Make Time, To Make Quality Photos
Ironically one of my favorite assignments came at the end of the year. It wasn’t even actually assigned. My editor called me late that morning to see if I could rush over Methodist Medical Center in Oak Cliff to an Oak Cliff Lions Club meeting. I said ok? Then I learned the Lions Club was getting a visit from two men in drag. This, I thought, I had to see. Luckily I was able to spend more time than usual at this event. In fact I was there for the whole thing. I even snapped a few shots of Charlie Tupper, aka Charlene Cravezit, and Durhl Caussey, aka Durlene Cravezit getting ready to strut their stuff. But this post is about more than that. Instead of trying to put my thoughts into words I thought Chicago Tribune photographer Alex Garcia said it best in a recent blog post on Assignment Chicago.
“In photojournalism, quality time is always the challenge. Most photographers and subjects would love more time with each other, but the essential constraints of daily news makes that impractical. I have a colleague in the industry, for example, who can receive anywhere from 6 to 12 assignments a day in part because his news operation is barely keeping itself afloat. But when we do spend more time with a subject, we feel less that we are taking pictures and more as if we are making them with the help of our subjects.”
Charlie Tupper, aka Chralene Cravezit, struts her stuff in front of the Oak Cliff Lions Club.
Durlene Cravezit tries to make Mike Lott feel a little unfomfortable.
Sloppy compositions, particularly in the first two…
Oh, but the final photo makes up for all! The facial expressions! “Her” delicate hands!