The Human Element - Roll 121
The first time that one of my close family members read my book Meet Me in the Forest, their comment was something along the lines of "what a lonely world." They weren't wrong—not once in over a hundred photos did I choose a person as a subject, and the only people that appear are tangential, ones that just happen to be there but are not the deliberate focus of my lens. Something I have lacked as an artist that many of my photographic predecessors did well is knowing how to incorporate portraits amongst images of pretty landscapes or busy street scenes, underscoring the point that we exist in a human world, that there are actual individuals inhabiting the spaces we shoot. Why haven't I taken steps to remedy this, why don't I try to step out of my comfort zone and photograph people? The truth is that I am too comfortable in my artistic practice, and asking random people or even friends to let me make a photo of them feels uncomfortable and awkward; I'd much rather point my camera at a mound of dirt in a cemetery or an interesting grouping of trees, things that don't require me to be personable and friendly in order to portray them correctly. In other words, I create art along the path of least resistance, and while I have become very skilled at what I do I can't pretend that this isn't a weak point for me. When I began working on What My Left Hand is Doing, therefore, I saw a chance for me to work on this blind spot, at least a little!
While it's true that it's difficult for me to try to photograph anyone, I definitely have an easier time taking photos of people that I know, so for my first set of portraits I asked my friend Nick Muraya if I could photograph him on his new motorcycle, something I'd heard a lot about in the weeks prior. He was happy to model for me, so after work on Monday we drove over to a parking garage in downtown South Bend, where I suspected I would be able to find some interesting compositions. The light was perfect, golden afternoon sun filtering through the clouds to give everything a soft, warm glow, neither too dark nor too bright. In the past, I've approached portraits the traditional way, getting close to the model and blurring out the background, but here I wanted to try shooting in my personal style, but with a human subject. One typical composition that I often use places a subject in the foreground on one side of the frame, with a second subject opposite the first in the background. In the shot shown below, I composed the photo this way to good effect; the Key Bank building gives a sense of scale and solidity to the scene, contrasting with Nick, apparently in motion, on his motorcycle in the bottom left-hand corner. As I constantly say, I seek order in my photos above all, and here everything falls into place, although with more art direction from me than normal.
Nick Muraya—Downtown South Bend, Indiana.
In the next photo I placed Nick in the center of the frame, allowing buildings and shadows to spring up around him while maintaining his dominance as the focus of the shot. This would have been a good opportunity to get in closer to him and lose the background in a wash of bokeh, but I prefer the image that I took—not only do I have the shadow behind his head perfectly lined up with his jacket collar (something I'd lose if it were more blurred), but the deep depth of field subtly emphasizes my point that in the Ordered World no one element is more special than another. We as humans are part and parcel with the world we've built, and it is foolish to try and separate ourselves from it; to view everything, people and buildings and cities alike, as all smaller pieces of the whole is to begin to grasp what I try to portray in my images.
Nick Muraya—Downtown South Bend, Indiana.
Trying out one more pose before moving on to another location, I had Nick take his helmet and lounge against his bike, while I moved to the side and photographed him at an angle, the buildings of downtown forming a varied backdrop in the distance. I think this photo is quite successful, and I specifically like the way that the arrow in the foreground mirrors the wall behind Nick, pointing at the direction the viewer should look and helping direct our eye to the subject in the middle. I think Nick's pose also sells the shot, giving the impression of someone who is already comfortable with his motorcycle to the extent that it looks like an extension of himself in this image. I think all the photos I showed here from the parking garage are solid, but I especially like this one, and it makes me excited to know that I can make images like these, with the help of course of a cool friend and a nice location!
Nick Muraya—Downtown South Bend, Indiana.
When planning this shoot I didn't want to limit myself to just one place, so after using half the roll at the parking garage Nick and I went over to Pinhook Park, a location both of us were familiar with and saw potential in. When we arrived I was drawn to a particular tree, red berries popping out from under every branch, and I asked Nick to move under it, motorcycle and all. This shot ended up being very strong compositionally, with Nick framed by branches and berries and the park paths stretching out behind him. Even stronger is the way that the natural elements contrast with the motorcycle, all shiny surfaces and curved bodywork, creating a tension that Nick is suspended between. The vibes of this photo are not too far off from the work of photographers that I admire, such as Joel Sternfeld, who was always able to locate his subject within a natural setting with ease. I think that I could move far beyond what I did in that moment given enough time and practice, and I know that my success in this shoot had a lot to do with my model and the conditions being just the way I wanted them to be. But I am proud of trying out something new, and also of these specific photos; as an exercise in extending my vision to portraiture, they are a great first attempt, and I hope to build off of them in the future!*
Nick Muraya—Pinhook Park, South Bend, Indiana.
*Yes, I'll admit, I haven't shot many more portraits since this roll, with the exception of another set of photos of Nick and a few of Malia, which I'll discuss in time. I know I need to keep working on my skills in this area, but I still struggle to motivate myself properly to shoot portraits, and for now I'll bask in the glow of having tried to do any at all!