guest photographer: andrea jenkins
Photo by Andrea Jenkins
(Still making good progress on the book, but still lots to go. So, in the interim, meet another wonderful friend of mine, Andrea Jenkins, otherwise affectionately known as "Hula." Hula is one of my favourite people I know in real life -- this is a woman who looks for the fun in every aspect of her world, and luckily for us, she makes a point to record it on film. Here, she shares how she composes her shots -- enjoy. --Ed.)
"To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer's craft. His central problem is a simple one: What shall he include, what shall he reject? The line of decision between in and out is the picture's edge. While the draughtsmen start with the middle of the sheet, the photographer starts with the frame."
~ from The Photographer's Eye by John Szarkowski
Never am I more aware of the importance of framing than when I've just loaded a pack of film into my polaroid SX-70. While various forms of polaroid film are still available (and will even go back into production later on this year), I still shoot like it's my last pack. You'd think shooting like this would be a joyless affair, but it isn't. I'll admit, initially, I resisted. I wanted to be able to go through pack after pack of film with nary a care. But my budget doesn't allow for this and I've come to consider it a blessing. Somewhere along the way, I learned to shoot more thoughtfully, more intentionally. To seek out specific colors and a special brand of light. To look through the viewfinder at least a dozen different ways before pressing that little red button. One thing I know for sure -- polaroid photography has sharpened my sense of framing and quite possibly, transformed the way I work.
Photo by Andrea Jenkins
There's no sound like the zip and whirrrr a polaroid camera makes as it shoots the photograph out. As the image gradually appears, I hold my breath. Just a little. I cross my fingers that all the work I've put into it has somehow paid off. Sometimes it has, sometimes it hasn't. But when it has, the image I hold in my hand practically sings out. Which is worth all the waiting and thinking, all the composing and conserving in the world. And then some.
Song: Man, are you in for a treat: today's song of the day is the official video, below, of "My Sunlight," by Remnant, featuring Scar. And get this: the video was directed by none other than Hula's brother, Nathan Corrona. It appears a talent for the visual seriously runs in the family.