I couldn’t photograph my own tattoo sessions, since I was just too tense. There were little droplets of blood, so pretty on my thigh, but I think the camera was just out of reach and I didn’t want to wiggle.

 If I could do this again, I might bring another lens, the 135mm, which would allow for more of the close-up shots. Maybe I would find a way to position myself differently, but it’s tricky, not wanting to disrupt the very subject matter I’m trying to capture.

Thanks to Niku and Stacey for letting me give it a shot. Stacey’s work is lovely. She’s truly an artist who will work on your concept, turning it into something better than what you expected. Niku’s pretty brilliant, too. She’s the person who got me my first exhibit and that really kicked this whole photography thing into gear.

I spoke to each class about perspective. My goal was to help them make their shots more interesting by seeing the familiar in a different way. Yes, if you take anything away from this, understand this is your goal. The subject doesn’t come to you, you have approach the subject. I was giving this talk, and the third time I got up to repeat it (I didn’t have a script, just a few talking points), I remembered how  some people would describe me when I played tennis.

I didn’t really play tennis. As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my racket and my ball, on the side of the house. That provided my a brick wall. My sisters and I would sometimes walk two or three long blocks to the middle school courts and swat the ball at one another. When I actully agreed to meet friends at the high school courts for “doubles,” I earned a reputation. Apparently I don’t move and I don’t sweat.

I don’t know why this came to mind the other day when I was talking to third graders, but it did and I said it out loud. Imagine yourself with a camera in your hand. You don’t want to stand out or get in anybody’s way, so you take your pictures from where you happen to be. If there’s a pole between you and the subject, you get the pole in the picture. This is no way to take pictures. Likewise, you shouldn’t stand firm in your spot on the tennis court, worrying you’ll get in your doubles parter’s way if you move, extending your racket only when the ball seems like it’s going to approach you. Your subject’s not likely to approach you. You have to approach the subject and you have to be creative in how you do it.