Thanks, everyone, for the well-wishing and supportive messages I got wishing me luck on this photo assignment. It was a feature story for the Baltimore CityPaper, about a once-beloved local beer -- National Premium -- that disappeared 15 years ago and is now being resurrected by a local businessman. My job was to meet the businessman at the brewery and get a variety of shots to illustrate this. Once upon a time I would have been apprehensive about taking this job because I have struggled so mightily to make pictures I like, using digital cameras. For the past few years I've ended up hating the results of pretty much every assignment I've shot.
I left feeling pretty good about this one, though. In Maine I'd made some peace with digital, and felt more like this would work, that I would make some photos I actually like. It was a good experience -- the guy was friendly and, although he would pretty much just woodenly stand there waiting for me to take his picture, he would stand anywhere I asked. After Andrea's class this time around I felt much more comfortable being very directive -- stand here, hold your head this way. So instead of just photographing whatever happened to happen, I made some things happen, and that felt good.
So what might be funny about that experience is that the picture I like best is this one, a grab shot at the very end when he was walking out. Which is exactly how I've always worked.
Very happy for you!
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