Here in lies my last post about the Adam Marelli workshop I attended in NYC this past weekend. There's a good chance I wouldn't be taking pictures these days if I was not directed to his blog a number of years ago, so I think he is owed his due. Anyway, to study the photographic process with Adam Marelli is a deliberate choice to concentrate on design, composition, clarity, consistency & purpose, among other things. F-stops and shutter speeds need not apply and pedantic gear discussions are for the most part, left at the door. Adam is of the philosophy that the best sources for photographers are in fact painters, not other photographers, so we should look through the many centuries of paint to canvas (or wall, ceiling, etc) for answers to our photographic dilemmas. And that's primarily what we did over the course of his two day workshop.
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| Marelli (upper left mirror) imparting some knowledge on a student |
The workshop lead off with a three hour discussion and analysis of about a dozen classic pieces by Edward Hopper. This struck me as a great way to kick off a workshop as all those taking part must consider the aesthetic characteristics of each piece as opposed to getting bogged down with what camera/lens combo might have been used to make the image, or worse; what camera/lens/setting combo could have been used to make the image
better. I swear that last bit is the main catalyst of endless GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) that engulfs almost all photographers.
Another important aspect of Adam's workshop is the conceptualization of a self-assigned "Workshop Project" that each attendee has to conceive and explore throughout our two shooting sessions over the weekend.
Adam not only believes in building a strong image, but also emphasizes the need to construct a body of related images that can tell the viewer a story or impart on them a perspective of the subject that they might not have initially been aware of. Granted, we only had about 7-8 hours worth of shooting to put together a small collection of photos that could tell our story so the results aren't as all-encompassing as they could be, but it is an incredibly useful approach to expanding ones capabilities and approach to photography.
I went with People's Use of Public Space as a general guide for my work and eventually narrowed that down to New Yorkers Recreational Use of Shared Spaces. This sort of topic is almost impossible to convey in a lifetime, let alone a few hours, but I believe it was a very useful exercise in establishing a theme, purpose, message & intent when taking a set of images.
Plus, to use his words; "If you can't get your point across in 10-12 photos you're usually in trouble..."
