Resident-Tourist

One thing I have learned is that the early photo assignments I had during introductory photo courses have become indispensable tools to me as a photographer. A common exercise that instructors give photo students that are just starting out and looking for ideas about what to photograph is to take a picture of something during different times of the day.

The subject matter isn’t what is most important, the exercise is meant to encourage you to experiment with photographing something more than once and to learn how different lighting situations affect the scene.

The rapidity at which an image can be made with a camera can also create a false sense of what it takes to make an image, what you don’t see is curating, criticizing, and evaluating over time to end up with a series of photographs that communicate clearly and are aesthetically pleasing.

The photos below are from my current project Resident-Tourist. This project consists of making images as artifacts and producing postcards to send out to supporters of the project. Only one of these will make it into the final portfolio.

In some cases I am not happy with the first exposure that I take of a scene, so logically my next step is to return and photograph it again and again at different times of day. This can be tricky especially if it is in an area where you may not be able to get the exact field of view, for me it was the fact that the parking lot full of cars made it difficult to keep the framing the same, in the end I think that it didn’t matter anyway and being forced to try different compositions helped me refine what I was aiming for aesthetically.

So even though you may not be doing a photo assignment that you are enthusiastic about remember that it is a tool that you can use in the future like I am doing here.

Try it for yourself!

This exercise is easier with an object on a table next to a window. But this is meant to be done any way you like.

• Pick the object or scene you would like to photograph.
• Photograph it at different times of day.
• Evaluate how the light affects the picture you are making.

As an extra take all of the images to your friends and ask them what they think is their favorite then reveal what your favorite image is. This can lead to a great conversation and help you understand how everybody has a different and unique idea of what is a successful photograph.

Thank you for visiting.

J. William Kraintz II

The photos below are organized in the order that they were made over the course of a week.