Breaking free

Have you ever heard the saying, "eyes are the windows to the soul"? As a photographer, its always been a really interesting quote to me.

I noticed something--a trend--starting a few years ago in the photography world. I noticed--and I'm guilty of it myself--an increase in the use of photoshop actions. Soon enough, we photographers started styling shoots...putting our "subjects" in odd places...and using lenses that were so long we could shoot a great photograph without having much interaction with the person on the other end of the lens. Again--I'm guilty of them all. Though, I did find that this way of photographing was unnatural to me--I felt trapped and restricted.

So I'm breaking free.

I've always loved people. I find them intriguing. I find that people always--no matter who they are--have a story to tell. I find most often, you can read their story in their eyes. In the series of photographs below, I chose a Pentax 67 and a 105 mm lens with an extension tube attached. I shot wide open to slice away the depth of field. What I wanted was to see life in their eyes. All of the photographs below were shot no more than 2 feet away. I love how their eyes seem to dance with life and burn with intensity.

I'll leave you with one more quote...
"a picture is worth a thousand words"
Its nice when we can make sure those words tell the story that needs to be told...to their children, grandchildren...great grandchildren.

~Rodney