OK -- I'm going to be less perfunctory than yesterday. Yesterday's post is what happens when you start blogging at 7 a.m. and you still have to get ready for work and eat breakfast and be out the door by 8 a.m.! Sometimes time is not on my side.
Last week I had a slightly awkward situation arise with a student. An eighth-grade boy who is very into photography -- and who knows I take a lot of pictures as well -- wanted me to shoot a roll of film so he could develop it. He was going to loan me a camera and do the processing. Initially I said I would, but after giving it some thought it seemed a little too personal -- borrowing his camera and taking even harmless pictures on the street that he would then see before I did.
So I went to a principal and asked for advice, and she suggested I shoot the film at school, not including people in the photos. That seemed like a good compromise, but then finding time to do that -- when I didn't have to be at my desk and when there weren't many other people around -- wasn't easy. Finally, Monday afternoon, I tried to shoot a couple of pictures in the library and I couldn't get the film to wind.
I finally gave the camera back to the kid and said I'd tried. He showed me that I was winding the film incorrectly, but by that time I'd lost what little enthusiasm I had for this project. I told him I'd be happy to continue talking about photos with him but I'd rather not borrow his camera!
The whole point was that he really wants people to shoot film rather than digitally, and he and I have had an ongoing debate about which method is better. As someone who struggled for years with the constraints of film, I love digital photography. But as someone who grew up in a digital world, he enjoys those same constraints and finds the limitations and chemistry of film challenging.
Anyway, it was kind of a strange situation for me and now that I look back on it, I probably shouldn't have agreed to do it in the first place. You want to encourage students but at the same time there are boundaries!
I downloaded the garden cam again last night and I still didn't have any nighttime shots, which is very strange. I discovered that the batteries were low. Apparently when that happens, the camera shoots during the day, which uses less energy, but it stops doing nighttime infrared filming. That's why I didn't have much content the last few times I downloaded the videos.
Anyway, I made a short compilation of what little worthwhile footage I've collected over the last two weeks, including some images of snow and passing foxes and cats (Tabby and Pale Cat). And now I've recharged the batteries and I'll set it up again this morning. Hopefully next time around I'll have more interesting nocturnal images!
(Top photo: Graffiti by Abotz in West Hampstead. I've blogged Abotz before here.)
Υπέροχο ιστολόγιο. Αποπνέει αισιοδοξία και ανθρωπιά.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good compromise..but using someone else's camera, of whatever type is never easy.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, knowing what a good photographer you are, he was secretly planning to sell the photos to LIFE magazine 😉
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy your videos and seeing your garden. I miss seeing wildlife. When the weather improves, I’ll plan some visits to nearby preserves and the botanic gardens here.
ReplyDeleteSounds like that lad needs a custard pie in his face. A great photo opportunity. As for the gardencam, I hope one day to see a burglar with his swag back, striped shirt and face mask tiptoeing across your lawn.
ReplyDeleteI think it is sad that you did not comply with his initial request. No doubt all the precautions between teachers and students went through your mind, but truly, what harm. And, I think you would have enjoyed taking the photos with someone in mind who would see them.
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps I would have encouraged the student to take his own pictures after which he could develop them and discuss them with you.
ReplyDeleteThe garden is pretty with that dust of snow. It's a hard call -- you need to set boundaries (both for yourself and the students) and time is an issue. It might have been fine had the camera been right, time on your side, and then seeing how the developed photos might turn out. But maybe encouraging him to use his own eyes with his own camera, then come back and share the photos would have been a good compromise.
ReplyDeleteI didn't quite see the issue with taking the photos, especially if, as suggested, you take them around the school and don't photograph people. Maybe the kid was trying to see the world through another person's lens?
ReplyDeleteI took an evening class on developing film in a darkroom and loved the process and the creativity. But it wasn't but a couple years later when digital photography started hitting the consumer markets. It is just so much easier, faster and more powerful to edit using my computer.
ReplyDeleteI think it's odd to ask someone else to take photos using your own camera, but what do I know? I much prefer digital as well. I can happily snap away hundreds of photos and then pick the best.
ReplyDeleteThat tabby that wanders through your yard is gorgeous.
I don't think I'd have done it either. I've had my work stolen and putting it right in someone else's camera for them to develop and claim is too tempting. Maybe an explainer about composition? That's usually the mark of good photography and it might be what he particularly needs with a film camera where there are fewer chances but correct.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the student can share his photos with you and you can give him advice. Or not. You know better what you are comfortable with.
ReplyDeleteI hear that a lot of young people are curious about film photography. Like you, having lived through that era, I find digital much easier to work with and so much more adaptable. However, curiosity is a good thing most of the time.
ReplyDeleteSometimes kids make requests and they are sudden and surprising and we don't have tome to evaluate the request.
ReplyDelete