4 July 2005

Adrianna and I got to talk on the phone for a good while last night. that was enjoyable. I wound up sleeping in until 12:30. Not exactly the greatest thing to do, but I'd suppose it was my body telling me what I need. I showed my photo portfolio to a whole bunch of people and think I may have acquired a number of potential contracts as a result. It's somewhat startling to come to a realization that I'm more than just a good photographer. I'm not sure what it is that makes someone that way, but I apparently have it. Looking at my own work I really feel as though I've grown a lot in the last year. My pictures are showing a precision and confidence that was absent before. More, I suppose, that my work has become a little less serendipitous than in the past. I suppose one of the keys to it all is to be able to have the confidence and control in shooting and presentation, while retaining the visual element and curious spirit of serendipity. As I take more and more steps into the realm of portraiture (as opposed to my work in candid) this twin element becomes more apparent to me, finding the ability to make a set-up, posed picture not look set up and posed. I think I managed to capture that perfectly (as perfectly as I feel I've ever done) in two of the shots I took for Kim and Cody. They both look candid, while were quite specifically directed (though my direction is generally open, since I still see it as my responsibility the inherent nature of the subject, even (especially) in the controlled environment of portraiture.)

Excerpt from my personal journal.