Lessons learned in Chamonix
15/03/09 22:10 Filed in: Life | Photography
I've never taken a vacation in the winter before.
Winter is shooting season and shooting takes
priority over everything else. That is all good and
fine, but one day you wake up and that priority
just seems, well, a little bit delusional. Or
compulsive. Or maybe just misguided.
I just took a family vacation to France. My wife's family, that is. When the idea of going on this trip came up I looked at the dates and without even thinking decided I wouldn't be able to do it. Second week of March? Seriously? What snowboard photographer could take that week off to just, go snowboarding? In the Alps.
Well as it turns out, I could. And it was easy, all I did was say "yes" and then not book anything that week. The world kept turning. I didn't miss out on anything life changing. And I got to ride Cham with my wife and brother-in-law, in super deep powder and sunny skies to boot.
My priorities have changed a lot over the years, and never more than they have in the last 18 months. Photography is a really tricky lifestyle in that it is on one hand really needy, to show off, to put your work out into the world, and on the other hand very time consuming and often not particularly social. There is a reason that when photographers get together, you can't shut them up. It's because they have already used up the "photo talk" patience of their wives, girlfriends, and family and are just dying to talk shop with someone whose eyes don't roll back into their heads when you start talking about the minute details of a hyperfocal distance or photoshop actions. We go through the often solitary act of making photos, we often have nobody left to bore with our excitement for the things we make, and we compulsively consume information about anything that has anything even remotely to do with our job.
It could be worse. We could be proctologists.
So ya, I'm learning to take a deep breath a little more often. to not get lost in the chaos of winter and to keep my level of passion high. As a result I'm less consumed and more into photography than I have been in years. I've stopped being influenced by the machine of the industry I work in and I'm concentrating on fostering the elements of my work that are true to my vision and not commercially corrupt. They're honest. I spent a bit of time taking pictures last week, no time talking about taking pictures, and a lot of time thinking about taking pictures.
Ok, so here are some shots from europe that have nothing to do with any of that.
Things you find in 400 year old houses
Vines near Hilary's house, Geneva.
suisse
Blue house number.
No Dachshunds?!?! Get Draplin on the case!
Cham is huge
Uh, lady, I think you've had enough sun.
bike
sausages as far as the eye can see.
Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps. These black birds aren't crows.
The Aiguille de Midi. I'll have some shots from the top in the next couple days. Stay tuned.
I just took a family vacation to France. My wife's family, that is. When the idea of going on this trip came up I looked at the dates and without even thinking decided I wouldn't be able to do it. Second week of March? Seriously? What snowboard photographer could take that week off to just, go snowboarding? In the Alps.
Well as it turns out, I could. And it was easy, all I did was say "yes" and then not book anything that week. The world kept turning. I didn't miss out on anything life changing. And I got to ride Cham with my wife and brother-in-law, in super deep powder and sunny skies to boot.
My priorities have changed a lot over the years, and never more than they have in the last 18 months. Photography is a really tricky lifestyle in that it is on one hand really needy, to show off, to put your work out into the world, and on the other hand very time consuming and often not particularly social. There is a reason that when photographers get together, you can't shut them up. It's because they have already used up the "photo talk" patience of their wives, girlfriends, and family and are just dying to talk shop with someone whose eyes don't roll back into their heads when you start talking about the minute details of a hyperfocal distance or photoshop actions. We go through the often solitary act of making photos, we often have nobody left to bore with our excitement for the things we make, and we compulsively consume information about anything that has anything even remotely to do with our job.
It could be worse. We could be proctologists.
So ya, I'm learning to take a deep breath a little more often. to not get lost in the chaos of winter and to keep my level of passion high. As a result I'm less consumed and more into photography than I have been in years. I've stopped being influenced by the machine of the industry I work in and I'm concentrating on fostering the elements of my work that are true to my vision and not commercially corrupt. They're honest. I spent a bit of time taking pictures last week, no time talking about taking pictures, and a lot of time thinking about taking pictures.
Ok, so here are some shots from europe that have nothing to do with any of that.
Things you find in 400 year old houses
Vines near Hilary's house, Geneva.
suisse
Blue house number.
No Dachshunds?!?! Get Draplin on the case!
Cham is huge
Uh, lady, I think you've had enough sun.
bike
sausages as far as the eye can see.
Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps. These black birds aren't crows.
The Aiguille de Midi. I'll have some shots from the top in the next couple days. Stay tuned.