
What surprised me in the reading is when Hurn says, "...Just wandering around looking for pictures, hoping that something will pop up and announce itself, does not work." I don't agree with this at all, for I have seen many photographers produce great images and stories from just wandering around and looking for something. We learned from Ryan in class the other day that this does work, as evidenced by his long-term project that he did in which he found his subjects by just driving around town.
Overall, I learned from Hurn and Jay how important it is to select a subject that you have an interest in and knowledge of. I definitely agree with Hurn in that "Who a photographer is becomes revealed through what he/she photographs."
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