For many years, I would walk around each day and think to myself, “If I had a camera right now, this would be a very good picture.” At no point did I think I should actually carry a camera with me or buy a camera and actually try shooting. I merely procrastinated and dreamt of the great shots I would take if indeed I had a camera with me.
Well, that’s not entirely true. In my early years, I remember shooting with a Fisher Price toy camera that had a three shot flash. After three shots, the flash was trashed and you would have to put a new one on. Shortly after, I bought an Advantix point-n-shoot camera and took it abroad with me when I studied in England my sophomore year of college. To this day, I don’t know why I put the camera down after that. I remember taking amazing pictures and being so excited about the photos and yet I have no recollection why I didn’t bother to shoot when I returned home. On occasion, in my adult years, I would take out my brother’s old Pentax 35mm film camera and waste lots of money shooting over exposed or under exposed or even blank pictures. One time, I shot an entire roll before I realized I hadn’t even loaded the film correctly. I took the film to be developed and received a call a day later saying I hadn’t actually shot any pictures. Shortly after, I once again set my fantasy of photography aside. I clearly had a lot to learn and didn’t want to make the time to learn it.
In early 2008, after a serious bout with depression, I once again picked up a camera as a way to distract myself from myself. This time, the camera was digital: a Canon Rebel XT. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew nothing about the technical aspects of the camera. And I received no formal training whatsoever. Each week, I would force myself out of the house and into a new neighborhood of New York to take pictures. If I ran into a problem or didn’t understand how to shoot something, I would ask the next photographer I met. Each time I met a photographer, I had a different set of questions and each photographer would provide me with a new nugget of wisdom. The first such photographer was my brother, who had been documenting his world travels with photography for sometime. We went on a long walk together throughout the city of Chicago, where he gave me a great piece of advice. I don’t remember it exactly, but it was something like “Look where everyone else isn’t looking. If most people are looking down, you look up.” To tell you the truth, he may not have even said it like that, but that’s how I’m going to choose to remember it at the moment.
Taking pictures soon became the nourishment my soul had been craving. While I make my living as an actor, photography has become the artistic side of me that is untouched by judgment/rejection/money or any of the other creative killers that have at times infused their way into my career as an actor. With acting, I have to accept a certain amount of the business involved. With photography, I’m alone with what I see, how I see it and how I share what I see with those around me.
If you are interested in any of the items you see or interested in hiring me for a particular service, please contact me for rates. I hope you enjoy the site.
Jeff