I have mentioned before that I get asked to photograph many different moments. Most are the obvious: weddings, kids, pets and portraits. Each of these times call for appropriate behaviour…which begins with me being prepared technically…and happens, hopefully, with a connection between the model and the photographer. If the model is a small child or baby…this might involve me making surprising sounds and pulling faces. With a dog, squeeky toys are part of the process. With individuals – staying calm and helping position the model in relation to the light and their ‘best’ angle of view is what the job calls for. In every moment – I try to empathize with the model as I do my technical work. Photography is part mechanical and part magical. The magic is in the connection.
This fall, I have been asked to photograph two funerals. Somber and sacred - what is needed at those moments is not magic…but empathy and documentation. My job is to document, but I do bring myself to every job. At every wedding there is a moment when I am swept away by the sweetness and hope of the day. At each funeral I am reminded of my own mortality, and that of those close to me. It is an honour to be at such an intimate moment in another persons’ life.
I pretty much feel like that every time I am working with people. Just the same,as a professional hired to do a job – the needs are concrete. To create a picture which speaks to this moment, this client. Not much philosophic musing is required. As an individual, I feel my presence and enjoy the access my position allows. Still, there is always the need to be completely respectful and aware of where one is – whether studio, church or graveyard.
I recently encountered some work by a local photographer that had a model rolling about on a soldiers grave with a toy gun in her hand. At first I simply marvelled at the bad taste…then it hit me. This model and photographer clearly were just havin’ some fun / thinking the whole world is an amusing backdrop. Much of the world might be: I am pretty sure soldiers’ graves are not. Have I suddenly become a curmudgeon…complaining about the disrespect of young people?
As image makers we DO have a responsibility for the images we create. We create our work from what is around us – but it is not ours – we are simply borrowing it. We must take good care.
Stuart
