Tag Archives: New Orleans

08-21-12 Self-Conscious

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I took this informal portrait of a waitress at the VooDoo BBQ restaurant on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. She wasn’t the least bit self-conscious, as I think you can see in this photo. I was.

And it occurs to me that when I am self-conscious as a photographer, I am not conscious of other, more important considerations than me. For example, if I had been totally “focused” on the task of getting a decent portrait of this young woman, I would have checked the full frame. I would have removed the styrofoam cup behind her. I would have tried to frame the photo so there wasn’t a distracting bright area in the upper left corner of the photo. And I would never had tried to take a portrait with a 1/50 sec shutter speed.

Why was I self-conscious? Well, I don’t normally take semi-posed photos of people I don’t know. And I had 5 of my photo/media students sitting at the table watching me.

Like so many other subjects and places I’ve photographed, I’d like to have another chance at the VooDoo BBQ restaurant.

Canon 5DII 1/50s f/3.2 ISO1000 50mm

Please take the “A Photo A Day” survey!

Portrait of Kendra

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Portrait of Kendra G. taken at the New Orleans Museum of Art sculpture garden.

This isn’t a Photoshop manipulation and I’m guessing there’s only a small chance you are under the influence of psychotropic drugs or absinthe. Kendra is a real person and this scene is exactly what the camera saw.

The unreality is due to the fact that I am photographing Kendra’s distorted reflection in a chrome sculpture in the sculpture garden next the the New Orleans Museum of Art. Needless to say, Kendra doesn’t look like this.

See yesterday’s post for a different look at the same sculpture.

Tiny Dancer

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I am going on my third full day in New Orleans and I still haven’t found what I would called a “brilliant” photo. Nor has one found me. In analyzing this, I realized that when I’m not attending the photo conference I am at, I am more tourist than photographer. And there’s a difference.

The difference lies in intent, I think. I carry my camera almost everywhere but generally I am more intent on seeing things or on soaking up the culture and ambiance of New Orleans. I am not really intending on taking photos.

When I go out to take photos, normally nothing else matters. Hunger, thirst and often even self disappear. And when I’m a tourist, that generally doesn’t happen. And when I am in the company of people as I am at this conference, I can almost guarantee that it doesn’t happen.

Tomorrow is my last day here, and I will try to find the opportunity to become a photographer. Meanwhile, I am posting a photo I took near Jackson Square. Though the musicians were great, I found dancing girl especially intriguing.

By the way, I have a parallel Microblog called “The Things I See” and I’ve posted a few of the photos I’ve taken in New Orleans. Go here:

The Things I See