New Orleans Quarantine Photo Walks
PHOTO WALKS
Hope everyone is holding up alright with the quarantine. I wanted to share with y’all something I use to do all the time when I first got into photography. PHOTO WALKS!
A photo walk is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a walk while you take photos. I used to do this all of the time, when I didn’t have anything in particular to photograph.
It’s something I have decided to start doing again to keep mentally fit during this quarantine. Creative processes are extremely important for mental health. For me personally it is something that helps me get outside of myself and something to put all my positive (or negative) energy into. It’s something that can help me forget my anxieties just for a bit. I also can get my daily exercise in with a walk. If your at all into photography, give this a try. It's a great way to practice and hone in your craft.
So, how?
Well, get out of your house and take a camera with you. I’ll simply just go for a walk and if I see something that interests me I’ll take a photo of it. This is where all of the fun of photography comes in. Once I see something that I think will make a good photo I stop and ask myself: why? What is it that I am attracted to? Is it certain colors, textures, shapes? After I find what it is that I’m attracted to I try to isolate that thing and make it as pronounced in the frame as possible. Then take the photo.
Camera shy:
So this happens to me from time to time. I will see something that interests me, but I decide not to take the photo. What happens is I get in my head with weird thoughts of: What if someone sees me? What will they think? It’s across the street, I’ll take it later. I don’t think this will work compositionally, etc. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Seriously, don't get in your head about it. Just take the image, if it doesn't come out right just don't use the image. Experiment with composition. Try different stuff, shoot as freely as you can.
Now, on the flip side to that there is still social norms in society. If you take a photo of someone, their house, or their property, they might question that. I have had it happen to me. When that happens, I just explain what I’m doing and why I thought the photo I took made a cool image. Most of the time people are cool and understand, but be diligent, read the situation. Legally you can take photos of anything, as long as it is in view of the public and the image is not being used for commercial purposes, but don’t cause more drama in your life or others just because you can. Be kind, especially in the midst of all this covid craziness.
There’s nothing interesting to take photos of
This is what I love about photography. Photographers can take an image of something and turn that image into a work of art. We literally can take reality and turn it into art. If your neighborhood is not interesting, then make it interesting. We can do this with proper composition and lighting. Through this we can take the dullest subjects and turn them into art. Once I got into the mindset as looking at everything as images, I could not stop composing/framing images in my head. Everywhere I would look I think, that would be a cool shot. For me, it’s a lovely mindset to be in. It’s where I am truly free of worldly concerns and focused in on my art. Some photographers call this the photo bug.
No, you do not need an expensive camera.
All of the images in the below slideshow were taken with my cell phone. All you need to make “technically” good photos is an understanding of light and composition. All fancy cameras do is give you more control and more of range to handle different lighting scenarios. Yes, if you do have a nice camera with fancy lenses definitely use it, but if your interested in photography and don’t have a camera, start off with your cell phone.
Be Careful.
We are in a weird time right now with covid19 going around. Be as safe as you can, follow CDC guidelines. Don’t do anything you are not comfortable with.
CELL PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Stay tuned into my social media. I have a Cell Phone Photography Workshop that I plan to live stream on sunday. I’ve had the entire lesson plan for the workshop written out since the summer and have been waiting until slow season hits to put on a class. With the quarantine happening and everyone going crazy I have decided to class up for free, with the hope to help alleviate peoples boredom and to get some people interested in a new hobby.
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