Get Closer!!
For 2 years Wednesday nights would be my photography night. Starting at 6:50pm I would sit in the lab and listen to lectures on mechanics of photography and alchemy of of the Darkroom. We would discuss lighting, composition and the merits of different lenses for our favorite subjects. Tonight was a special day for the photo - 1 students. Last week at the end of class we handed in our first project. Tonight we would have the projects returned and we would put them on the walls of our Gallery. We would then critique each others work. At the end of the critique we would get our grade.
Our instructor walked in and went right to the board. Normally when she came in she would take a few minutes to chew the fat before our 4 hour class began so the was a little unusual. She wrote 3 words on the board GET CLOSER D***IT!. "The biggest difference between an ok shot and a great shot is composition and the greatest weakness in your compositions is that your not getting close enough to the subject." She went on to say that she told this to all of her photo - 1 classes. People she said have a fear of getting close enough to subject to really make an impact with their images. She was right. For the next 4 semesters I got closer. The images I love from that period are the ones when I got closer than I thought I should have.
Do we have the same fear of closeness in our relationships? Do we need to have some one tell us to get closer? For many of us the answer is yes. I know most of my neighbors by name and we chat when we are outside but, do I know them? No. They are acquaintances not friends. I don't know their dreams or hopes or fears. They don't know mine. I'm not suggesting you knock on your neighbors door and bare your soul, I am suggesting that you make an effort to get closer than you think you should. It's when were uncomfortable that we grow.
Our instructor walked in and went right to the board. Normally when she came in she would take a few minutes to chew the fat before our 4 hour class began so the was a little unusual. She wrote 3 words on the board GET CLOSER D***IT!. "The biggest difference between an ok shot and a great shot is composition and the greatest weakness in your compositions is that your not getting close enough to the subject." She went on to say that she told this to all of her photo - 1 classes. People she said have a fear of getting close enough to subject to really make an impact with their images. She was right. For the next 4 semesters I got closer. The images I love from that period are the ones when I got closer than I thought I should have.
Do we have the same fear of closeness in our relationships? Do we need to have some one tell us to get closer? For many of us the answer is yes. I know most of my neighbors by name and we chat when we are outside but, do I know them? No. They are acquaintances not friends. I don't know their dreams or hopes or fears. They don't know mine. I'm not suggesting you knock on your neighbors door and bare your soul, I am suggesting that you make an effort to get closer than you think you should. It's when were uncomfortable that we grow.
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