Was pretty cool. I got to hang out with Aaron from ask500.com and his family down at Waikiki which meant of course I brought my camera! So I captured some pretty awesome images. We were only actually on the beach playing around for about 15 minutes but I still managed to capture some pretty awesome pics.
By the way peeps, ask500.com is having a contest so make sure you write a poem or a song or something creative and submit it to support@ask500.com
Ok, if you didn’t just say “Awwwwwww” then there’s something drastically wrong with your cuteometer.
Today I had the honor and privilege to sit at the University of Hawaii and listen to Gerd Ludwig talk about his photos and experiences as a professional photographer. He originally went to school and studied Physical Education, he was into soccer and stuff. This shows me how much life can change for everyone and how you can end up doing something you never thought you would be doing and totally enjoy it.
You can see Ludwig’s photos here in his gallery. Here is a little biography I found on him via Kingston. I highly recommend going through his Russian collections about pollution and Chernobyl. The photos are mixed with numerous emotions some that can’t be expressed. This is good photography my friends.
He was a really nice guy, I learned a lot from him… not just from the dozens of photos and stories that he shared at the seminar but I also had the honor of having lunch with him after the seminar and discussing with him his personal experiences as a photographer and how he interacts and communicates to people… So much info to write about. I took notes during his seminar and these are some of the key things that I found profound not just for me but for every photographer:
Some notes and quotes from Gerd Ludwig on photography.
-What is your point of view?
-Photography has to have it’s own connection to your own personal self.
-The best photos are the ones with compassion, full of joy, not because there is joy in the picture out there but because they felt joy
-You must not allow the camera to shield yourself from reality, you must use the camera as an outlet for your emotions… we can deal with the pain and suffering better because we have this outlet but we can not use it as a shield…
oment they pressed the shutter
What is the exposure of your image? 1/60th of a second and 61 years…. because you bring your own life experience into the picture… you can walk by a homeless person and take their picture or you can get on their knees and tell the viewer not only the physical point of view but your inner point of view to the person looking at your photo…
-It’s important that you have a personal deeper connection with what you photograph
-See if your photos fits the social description of the place you’re photographing
-“They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work� Local Russian saying
-Wide angle lens creates the feeling of intimacy
-If you are close you give the reader the feeling of being close in…
-Learn to use the wide angle so it doesn’t distort too much
-On one assignment I shot 1500 rolls and only 30 photos were used…
-As photographers it isn’t the amount of images but we have to push the shutter at every thought there might be an image…
-The most expensive photograph is the one you need to go back for because you missed it.
-It is very important that you know what you’re photographing. If you didn’t know what the confederate flag was and you saw a bunch of people partying around it then you would miss an important piece of context about your photo and the story that it tells…
pictures become more meaningful and deeper when you know a lot. (In the context that you know a lot about the culture, the people, etc. of where you are photographing)
-You have to be open to your photography.
-Don’t be a body with a camera for a head.
-A great photograph should touch the soul and broaden the mind
Aside from photography, Ludwig has a hilarious sense of humor and a wonderful outlook on life. He has risked his life to show people images and to tell the stories of the individuals he’s captured.
I asked him, “Who are your heroes” and he looked at me with all sincerity and said, “My heroes are the people that let me share their story.”
Often times I tell my friends they should get involved on twitter and I can never fully explain it and when I try they often look at me like I’m stupid. Alas, it has been explained!
I took this shot at Waimea Canyon leading up to Waimea Falls on the North Shore… I dedicate this photo to my brother Danny, because he almost lost a fight with one when we were kids
So I captured some pretty awesome images. We were only actually on the beach playing around for about 15 minutes but I still managed to capture some pretty awesome pics.
