photoblog
Jean Tansey stands amid a canopy of trees lining Sycamore Lane she maintains for the Cedacroft community. Her work has impressed the Baltimore Rec and Parks so much that they are using her program as a model.
When I was an intern I was a more anit-portrait than I am today. In fact I’m decidedly pro-portrait these days. That’s not to say I hated the idea of portraits. Truthfully, they intimidated me a bit. Theoretically, they’re easy to make. Bare minimum, all you have to do is take a picture of someone looking into the camera. Well, I wasn’t interested in bare minimum. The real trick I realized is to consider how the image will come across to the readers. And this image is testament (not in a big amazing way) that “feeling” trumps composition. Like any shoot, I made multiple frames. I have a bunch where her head is placed in the middle, and she is looking right at the camera. But we started talking, she started moving and her personality started showing. At first I placed more importance on the symmetrical photos during my edit. But this one kept intriguing me. Her face, her expression, her joy, was something I could relate to. It was so human. The other images, while technically closer to “perfect” felt stale in comparison. What it all boiled down to, was that I just liked looking at this image the most.
The 10am Update is a regular blog feature showcasing some of the best work from my archives.