I am a college student. I go to the University of New Orleans and am completing my pre-requisites to apply to LSUHSC School of Nursing. So, when trying to do a lot of things at once (writing posts for The Ether Place, working on photo projects, trying to maintain my grades), it gets hard to put in the time that I want to work on my photo projects.
While walking to class, I try to keep an eye out for great photo opportunities. I saw a woman wearing this bright orange dress and wanted to get a picture of her and talk to her for my “Who Are You?” project. I saw that she had ear buds in probably listening to music, but I decided to approach her anyway. “Excuse me ma’am,” I said. She didn’t even look at me the first time. “Excuse me,” I tried again. This time she looked at me, but didn’t even stop whatever it was that she was listening to. I assumed that she can hear me and I asked her if I could take a few pictures of her and her orange dress. She said no harshly and I walked away kind of discouraged. “This is harder than I thought it would be,” I said to myself.
I thought that I had made a mistake and that I offended her somehow. Maybe I thought that I wasn’t good enough and that I just wasn’t cut for this kind of project. Then I told myself something that may have changed my life: “stop feeling sorry for yourself, get off your ass, and just keep moving on.” People are going to tell you know and that shouldn’t bother you. Heck, I would tell someone know if I wasn’t feeling up for a picture. Maybe she was having a bad morning and just wanted the day to be done with. I don’t know.
One of my biggest influences, Eric Kim, wrote in one of his book Street Photography 101,
“I honestly don’t think there is any type of photography more interesting and challenging than street photography. There is so little you can control in street photography. The only two variables you can control are where you stand, and when you press the shutter (credit to David Hurn from Magnum).”
It’s something that really stood out to me because it reminds me that I cant always get the shot I wanted because I a cannot control the person I want to take a picture of. All I can do is choose to stand somewhere else and take another picture.
So, if you’re pursuing a project of your own, don’t let anything discourage you because there are only two things that you can control: where you stand and when you press the shutter.
A small side note: I think I want to do a project about bikes. There are just so many different kinds! Its almost my favorite thing about walking to my classes.
The Ether Place 