I'm waiting for this summer to end. While many are lamenting the end of the summer, I’m anticipating the end of the record breaking heat that has been scorching the Phoenix area. This summer, Phoenix has seen 53 days over 110°F/43°C, and I'm not adventurous enough to walk the streets in that heat. As a result, my photography practice has effectively been put on hold. Once this heat breaks in October, I’ll be back on the streets with my camera in hand.
In the meantime, I have been working on projects in my air conditioning and sponging up books, YouTube videos, and Social Media. Some of my favorite activities and sources of inspirations this summer have included:
Creating a zine
After a family trip to Israel, I had 2000 pictures to cull. As I was processing and organizing these photos, I observed that my pictures added up to something different than just a record of a vacation. Indicative of my normal style, I trained the camera more on the streets and people of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem than on the tourist sites. Although some of the pictures can be categorized as travel photography, most of the photos painted a picture of the people of Israel.
After returning home, I quickly got to work editing a personal zine of the trip. I found much joy in laying out the spreads and am happy with the results. Whether producing a personal zine or creating one for publication, I recommend this exercise for all budding photographers.
This is my second attempt at creating a zine, and I learned a ton! For one, I learned that it’s important to be selective in choosing photos. I ended up with 60 pages, but I think I’ll try for half that next time. Telling a cogent story is way more important than showing volumes of photos. Also, I want to be more consistent with my edits. Most of my photos in the zine have a similar touch, but others stick out (to me) like a sore thumb. I may be the only one that can see the differences in editing styles, but it’s something I want to improve on. If you have some time, please preview the book. I’d love your feedback!
Watching documentaries
Being stuck inside gave me a chance to catch up on a few documentaries. Most recently, I watched In No Great Hurry: 13 Lessons in Life with Saul Leiter and Bill Cunningham: New York. My main takeaways from both of these was that each photographer knew what types of photos made them happy. Whether taking photos of painterly scenes in the streets and water droplets on the windows (Leiter) or finding fashionable people on the street (Cunningham), the two photographers knew where their passions laid. The production of their work was on their own terms and they followed their passions independently. This is evident.
Everything is suitable to be photographed…And the one nice thing about photography is it teaches you to look. Saul Leiter from “In No Great Hurry.”
Not only were the documentaries great studies of successful photographers and their work habits, but they were touching, authentic profiles of interesting people who loved what they did. By the end of these documentaries, I felt like I had made new friends.
Editing old pictures (with new presets)
It’s always fun to look at pictures you took several seasons ago and find new ways to present them them to the world. While being stuck inside all summer, I found plenty of moments to experiment with some new things in Lightroom. Recently I purchased a set of Lightroom presets from Framelines. I’m a big fan of Josh Edgegoose’s (@spicy.meatball) aesthetic so this pack of presets presented an opportunity to play with someone else’s color palette.
Reading Photobooks
Over the last few years, I’ve accumulated some books that I love to page through. Although my favorites remain anything by Harry Gruyaert (especially this one), two new books of note have been particularly inspiring to me this summer.
Ten Miles West by Josh Edgegoose. This one made it to my mailbox just a few weeks ago, and I keep picking it up and paging through it. I love the colors and the scenes he has selected and his low contrast, colorful aesthetic is something I’ll try to incorporate in my photography when I’m back on the streets. It’s a fun book with some great compositions. Josh Edgegoose also publishes a magazine with Shane Tayler (@heroesforsale) as part of their Framelines partnership. The magazine not only shows off their own photography, but also includes some other amazing photographers. I picked up my copies on several occasions this summer.
A Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005 by Annie Leibovitz. This book blew me away. I received a signed hardcover version of this book from my Aunt this summer and it sat on my shelf for a few weeks before I opened it. I knew I needed to put some focused time aside before looking at it. When I finally paged though it, I was mesmerized by how she juxtaposed her professional work with her family photos. Her photos transported me into her world, her memories, her celebrations, and her grief. It’s a lovely book and I’m grateful that it’s a part of my collection.
Watching YouTube Channels
At some point in the evening, I usually check my YouTube subscriptions to see who has dropped a new video. Three channels in particular stop my in my tracks when I see a new video:
Imitative Photography: If you have ever wondered how great photographers got the results they did, this channel helps to answer some of your questions. With various degrees of success, this YouTuber experiments with approaches to help viewers bottle some of the magic behind photographers like Saul Leiter, Alexey Titarenko (don’t miss this one), and Bruce Gilden. This channel seems to be deeply researched and includes both biographical information and technical suggestions. I’ll be coming back to this one often.
Walkie Talkie by Paulie B: This channel is gold! Paulie B, a photographer in New York, spends his days shooting photos on the streets of New York and filming great interviews on the streets with other New York street photographers. The value of these videos for me is to watch the process of other photographers on the streets. Some have more to say than others, but all of them have a perspective about street photography. I haven’t seen all of these Walkie Talkies, but my favorites so far have been Reuben Radding, Gee Moon Tom, and Melissa O'Shaughnessy. There are 32 episodes in all. You’re Welcome.
Stephen Leslie: This one is a new one for me and it’s funny, insightful, and irreverent. Themes like Elbows in Photos and how Alex Webb ruined photography, make for a laugh out loud romp through photographic learning.
These diversions have kept me occupied during this crazy hot summer. I hope you find some of these ideas and resources useful, and in the near future “Happy Shooting!”
I second the Walkie Talkie episodes by Paulie B. a complete gold mine. I came across another series recently by Houman Katoozi called Coffee & Cameras, street photographers in Australia. Are you familiar with this channel? The episode with Jay Fei in particular caught my eye and now I’m excited to watch the other episodes. Great post! Hope it cools down in the Fall for you!