Today I took my 101 class into the daylight studio where we have large north facing windows and gave a demonstration of how to use a 4×5 view camera to make a portrait. I always enjoy giving this demo and talking about how a simple portrait with symmetry can express the dignity of the human spirit so well.
I asked Bruce to pose for me because I love his hat. It reminds of the movie Fargo and my own experience traveling through North and South Dakota. It also reminds me of the kind of people that Alec Soth photographed along the Mississippi river. Soth’s photograph showed real people who seem down to earth.
It is also a good reminder that perfection is the enemy of soulful work. I noticed I didn’t get the image in perfect focus but the essence is still there. I find essence to be more important to me these days as all my photographs are like memories or dreams. Only the important details remain and the rest is lost in a blur.
