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Ahh springtime…green grass how I have missed you! Spring is a time of rebirth and growth and this newsletter is all about photography growth and sustaining your progress. Neil’s article is dedicated this month to staying motivated and inspired.
Our March newsletter assignment gallery is live! Take a look at all the great work people are doing. The April assignment focuses on photographing the essence of spring.
Rocky Mountain School of Photography Gallery had its inaugural opening on April 3rd exhibiting work from Eileen Rafferty, a very talented instructor at RMSP. Her exhibition, grow., is an amazing group of images, metaphorically perfect for the opening of a new gallery and the season.
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Stay Motivated and Inspired with Your Photography—On Your Own!
Years ago, during a basic camera class I was teaching in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the students told me that it was his first formal photography class or workshop. Of course, given the content, he was not alone. What was unique, however, was the quality of his work. At the first critique, he blew us all away—his work was stunning! It turned out that for the previous 10 years, while working as a delivery man throughout the state of Georgia, he consistently toted around his camera. And, consistently used it! He would snap a photo of anything that looked the least bit interesting and filled an average of three rolls of film per week. Three rolls a week for 52 weeks amassed into more than 5,000 photographs a year; over the course of 10 years, this self-described novice had taken more than 50,000 photographs! No wonder he was great—he was completely devoted to his hobby. While he grew remarkably as a photographer from learning technical skills and being critiqued in that and several subsequent classes, he had gotten tremendously far letting just experience and intuition be his guides.
Yes, it is entirely possible to learn and grow as a photographer on your own; that said, getting from “knowing” to actually “growing” can take a bit more than logic. In my experience, it takes projects. It takes inspiration. It takes confidence. And, probably more than anything else, it takes a willingness to be open enough to pursue new directions—especially those that involve risk.
In this spirit of self-propelled growth, I offer the following suggestions to help you take your photography to the next level.
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Shoot, Shoot, Shoot. I cannot say this enough. This is the best way to learn on your own. As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, I started a project this fall that requires that I take at least one photograph a day. No exceptions. No rules. And no days missed yet! More than six months later, I still cannot believe how excited I am about it. I also cannot believe how much this imposed consistency has improved my work. At this point, I don’t even think about when, where or how I am going to fit this into my day—I just do, and it has become a part of my routine that I honestly can’t imagine my days without. |
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Assign Yourself a Project. And a deadline! Don’t stop there, either. Be sure to critique your work so that you can see trends and either encourage or discourage them in future work. Also, you never know what will stem from a project you are working on. I am working on four concurrent projects, three of which stemmed from my one-a-day idea. |
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Form a Group. Gather individuals interested in photography and form a group. Meet once a month to share images and ideas, and either choose a member or hire someone else to come in and critique the groups’ work. Since 1991, shortly after I moved to western Montana, I started critiquing the work of a group that consists of local doctors. The group started in the 1970s and most of the original participants still meet once a month. Artistic and/or content-driven themes tie the work together, and we keep numbers low so that never more than 10 or 12 people attend a session (which means more individual attention). This is not a formal photography club; there is no business model nor are there monthly dues. It is just a fellowship of folks tied together by a common interest in photography. Honestly, in the last 17 years, I can hardly believe the individual growth. Many of these people produce work on par with professional fine art photographers. |
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Join a Photography Club. More formal photography clubs can be great fun and are quite prolific. Look into the club you are interested join before you actually join it, though, to be sure it is a kind of group you want to be a part of. Groups vary tremendously in how they operate and are organized. If it’s a good match, the supportive environment can provide so much inspiration that you cannot help but improve. |
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Go Online.
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Visit online photography sites like Flicker where you can look at other amateur photographers’ work. Typically, they have places where viewers can critique posted work; likewise, you can post your own work and get feedback. |
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Peruse professional sites. I like to visit at least one photographer that I admire a week; once I visit one, I typically end up navigating my way to several more. Many of our graduates have inspiring sites. (To find some, type RMSP Summer Intensive in a search engine like Google, as they often have our school in their bios.) | |
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Read Books. Many successful photographers publish their work in books. Visit the photography or art section of a local bookstore and look through as many as you have time for. Don’t simply think about what you like, but why you like it. Looking at other people’s work is an inexhaustive source of inspiration. I recommend even building up a library of great books (which in addition to good photos, often have nice stories accompanying the work). A great continuing project from your ever expanding library can be to emulate a particular artist’s style in while shooting. |
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Gallery Hop. Go to galleries and photography shows at home, and even more, while traveling. Notice how different artists frame the same subjects—again, ask yourself why you like what one person does more than another. Maybe even purchase some of the work that really speaks to you to decorate your home or office. I have six framed photographs in my office, only one of which is mine. The other five are the work of photographers I admire. The same is true at home, where I also have student work displayed. To this end, consider planning a trip around exhibitions. When I went to Russia a few years ago, I arrived in Moscow on the last day of an annual week during which nearly every gallery in the city was displaying photography, many of which featured American artists. I was blown away by the variety. If I go again, I will make sure to go for that entire event. |
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Host a Show. Set up a small show of your work in a local café, bank or business. Knowing that your work will be displayed will help push your limits and motivate you to produce beautiful work. Make sure you know museum quality presentation and ask others to help select your best pieces. Set a date about a year out and start seriously shooting. For me, the pressure of having a show is such a positive motivation that I typically produce work that surprises me in terms of quality and content. A few years ago, one of our Summer Intensive students, Harold, went home to Baltimore, set up a show in his home, and sold more than $5,000 worth of prints on opening night. |
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Listen to the Pros. Most cities have free talks and/or lectures given by local or visiting photographers. Universities with photography departments often bring in great speakers—and these events are often open and free to the public. Many private schools or organizations also bring in photographers to give talks and display their work. For those of you who live in the Missoula area, RMSP offers free monthly lectures. We also co-sponsor visits and lectures from well-known photographers with the University of Montana. |
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Organize Your Work. It a good idea to categorize your work. Create several files on your computer; label them “good,” “very good” and “portfolio quality” (or some variation thereof that works for you). This can be an enlightening process. By looking back at your own work, you can see certain trends and proclivities that can inspire new direction, ideas and even confidence—who knows, you may find that you have more high-quality work than you realize. |
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Go on a Trip and Document It. Whether you plan a trip to shoot or shoot on an already scheduled one, it doesn’t matter—being in new environments is a wonderful impetus for shooting outside your typical box. I recommend supplementing your shooting with a place-specific project. When I went to Russia, for example, I decided to shoot as many Russian orthodox churches as possible. (Since childhood, I have harbored a fascination with the aesthetic grandeur of these churches.) This has since become one of the series of which I am most proud. |
These are just a few ideas to keep your photography exciting and creative. While it may seem easier to produce within the structured schedule of a class or workshop, self-imposed projects, deadlines and trips can go a tremendous way in terms of inspiration and, ultimately, growth. | |
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The Essence of Spring.
April in Montana is a teaser month for summer. There will be four or five days in a row of fantastic weather that make you shed the heavy layers of winter and step outside to bathe your face in the sun. As soon as you are used to days of warm light it will inevitably snow several inches blanketing spring plants that are pushing their way through the soil and new buds on the trees. As frustrating as it can be for sun lovers, it can be an incredible opportunity for photographers. This is a time of year when the juxtaposition of seasons converging is unmistakable. Instead of staying inside until the sun decides to return I challenge you to photograph the end of one season and the beginning of another. Look for the quintessential spring moments. How can you best communicate this in a photograph? There are great macro opportunities in the spring. If you are looking for a more creative bent, pick up a holga—yes film!—or shoot with a Lensbaby. Whatever it takes, shake off winter and experiment! Download the April Assignment details.
Take a look at the March Newsletter Assignment gallery. The assignment was, “What’s in a Word?” This assignment asked the photographer to focus on a specific theme based on one word. Each person selected a word from a list and captured a series of images that represented the chosen theme.
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grow.
Eileen Rafferty
April 3 – May 29 2009
Rocky Mountain School of Photography Gallery is excited to announce its inaugural exhibition grow. with work by Eileen Rafferty. Fusing archival imagery and traditional techniques with modern technology and contemporary visual culture, Rafferty’s work seems to exist in a time outside of time – like standing still in a moment one remembers that hasn’t quite happened.
grow., as the title might suggest, eloquently explores growth and its inevitable stages of budding, stagnation and the moments in between. Like the seasons that come and go, the moments are uncontainable and indefinable, fleeting and ephemeral. Inspired by traditional Japanese themes, Rafferty chooses simple elements of nature, trees and skies, as her subjects. The trees, appearing more as black and white line drawings than the actual photographs they are, are stripped away of their detail and reveal almost a calligraphy of form and space. The skies, naked of any contextualizing landscapes, hang as a field of colors and spaces undefined. Laced with gentle and subtle emotion, one feels an ebb and flow reflecting the movement of life – breathing in and breathing out.
Rafferty has been teaching for RMSP for 3 years. Her classes have included: Visual Design, History of Photography, Creative Photoshop, Alternative Printing and various areas in multimedia. Additionally, she is an adjunct instructor at The University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, where she currently lives. She has worked as a freelance photographer, educator and digital technician; and has printed for clients including: National Geographic, The Kennedy Center, and The White House. Rafferty received an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. |
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There is still time to enroll!
Take one, two or all three sessions! If you are still thinking about a summer of doing nothing but photography, we are still taking registrations for our 2009 Career Training season.
Career Training 2009
Session I: Summer Intensive
A Foundation in Photography- June 1- August 14, 2009
Session II: Professional Studies
Focus on Your Career Path August 11- September 4, 2009
Session III: Advanced Intensive
Digital and Professional Development September 8 – October 16, 2009
Sallie Mae loans and Veterans Benefits available.
Please contact Bob McGowan at bobm@rmsp.com for more information.
We are excited to introduce two new additions to our staff!
Sue LaRose is our new Workshop Director. A former student of our Career Training program, Sue comes to us from the East Coast. She has a background in radio management, is master gardener and adds enthusiasm and a perpetual smile to our days.
Career Training Specialist, Libby Miller finds her roots in Minnesota and transplanted to Montana when she decided to attend the University of Montana. Prior to coming to work at RMSP Libby was involved in the building industry. We love that she plays hockey and soccer, and enjoys Montana’s great outdoors while hiking and camping.
Looking for a workshop that helps you focus? Try one of these:
Light, Shadow, Shape and Color taught by Kathy Eyster, April 18- 24. This workshop is about becoming aware of four elements that are important to all photographers as you learn to see as your camera “sees.” More….
Light Studies: The Light and Atmosphere of Place- June 20-26 with David H. Wells. As a photographer, light can be both friend and foe. It can make an ordinary scene extraordinary. Light can also change without warning, and take the mood of the moment with it. David teaches you to manage and manipulate light so you can use it to your advantage in any situation. More….
Finding Your Focus in Sedona, Arizona with Tim Cooper. The goal of this advanced class is to help you develop a more personal style and challenge yourself to improve your technique and composition. More….
Upcoming Rocky Mountain School of Photography Gallery exhibition:
June 2009. Jeffery French and Steve Stockin. 2008 Graduates of our Career Training Program.
Comments or Questions about our Newsletter? Email Marketing@rmsp.com
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