Taken by my trusted assistant, Clark Brewer, on a Lomo w/ flash. Clark chased Hannon and Cameron’s getaway car as they left the reception. When the car had gotten outside of the view of the wedding guests, they were met by a wall of Cameron’s groomsmen who had all dropped trial. I can’t believe Clark had the thought to chase the car as it left the reception. His effort definitely paid off.
What an honor it was to photograph my friends Hannon & Cameron’s wedding this past fall. They got married near Lake Martin at The Stables with a reception that followed on the grounds below. Hannon’s sister, Neillie, designed and planned the wedding to perfection. It was such a wonderful Southern affair. Here are my favorite images.
“Shoot like the uncle.” This odd phrase is one we often repeat to ourselves while shooting various Super 8 sessions. The idea stems from the nature of Super 8, which evokes feelings of nostalgia and home movies. Since our home movies were often shot by a close relative, perhaps an uncle, the footage carries a certain intimacy and closeness. If trust if established with the person behind the lens, the subject has no problem starring into the the camera. You may say that the “fourth wall” is easily broken within this medium.
While I was shooting the Barker Family in December 2009, I handed the oldest son Frank the camera and let him captured his family :
The Barkers here are smiling directly at the camera, moving as Frank does, and responding to his direction. Frank was comfortable with his family, so they engaged and interacted, which in turn created a more memorable and interesting film.
My best films are the ones that feel like home movies, relying heavily on emotion and nostalgia rather than shooting techniques. At the end of the day, I hope the film feels like it was created by someone who knows you well.
I’ve always had great affinity for Willy Ronis’ photography. His work is so full of spontaneity and vibrance. Ronis was born in Paris in 1910 and shot the everyday lives of his fellow Parisians throughout the century. He primarily shot with a Rolleiflex and rangefinder (possibly Leica?). I’ve included a few of my personal favorites in this post.
I was recently reading an old PDN article on Willy Ronis and was struck by his approach to taking a photograph:
Ronis developed and honed his eye over the almost 80 years since his father gave him a Vest Pocket Kodak for his 16th birthday. His guiding principles always relied on what he has called “balancing on the high wire of chance.” Despite this flirtation with the unexpected, there are, as Ronis acknowledges, a very small number of carefully composed images amongst his best-known work. But they are hugely outnumbered by those images made [in the moment]—plucked from the stream of everyday life.
I’ve said before that we as photographers have a hard time embracing chaos and letting the moment be bigger than our personal assertions. Ronis used the idea of chaos for his benefit and relished living on the ‘high wire’. He knew that his most interesting images were captured patiently, without direction. I find great inspiration in this idea and continue to connect with photographs where personal interference is minimal.
This was taken of Stephanie and Rob on the historic Birmingham street, Morris Ave.
Shot on a Rolleiflex.
