Editing makes me dizzy.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under editing, me
After a few days of trying to gather up images for College Photographer of the Year(CPOY) I don’t know left from right anymore or good images from bad. Although in my case it’s been easier to spot bad images since I seem pretty good at making those.
The only given it feels like is that the more you look at your work the more you hate it. It doesn’t take long and all your weaknesses seem to start leaking out of every crevice.
As Melissa pointed out on the APAD blog her favorite post on the new The Photo Editor blog is one that deals with the idea that everyone takes bad pictures. (You should have both blogs on your RSS feed if you don’t already.)
As many people say you’re only as good as your weakest image.
Here are a few images from a project I was working on last spring that I’m trying to edit into a tight essay.
I’m calling it American Trucker. It’s a personal exploration and commentary on an occupation(truck driving) that’s fascinated me since I was a kid.
Yep you guessed it. That’s me as a wee tot not knowing that in time I’d explore a topic I spent a decent amount of my childhood around.
Tags: editing, me, personal, portraits, truckers
A lesson in making something from nothing.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
One of my recent assignments dealt with the one year anniversary of a carbon monoxide leak that sent over 100 people to the hospital and killed one. It happened on a local campus with people who were staying in the dorms as a part of a faith ministries conference. We all know it’s hard to photograph something that already happened, but I had hope since there was a memorial service scheduled for later that day.
Soon those hopes were shattered as the campus PR person said they didn’t want any cameras at the service or any cameras going into the dorms where the leak happened. So there I was moment less.
The reporter had an interview setup with Judy, a lady who nearly died in the incident. She was found 3 hours after everyone else, but managed to gain concisenesses after being passed out on her bathroom floor to call 911.
The writer asked if I wanted to shoot the portrait first, but I let him go head with the interview. I didn’t have anything in mind for a portrait either so I was hoping during the interview I might get an idea as she told her story. I try to sit in on the interview process whether I have an idea or not. I see it as a great opportunity for my subject’s to see that my interest in their story is sincere and it helps to build a rapport. It becomes an added bonus when your subject says something that sparks an idea.
Judy believing strongly in her faith said the reason she survived that day wasn’t due to luck, but a higher spirit watching over her. With that said I knew what I needed to incorporate in my portrait. After the interview I did a quick walk through of the building and found the skylight you see below. It may not be the best portrait I ever shot, but considering the lack of visual opportunities thrown my way earlier in the day I was happy to walk away with this.
As much as I’m for new media there was still something neat about seeing it run six columns on A1. Only thing I had to ignore was the type over it.
After shooting the portrait I hung around for awhile at the registration table hoping to capture a moment or two. As photojournalists you quickly learn that some of the best possibilities for moments come with people coming and going. It’s in that initial interaction or final good-bye that you’ll find the moment we so often seek.
Thomas is battling 3 different forms of cancer and the doctors told him he wouldn’t live past October; it’s July. “All this love keeps the cancer back so it can’t get out,” he told me. I agree.
What did I learn from the day? Nothing new for the seasoned photojournalists out there but hopefully it’ll help someone.
1. Sitting in on an interview can lead to potential photo ideas. Much in the same way audio leads you to good pictures.
2. Increase your odds of capturing moments and emotion by looking to situations when people are coming and going.
3. There’s a reason we’re called photojournalists and not photographers. Be a journalist and get quotes to go with your images. It’ll make them that much more meaningful.
Tags: internship, photojournalism, portraits
Insight from Salgado. Pouring ketchup. And a little eye candy.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
Fellow grad student Jim Korpi shares this quote from Salgado he found and I love. Looks like he finally added a RSS feed too. Thank you sir!
A person who creates something, he has a way to do it, he has not two ways to do it. As a writer when he writes — he has his style, he write in a way, he don’t write in two ways: one ugly for the ugly people and beautiful for the beautiful people. Photography is the same, no? It’s not that I went to the poor places of the planet and tried to make them beautiful. I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a second. It’s very instinctive. What you do is a fraction of a second, it’s there and it’s not there. But in this fraction of a second [he snaps his fingers] comes your past, comes your future, comes your relation with people, comes your ideology, comes your hate, comes your love — all together in this fraction of a second, it materializes there. I speak like this, I don’t speak in another way. No? You can put the question why I went there, but if I am there and I make the picture, I can make only this kind of picture, I cannot do two different kind of pictures.
You can read more of the interview at the LA Weekly site entitled: Sebastião Salgado’s Search for the Pristine.
I didn’t know there was a right way to pour ketchup? That’s right there’s a better way than using a knife to get that bottle started. This might be a life changer for some.
Thanks to Miguel Garcia-Guzman’s blog Exposure Compensation I came across the work of Kalpesh Lathigra. I especially enjoyed the Lost in Wilderness series.
Lost in the Wilderness by Kalpesh Lathigra
I don’t anyone who doesn’t enjoy the work of Trent Parke and recently I stumbled across some work I haven’t seen before on the Stills Gallery website. Also check out the work of Narelle Autio on the site.
Trent Parke
Tags: photojournalism, portraits, Uncategorized
Miss Virginia? What’s in your bag?
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
I guess Cosmo has a feature that peaks into the bags of celebrities to see what’s in their bag? Here’s a look at what a few of the Miss VA contestants keep in their bag. Thanks to the girls who were all great sports about it.
Update: Big thanks to my co-workers Kyle Green and Jared Soares who were messing around with these images back in the office and found a square crop increased the playfulness of the images. Kyle’s a Photoshop guru who was kind enough tone to these images for me as he showed me his Photoshop workflow. Check out his latest work he did for the Athletes of the Year. It’ll blow you away.
Men’s deodorant.
A photo of Bill Clinton.
A lucky piece of lettuce.
A cellphone she uses as a mirror.
A bag of banana chips.
Tags: internship, photojournalism, portraits, Uncategorized
Last round of portraits.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: portraits, Uncategorized
More portraits.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
A few more portraits of the great people I met on Sunday.
Tags: photojournalism, portraits
A few portraits.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
I met some great people today who let me take their picture.
Fat Joe likes to sing karaoke.
Joe plays in a band.
Karen will make you laugh.
Ray has a nice hat.
I’ll post a few more in the future.
Tags: portraits
Meet Doug.
Posted by Tim Gruber | Filed under Uncategorized
Doug is a former Marine who is now an OTR truck driver.
This is the doll his wife sent him while he was serving over in Iraq. He travels with it now and is named after his first son Casey.
Tags: photojournalism, portraits, truckers, Uncategorized
