February 8, 2016

I’ve been shooting for awhile and as I look back at my career, I think back about the experiences I’ve had.

I think about the work I create and about the many influences that have shaped who I have become. I have had people that have come into my life, some who are still in my life, and those that are no longer. 

I look back at my growing up and how experiences back then have formed my feelings and thought processes in how I create.

Then, there are the movies, books and magazines that have left their indelible mark on my work.

I grew up being a geeky kid, always reading, watching movies, loving school. 

But, I was a short, overweight little boy and I was teased mercilessly by friends and family. I loved playing pickup games either in football or baseball, and I was active, but I was still the short, fat kid,

 Movies, books and school were my escape from being made fun of or ridiculed because I was different.

Movies and books became my fortresses of solitude. They allowed me to live in a world where I was someone important, where I mattered and I lived in that world within my imagination.

I insulated myself from all that pain I felt and I turned into somewhat of an introvert. 

I was good at school and as I turned into an adult, I found that the imagination I had developed over the years, gave me a distinct and powerful advantage when I became part of the corporate world.

When I left all of that behind 20 years ago to start my career in photography, my imagination became the driving force behind my work.

Adding to this, the emotions and feelings I had never allowed myself to feel, let alone experience have become the underlying soul of my work.

My work is simple, because feelings and emotions are simple. 

They aren’t complicated. There are no caveats, bells or whistles to feelings. 

If they are true, then what you see and feel in my work needs no explanation and I shouldn't have to spoon feed as to what you see.

I don’t ever set out to create an image that is complicated. I’m not a robot. I’m not a machine where I have to create photos that all look alike or like anyone else. 

I do not want my work to be technically perfect, but lack any life. You've seen them. You have seen so much of this that after a while, you become desensitized to what is good and what is mediocre. 

I never set out to impress anyone with my work, even my subject. I don’t think about creating some set for my assignment in my studio, or going to a location where that location becomes the image itself.

It’s simple. I let myself go and don't think about anything else other than letting myself create without overthinking. I let my feelings shape and create the image. I let myself feel the person I'm working with with. 

I pay close attention to everything around me. 

My photos aren’t meant to be perfect or a testament to my skills. If I am true to what I create, then all of that is secondary. It just happens and you, as the viewer will respond to what you feel, not what you see.

I’m a student of the past masters and I’m not in their league by any stretch of the imagination. But, what I see nowadays, as I have over the years, so many photos lack life. 

They are perfect technically, but lack feeling. They don’t say anything to me. They may be good photos, but they don't excite me.

Then, I see work that is so overworked in photoshop that it too, that it says nothing about the photographer other than they are a resume of the photographer’s photoshop skills.

It’s so easy to buy a camera, take a photo, look at the camera’s LCD and make adjustments until they feel they got a good shot. 

Damn, I’ve even heard of people (dance photographers) who use the "burst mode" of their camera and capture anywhere from 15-60 images in a single press of the shutter. They then go back and select what they think is the best image of that burst.

This sucks. In my opinion, and my opinion only, these people are NOT photographers. They're not and if they have to resort to doing this, they don't understand dance or movement. This doesn't require imagination.

Fashion photos are no longer fashion photos. They are just overdone, lifeless images. 

I have do idea what photo editors are looking at. They seemed to have moved away from what was once true art in fashion and dance.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not painting the entire industry with a broad brush. There are still many master photographers out there. Photographers who create work that makes a true statement.

But, then, there are so many photographers in our industry and communities who believe they are masters. That their work is so bad-ass that they try to make everyone believe it. 

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this is the way I feel. I will always gravitate to today's and yesterday's true and honest masters of our craft. They are out there and we all know who they are when we see their work.

They don't rely on gimmicks or cutesy photos. They have preserved what photography should be and is.

I’m not trashing anyone’s work, but it just doesn’t speak to me. 

I find that people will flock to this type of work and I often wonder why.

Photography for me is a way to capture beautiful images filled with life, feeling and emotion.

It’s about heart.

~Ed

NEXT UP: Lighting