Assisting Zack Arias

Last Friday I had the opportunity to assist Zack Arias on the first of his experimental weddings.We spent 11 hours documenting the wedding and talking about photography.

I got to learn a lot about Zack during that time. Part of his personality is that he’s very open and real, which you don’t see very often, and even less with people that are so often in the spotlight. This guy has so much knowledge to offer both beginners and professionals, and what’s more, he wants to impart that knowledge. He genuinely wants people to succeed and make great photographs.

What I respect most about Zack is his love and reverence for the craft of photography. In a sea of tasteless imagemaking and “spray and pray” mentality that’s flooding the industry, Zack is a photographer that generates “more signal, less noise” as he would say. Things like photographing with a purpose, knowing about composition, color, and how to correctly use a camera instead of shooting a zillion images and hoping you got one.

That experience was crucial for me at this stage in my career. There were so many simple truths that Zack mentioned which I hadn’t really considered before. A lot of my anxiety directed towards my career just sort of melted away. Things made sense.

Part of the reason why Zack is such a great teacher is because he’s a real person, and he has no problem saying that. He has his own fears, anxiety, and insecurities about his work just like everyone else. That allows people to empathize with him and realize, “if freaking Zack Arias gets nervous before a shoot, then I guess I’m not so weird”.

Obviously getting to hang out and watch Zack work was a treat, and I can’t wait to do it all over again.

If you’re not familiar with Zack’s work, do yourself a favor.

And if you want to be a better photographer, head over to his Q&A Tumblr.

Hawaii, 2012 

Tomorrow I’m going to be leaving for Hawaii. This will be the third time in 7 years. I say that not to boast, but because every time I’ve gone I’ve been fairly disappointed with the images I’ve taken during my time away. At the very least, with the amount of “keepers”. Its Hawaii for God’s sake. Every photograph should be incredible, right?

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This time, however, I’m more prepared than I’ve ever been, both mentally and with gear. And that’s the way it should be. I’ve replaced the high school diploma with a college degree, a crappy zoom with a Canon 200 L, and a digital rebel XT with a 5D Mark 2.

So, stay tuned. I’ll be uploading photos and posting updates as I go. I’m really excited about the possibilities both the trip and destination have in store.

See you on the other side.

Atlanta

I graduated. I have a college degree. Boom.

Also, I’ve finally made the move. I currently reside in Atlanta, GA.

I’ve gotten nearly everything unpacked and I’m absolutely itching to shoot. Right now I’m doing my best to make some good contacts and insert myself into the community.

If anyone is in or near Atlanta, please let me know so we can get together. Introduce yourself!

More Women

Yesterday I said something jokingly that sort of stuck with me. Tiffany and I were talking about our work, and I said something along the lines of, “I need to show people I can shoot more than just dudes on grey”.

Then I thought about it some more and realized, other than my assignment work, that’s essentially all I do. Shoot dudes on grey. I guess its because I like the strength that those photos have the potential of boasting, but it does get monotonous after a while.

So I think I’ll make a change.

No more of this “no I don’t shoot that” mentality. I have a style (sort of) and I’ll adhere to it, but I need to shoot more subjects. Different kinds of people. Girls, specifically.

I’m interested in seeing how much my following will change once I start shooting more women. 500px is a website I frequent and appreciate quite a bit, but most of the photographs on it are of seductively posed/clad attractive women. That’s fine, but there’s more to photography than getting your rocks off. At least, in my mind.

So here’s to change. To innovation. To trying something new. And to doing what my professors tell me not to.

Getting back to your roots

Not long ago I was bored and looking for something old of mine to post. I went over to my old Deviant Art page that I started when I was 14 or so, and man, things have come a long way.

Deviant Art was where I posted every experiment I ever did from the very beginning, and you can kind of see the progression of my work and skill level fluctuate.

When you’re in a creative field, its always really interesting and kind of a good idea to look back at your beginnings, not only to laugh at yourself because of how bad you were, but also to learn from yourself.

My mentality towards photography has completely changed. Back then, I didn’t care about being good or being better than anyone else. I was naive to so many things, but they didn’t matter then. I broke every traditional photo rule in the book, but it was ok. There was a sense of adventure that is absent from my work now.

Then it was all about doing something cool. What looked interesting? But I didn’t ask myself that like I do now, I just organically sought after things and found them without a conscious effort. That’s something I don’t do now, and I’m not sure if I can.