I’ve been shooting a bit for Black Press since late August, mostly Scene and Heard, but I’ve also taken on a few editorial shifts.
The S&H assignments may not sound all that exciting (find two to four people at an event, press them together, take their picture, get their names), but they’ve been a great learning experience for me, for one simple reason: I’m shy.
I’ve always been rather reluctant to approach strangers in order to take photos of them, so instead of confronting my fear (for lack of a better word) I’ve taken on the role of sniper, photographing people from afar – the longer the lens, the better. The S&H assignments have forced me to do the opposite. I won’t say just yet that I’ve completely turned things around, but I’m close.
Enough of that. At these S&H events I’ve done those typical and relatively safe shots, the ones that go in the paper, but I’ve also tried to do something a bit more creative – images which might stand on their own with just a caption. These photos usually don’t find their way onto the pages of Victoria, Saanich or Oak Bay News, but some of them have, and that tells me I’m doing something right. Right? Right.
The following images are from both S&H assignments as well as ones taken at editorial shifts.
