There are photography genres that don't really appeal to me. Studio portraits of models, for instance. Not that I have anything against models ‒ far from it. And it's not because I don't have access to a studio either. Truth is, I don't own one, but I know where I could rent the space if I wanted to. It's just that I honestly can't see myself spending hours arranging a model, positioning her, dealing with the lighting, obsessing over every shadow and every fold in the fabric.
I'm more into action photography—whether it's out in nature or on city streets. Sure, that comes with its own set of challenges. You can't stage birds perched on branches the way you can a model in a studio. You can't tell a deer in a meadow to stand in better light, or ask some random woman in the park to position herself in front of a different backdrop. (Okay, you technically can ask her ‒ I've actually done it a few times ‒ but honestly, those shots never turned out to be worth much anyway.)
Like I said, I'm drawn to that kind of action, spontaneous photography. There's no room for overthinking or fine-tuning. You've got to make split-second decisions, and half your frames end up in the trash. But here's the thing: what you get isn't some polished, overly perfected image. It's raw, unvarnished ‒ maybe flawed, maybe imperfect ‒ but that much more authentic. A photograph that feels closer to real life.
So let's do it. Charge the batteries and hit the streets.
