ajramirez
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Caguas, Puerto Rico
- Name
- Antonio
I was wondering how many of you have had the experience of being mentored or having your work critiqued by an established photographer. I am in the middle of such an experience, and it's not for the faint of heart...
I recently reconnected with Puerto Rican photographer Eric Borcherding, with whom I had taken a photography course back in 2009. Mr. Borcherding is fairly well known (locally) photographer, specializing in fine art and studio photography. He does a fair bit of reportage as well. We met a few weeks ago, and I showed him some of my recent work. He told me he would think of a project I could work on and that he could review. Based on the work I had shown him, he suggested a photo essay/documentary project on the Santurce Farmers' Market (Plaza del Mercado de Santurce).
The Santurce Farmers' Market is an interesting place, because it changes depending on the time-of-day and the day of the week. In the mornings, it's a true farmers' market, with vendors selling mostly fresh fruits and vegetables to locals and restauranteurs, and locals (mostly retirees) hanging around. At night, the market closes, but the restaurants and pubs surrounding it open, turning the area into a hopping meeting place for students and young professionals.
I shot my first set of photos on a Saturday morning about two weeks ago. Last Monday, I sat with Mr. Borcherding to get his feedback. To my surprise, he discussed each photo individually and extensively. In general, his observations were as follows: (1) not getting close enough to my subjects; (2) excessive negative space (related to no. 1); (3) failing to explore the subject and capitalize on interesting details on some of the shots. I argued that I had tried to approach the subjects as a "street" photographer would, interfering with the scene as little as possible. He explained that in documentary photography there is no reason for the photographer not to interfere with the scene sometimes, and that more interaction with my subjects would result in improved photographs. He also explained that the details are what turns an ok shot into a "magical" one.
Keeping his advice in mind, I went out again yesterday morning. This time, I interacted a bit more with my subjects, some of which I had photographed the previous time and were perfectly willing to be photographed again. I am meeting with Borcherding tomorrow night, so I'll know soon enough what he has to say about the new shots.
This was the original set I presented to him (cross posted from the Leica M Image Thread):
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
And, these are the ones from yesterday morning that I will bring in tomorrow night:
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
I think I definitely got closer to my subjects, but I may have fallen short on the "subject exploration" part of it. We'll see what he has to say tomorrow.
I would love to hear from any of you who have had similar experiences.
Cheers,
Antonio
I recently reconnected with Puerto Rican photographer Eric Borcherding, with whom I had taken a photography course back in 2009. Mr. Borcherding is fairly well known (locally) photographer, specializing in fine art and studio photography. He does a fair bit of reportage as well. We met a few weeks ago, and I showed him some of my recent work. He told me he would think of a project I could work on and that he could review. Based on the work I had shown him, he suggested a photo essay/documentary project on the Santurce Farmers' Market (Plaza del Mercado de Santurce).
The Santurce Farmers' Market is an interesting place, because it changes depending on the time-of-day and the day of the week. In the mornings, it's a true farmers' market, with vendors selling mostly fresh fruits and vegetables to locals and restauranteurs, and locals (mostly retirees) hanging around. At night, the market closes, but the restaurants and pubs surrounding it open, turning the area into a hopping meeting place for students and young professionals.
I shot my first set of photos on a Saturday morning about two weeks ago. Last Monday, I sat with Mr. Borcherding to get his feedback. To my surprise, he discussed each photo individually and extensively. In general, his observations were as follows: (1) not getting close enough to my subjects; (2) excessive negative space (related to no. 1); (3) failing to explore the subject and capitalize on interesting details on some of the shots. I argued that I had tried to approach the subjects as a "street" photographer would, interfering with the scene as little as possible. He explained that in documentary photography there is no reason for the photographer not to interfere with the scene sometimes, and that more interaction with my subjects would result in improved photographs. He also explained that the details are what turns an ok shot into a "magical" one.
Keeping his advice in mind, I went out again yesterday morning. This time, I interacted a bit more with my subjects, some of which I had photographed the previous time and were perfectly willing to be photographed again. I am meeting with Borcherding tomorrow night, so I'll know soon enough what he has to say about the new shots.
This was the original set I presented to him (cross posted from the Leica M Image Thread):
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
And, these are the ones from yesterday morning that I will bring in tomorrow night:
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
En la Plaza del Mercado by ramirezaponte, on Flickr
I think I definitely got closer to my subjects, but I may have fallen short on the "subject exploration" part of it. We'll see what he has to say tomorrow.
I would love to hear from any of you who have had similar experiences.
Cheers,
Antonio