A Picture A Day in November: Soul Shooting Workshop Assignment

      I am a member of the Soul Shooting Workshop of Photographers.  I had the privilege of participating in the workshop this past June.  It is run by 4 wonderful photographers Kelly, Molly, and Rosina and Sarah.   See the posts about it here and here.  We continue to meet via a private Facebook page in which we are challenged every other month or so with an assignment that will bring us towards the goal of creating a type of photography that reflects our soul.  Hence, the name soul shooting.  As I had written in one of the posts, soul shooting is:

...simply learning to shoot in a way that reflects the dynamic of your soul and that of your subject. It is capturing life in a way that reflects your past, present and future as a photographer and not as a carbon copy of other photographers. It is learning to craft your soul into the body of your photographic work.

     One of my personal goals is incorporating my vision of post tenebras lux--after darkness, light--into my portfolio.  It is a view of the world that sees order in the disorder, light in the darkness, and hope in the despair.  I was inspired by this from church history.  Post tenebras lux was the binding motto and call of the Protestant Reformation and especially of John Calvin and his church in Geneva, Switzerland.  It is a triumphant statement of victory and hope in the brokenness and darkness of this present world.  It calls me back to a time in history of great change and reform and to which I am an heir as a Reformed believer and wife of a Reformed minister.  Post tenebras lux is my life: past, present, and future.

     In my photography, I try to convey this through high contrasts, a wide dynamic range, a wider angle of view and typically a deeper depth of field.  In most of my photos, I framed the subject in its context, usually an environment of disorder, imperfection, mess.  But I had the subject serve as the contrast to that brokeness.  The subject was typically illuminated by light with a clear sense of composition, order, or beauty.  At least that was my goal.

     So, for the month of November, we were to take a picture everyday that incorporates one of our personal goals as photographers.  For me, it was articulating that vision of light in darkness; this was my attempt at fleshing out post tenebras lux.  After meditating on my pictures, I encourage you to visit Sarah's take on the month-long assignment, an exercise on points of (eye) contact.  Each of us in the group will be sending you around the internet to see our personal takes on this assignment.   Enjoy!

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Second, the Picture Taking

     Continuing on from yesterday's post on the Soul Shooting workshop I attended this weekend, I will now share the pictures I took as part of the 3 assignments I was given.  

1st Assignment:  Portraiture

The first assignment was to establish a rapport and take portrait pictures of whomever we were partnered with.  I was paired with Sally, a graphic arts designer and photographer.  Within minutes of meeting, we were shedding tears over my beloved dog Buster who had died last year.   It was evident that she too shared a conviction and love for dogs as Man's very faithful companion.  She has a dog named Dudley, which rhymes with my present dog's name Buckley.  How cute is that?  She has lived in the far flung places of this country from New York to Florida to out here in California.  Her taste in food is just as adventurous with a particular preference for Thai food, just like me :-).  I look forward to hanging out with her again this summer!

Some notes on my portraiture session:  

I love Sally's eyes.  I hope that the pictures were able to bring that out.  My only regret is that I didn't pull back to set her in the context of the beach, like of her in front of the beach house or the beach itself.     A photo-session should include tight and wide perspectives to do justice to the story of the portrait session itself and most importantly to the subject, as a person in history and place and time.  I hope to remember that next time.  

2nd Assignment: Family 

Kristianne is a fine arts/ lifestyle photographer.  She brought her family and allowed all of us to follow our teachers (Kellie, Molly, Rosina and Sarah) as they took photographs of her family at the beach.  I loved the energy of the session: the waves crashing, children running and surfing, mom and dad following along.  I wanted to capture the connection in this family, especially between Kristianne and her daughter, as they were the only ones on the sand (and I confess I was afraid to get wet following her husband and son--I needed to follow Kellie's example on that one!).  Also, I wanted to capture the exuberance of the daughter as she frolicked on the sand.  

Kellie was undaunted by the waves and the cool temperatures.  Way to go, Kellie!

3rd Assignment:  A newlywed couple.

I regret that I wasn't there to meet with this lovely husband and wife when it was time to get to know them personally.  I had just finished my time with Kellie and Molly and went to switch groups to follow this husband and wife.  Rosina and Sarah were already in the middle of their photo-session so no introductions were made.  With young lovebirds, it is so easy to capture the connection.  Body language is so good at giving proof of the deep affection and fidelity between them.  This couple made it easy for me.  The only thing I regret is that I should have done more up-close shots, the opposite problem I had with my first assignment.  I need to remind myself of these things when I get caught up in a photo-session.

So thankful for the opportunity I had to participate in this workshop.  The Soul Shooting Workshop will last for a year as we will be receiving monthly assignments on photography that will help evince the personality and story from within us and bring it into the practice of our craft as photographers.  I look forward to a year of growth and challenges.  Thanks once again to Kellie, Molly, Rosina and Sarah!