Learning To See
Reflecting on my first 365 days of being “a photographer”
One year ago, on July 23rd, 2014, I picked up my first “real camera”.
This has been no ordinary year. This was twelve intense months of learning, of frustration, of travel, of meeting new people and discovering an entirely new perspective of the world.
Before picking up a camera, a Canon 70D, I had been adventuring and snapping photos with my phone, but there was something about this — about having a camera — that gave me a pass to take my love of adventure and photography to the next level. It was an interesting year to say the least, and I used my camera to capture the highs and lows of my adventures, to do personal projects, to capture others’ special moments, to travel and to discover the beauty in my own city.
Let me first be honest about this past year — most of it was spent learning, and a large majority of the photos that I took were garbage. The metadata on the photos from my first three months of shooting would make any seasoned photographer cringe.
At the outset, I sprayed and prayed with a happy trigger finger. Guilty.
It took me a long time to feel comfortable and to admit I was at the bottom of a steep learning curve. At my first photo meetup with the new camera, I shot alongside two experienced photographers, Rob and Vallen. While shooting, they were asking me about things like the sensor, my lenses, “What f-stop are you shooting at?” to which I would respond with a blank stare and red-faced embarrassment.
I honestly knew nothing about photography. What the hell was an f-stop?
My experience in drawing and painting gave me an understanding of composition, but the technical stuff of cameras and photography went way over my head.
A year later, I can say I’ve picked up a few things, and for the most part I have no trouble shooting manual or understanding what is going on when I take a picture. I owe all of that to the help of other photographers who offered advice and patience, showed me the ropes, answered my questions and were open to shooting with someone who had little-to-no experience. To everyone that helped me and to everyone in the Mke_illgrammers community, thank you — none of this would have been possible without you.
If there was one thing that I learned in this year is that in photography, you can fake it until you make it. The platforms that are available for distributing visual content have significantly lowered the bar for getting your work seen and your voice heard. Also, the ability to hide blemishes and technical errors on these platforms, especially Instagram, brings the work of amateurs a lot closer to the work of professionals. A phone photo and a high res camera photo look similar on Instagram.
At first, I didn’t use this as an excuse to suck, but rather as a way to get closer to the ideal. There is a difference between phone photography and camera photography and I would be cheating myself if I didn’t try to get technically better and to do more with the tools I had. But, being able to have my work look good without fully understanding the equipment gave me a foot in the door and an ability to work with others who could teach me how to get better.
I view photography as an art and so the business side of it has always been intimidating. I don’t necessarily like the idea of money influencing the direction of a photo. This past year I’ve had the opportunity to use my camera as a way to make money and to do photography with an organizational direction, but what I have maintained is that it isn’t just ‘shoot it because you have to’ or ‘because they’re paying you’, but rather, ‘if you have to shoot it, figure out a creative way to do it’.
Personalize it. Make it your own. Tell a story.
Here are some of the stories, photos and take aways from my first year as a ‘photographer’.
My First Photo
I left it unedited on purpose to give you a feel for the exact way I saw it when I took the photo. I was shooting on auto at the time. When I took this photo I was with my friends Favi and Ivan, two other aspiring photographers from Milwaukee and artists who I have learned a lot from in this last year. I remember not worrying too much about sucking at the time because it was thrilling to be out in Milwaukee trying out a new camera, snapping pics and enjoying a summer evening with friends. I also snapped these pictures during that same session.
Stepping Back
One of my favorite themes to explore this past year was human significance and the relationships people have with the physical world around them. The goal was to step back, to see things in a way that that recognized our individuality and to contrast people to the scale of the world around them.
I was stepping back, trying to understand the big picture. I often portrayed people as small and much of this was inspired by Nadav Kander’s photo project, “Yangtze: The Long River”.
My Favorite Photo
This shot was taken March 6th, 2015 at the Grand Avenue Mall downtown Milwaukee. I was standing on the second floor and was shooting down toward the escalator for roughly 15 minutes. People passed by, looking curiously at me and my camera, but some didn’t notice and I was trying to capture the natural awkwardness of riding down an escalator.
What I like about this photo is the proxemics (how the men are standing and how they are physically juxtaposed). I couldn’t have staged this photo to be any more intriguing. I also like the lighting — as you go from the top of the escalator to the bottom you get a sense of light to darkness — it’s dynamic. One of the things that strikes me when I see this shot is the idea of stopped motion — escalators are constantly moving, but this photo freezes time — it gives you an intimate look into a moment that only lasts seconds.
Travel
I have been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit during this last year. Some trips for photography, some for leisure and some for service projects through MarquetteU. In the last year I made five trips to Chicago, two trips to New York City, two trips to New Orleans and one trip to Boston.
Each time I had my camera with me to capture the events that happened, the people I encountered and the significant moments — here are a few highlights from each city.
Chicago: October & December 2014, February, May & June 2015
This past year, the Windy City was my favorite spot to visit. While I was there I did everything from street photography to climbing onto rooftops.
The last photo, shown above, was by far the coldest I have ever been while taking a photo. This shot was taken in February on Navy Pier on top of a parking structure, and I remember being outside for fewer than 5 minutes and not being able to push the shutter because I couldn’t feel my hands. Even being from Wisconsin, nothing can really prepare you for winter shooting at the lakefront.
New York City: August 2014 & March 2015
New Orleans: January & May 2015
Being in New Orleans was the most interesting time that I spent in any of the cities that I visited. While I was there, both times I stayed in the Lower 9th Ward and was working with a group from Marquette U called the MARDI GRAS program — a service organization founded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
While there, I think I got a perspective on a city and it’s people that I had never before gotten. It was personal and very genuine, and I feel like the photos I took reflect that.
In May, I was also working on a photo project for Marquette that was aimed at helping to tell the stories of the people the organization has been working with in the Lower 9th Ward over the past 10 years. We conducted interviews and I took photos. Although the project will not be released until fall, I’ve included a few of the photos in this collection.
Boston: April 2015
Boston, over Easter Break, was the only trip that I took with a photography specific agenda. Everyday I would wake up and walk around the city taking pictures.
I had never been there before so it was an awesome adventure exploring the city alone and getting some time to think, relax and focus on photography.
When I Was Most Frustrated
In February, I was asked to do a shoot for the Marquette Military Ball hosted at The Wisconsin Club. The gig was underpaid and understaffed. I was the only photographer and I had no previous experience with event photography. The part that I was more concerned about was the fact that I didn’t know much about the military culture, etiquette or style most appropriate to photograph service members in. I was sweating hard, scrapping around the event and trying my best to get all of the necessary photos that followed the details of the event. In retrospect, I blew a lot of the shots, — some were out of focus, some couldn’t handle the ISO boost, some just weren’t framed properly. It wasn’t a complete disaster. In the end they seemed happy with the final product, but it was easily the most stressed I’ve been while holding a camera. Here are some of the photos.
When I Was Most Uncomfortable
Photographers shouldn’t seek to be controversial, but they should be willing to take on controversial situations when they arise. I don’t normally like pushing a social agenda through my work. Frankly, politics can be uncomfortable. So, when I was asked to ride along for an education protest with one of my reporter friends at the Marquette Tribune, I was reluctant.
Not only had I never been to a protest before, I didn’t know what this type of protest would look like. Would it be peaceful? Who would be there? Would the message be positive?
I knew it was going to be uncomfortable, but I also knew that going outside of ‘comfortable’ was the only way to learn. Photojournalism was something new for me, and I wanted to get experience and help tell a story.
One of the toughest things I learned that day was understanding that photojournalism asks for an higher level of self awareness and an ability to see situations objectively. I thought for a first try it went fairly well — and the Marquette Tribune ended up using a photo of mine on the front page.
The People
It would be tough for me to thank everyone that influenced me in photography this year — there’s hundreds of them. I owe so much of the knowledge and experience I gained in photography to those people that worked with me and took the time to shoot with me. To everyone that played a role in that, thank you, thank you, thank you.
The other part of this year that was so special were the photography meet ups — the gatherings that we organized through Instagram. I helped organize two of the meet ups, one in November 2014 and one in April 2015, with respective turnouts of 22 and 75 people. The community is growing and it’s a special thing to watch it develop and to have more and more people plugged into Milwaukee’s creative community. There were also other meetups, small gatherings and photography gatherings happening on a weekly basis. Here are some of my favorite photos of my photography friends.
Most Powerful Photos
Photography is powerful, it can inspire change and it can have a strong impact on people. A very small percentage of my photos fit this category, but I think a few of my photos really strike me (and hopefully others) in a way that most of my work doesn’t. These photos do something more — they make me think, they tell stories and they remind me of why I continue to pursue photography.
Editorial Work
Writing and photography should go hand in hand. Where there are photos there are also words and an accompanying story. I’ve taken the time during this year to write some stories and to try to tell the full story of some of my photo adventures.
Also, this summer I have started a job at Marquette University doing social media, photography and writing. I have had a lot of creative freedom and I have already had the opportunity to collaborate on a number of cool stories. Here is a few of the editorial pieces that I did during this year.
In July I got to work on a story for Dwyane Wade’s visit to Marquette. I took some of the photos from that day.
I also worked on two articles for Illwaukee Digital Magazine — my story, “The Camera Kids” Can be found here pages 110–114. The second article was a feature of Milwaukee Rap Duo Amerikas Addiction. I shot a small concert for them and got to stage and shoot this photo afterward.
Favorite Story
I was very proud of some of the photo/ writing pieces that I worked on this year, but one in particular stands out — the Ben Hofman story. In June 2015 Ben brought a story idea to the desk of my boss Tim. The story was his story, the story of an emerging artist whose passion was sparked by the tragedy of a 7 year battle with cancer and a debilitating stroke a year earlier. Tim and I worked with Ben to help him tell his story. We did an interview and a photoshoot and worked at helping Ben refine his message. This is Ben’s story.
And this is the interview I did with him.
My Milwaukee
One of the best parts about becoming better at photography has been showing people my city. I love Milwaukee and I think part of my job as a photographer is showing Milwaukee to the rest of the world. So here are some of the photos of my city looking pretty.
Urbex
Urbex — which is short for urban exploring — is a popular trend with Milwaukee photographers. Milwaukee has a rich industrial history, but now a large majority of those factories have shut down and are lost to time. I’ve found that exploring abandoned buildings is one of my favorite things to do with photography — it brought a whole new element of adventure to my life. I went everywhere from abandoned homes, to barns, to schools and to factories. I think one of the most appealing parts about exploring ‘bandos’ is the prospect of showing others beauty in the forgotten — here are my favorite abandoned shots I took.
Street Photography
Street Photography was by far the setting I found myself in the most. Living downtown Milwaukee and traveling to urban areas kept my work primarily focused on people in the these settings.
Street photography can be a difficult process and definitely a controversial one. It can be in your face, it can be invasive and it can get you into trouble. I definitely had my run ins, people covering their faces, angry looks, people yelling, people questioning your motives. Luckily, in review, some good work came out of practicing street photography. Here are my favorites.
From the Archives
Not many of the photos I take will ever make it onto social media. Quite a few of these pictures used in this article never were shown on my Instagram feed or my Tumblr. There are some photos that I never bother showing to people either. There’s one photo in particular I’ve tried to edit many times, but have never been satisfied with the final product— there’s something about the colors that just doesn’t sit well with me.
I took the photo while exploring an abandoned barn with my friend Matt Green in January of this year. I really like the photo, but I’m still not completely satisfied with my edit.
Facts and Stats
- I’ve taken roughly 15,000–20,000 photos this past year.
- I shoot a Canon 70D with 3 lenses: 50mm f1.8 → 75–300mm f4–5.6 →18–55 Kit Lens
- I use Adobe Lightroom to Edit
- I publish on 3 platforms, Instagram, Tumblr and here on Medium.
What’s Next?
My plan is to keep working on my photography — I know I still have a long way to go. I see myself doing more “collection” driven photography that focuses on themes and work that can be shown in a series format.
I also hope to learn more about film photography. I just picked up a Konica from my friend Justin, so I plan to learn how to use it and to start doing some of my work in film.
Third, I hope to help continue to grow the photography community here in Milwaukee, specifically at Marquette University.
