Inspired

Everyday I am inspired to photograph by ordinary moments, things I see, and people I encounter.  I am always looking at things as if I had a camera around my neck...always searching for interesting angles, beautiful light, and the feelings exchanged between people without them saying a word. Sometimes people catch me staring at them becuase I think they would be so interesting to photograph.
  What inspires me most of all are the classic photographers like Alfred Eisenstaedt, "the father of photojournalism".  They were photographers in every sense of the word.  They knew their way around their cameras.  Film was expensive and they didn't have Photoshop to 'fix' photos, so they had to get it right the first time. They didn't have unlimited chances to get it right the way we do in this digital age. They had to know about exposure.  They understood shutter speed and depth of field. They knew how to use and manipulate light.

I strive to be like these classic photographers...to know my camera and it's settings like I know my own body.  To be careful and choosey about my shots. I work hard to have correct exposure , white balance, and color straight out of the camera.  It is so important to me, espscially in this day when everybody who has a digital camera, Photoshop, and a few cute props calls themseves a "photographer" but then takes 500 photos on the auto setting and gets 20 good ones by sheer luck.

I want to be like Alfred Eisenstaedt, Dorethea Lange, and Mary Ellen Mark with some Stephanie Smith thrown in there too.

Here are some examples of  of the above mentioned photographers' exceptional work:

Alfred Eisenstaedt

Mary Ellen Mark

Dorethea Lange

Comments

[Pam]

Oh Steph, when I saw your blog entry on FB , I just knew that was Dorothea Lange. My daughter, Morgan, loves painting. In 3rd grade she took a great deal of interest in borrowing biographies of artists. One of them was of Dorothea Lange. She loved learning about her so much that we had to immediately seek her work out and visit the nearest museum.

With as much as a hard worker as you are, I'm sure your quality of work will meet the same criteria.

[AmyC]

Awesome Steph! I have always thought it would be great to photograph for National Geographic!!!