I spent some time in New York this week and was reminded, as I always am when in the city, how palpable the energy is… I love the speed with which everything moves, the way that people carry themselves. It is incredibly stimulating.  I can only imagine the space one would need to carve out to find some quiet when it all becomes over-stimulating.

It was a whirlwind trip (as it always seems to be) with a couple of meetings and a couple of meet-ups with other photographers.  I want to expand the Street|Portrait project into other cities, and so, with the little “down time” that I had, I spent some time in Bryant Park.  I knew that it was the tail-end of Fashion Week and figured that it would be a good place to make some portraits.  I saw models and makeup artists, suits and designers eating lunch, journalists waiting at the exits of the tents.  It was a great place to try and make some images.  Now, let’s just be honest here, if I thought it was even remotely intimidating to setup in Houston and ask strangers to stop to get a portrait made, then let’s just say, stopping a New Yorker and asking to make a portrait is a new level for me.  I didn’t have any setup with me, but fortunately the light in Bryant Park was beautiful, even in the middle of the day.  I shot natural light, no backdrop, with nothing but my mk2 and a 500c/m.

So, here are some loosely styled Street|Portraits made in Bryant Park:

You know, for the Street|Portraits, I generally like to remove the context the environment provides (that is why I shoot on a neutral backdrop), but for this little setup, I was glad that I didn’t have that option.  The images feel like New York to me.  I am heading back to the city next week for a few days and I am planning on a more formal, lengthier setup…

I obviously had my “big” cameras on this trip, but I don’t like having them out as I move around town.  Mostly because I don’t want to look like a tourist. In fact my #1 travel goal - seriously - is to get asked for directions by someone.  I want to carry myself with confidence enough that I am confused for someone who lives there…whether in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Bangkok, wherever… So, in New York, occasionally, I “confidently” walk onto what turns out to be the wrong train. Oh well. Get off at the next stop and head back the other way.  I know it is stupid, but I find it helps me to really experience a place.  There is always an element of serendipity when you go exploring.  For me, most of those moments happen in transit. Anyways, for the “walking around” images, I carry a little taped up G10.  It makes great images and it is small, but serious looking.  In other words, depending on how you carry/use it, it doesn’t scream “tourist!”

A few, slightly abstract, “street” images:

What do you think? Send me an email: ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here.

To this point, I have been setting up for these StreetPortrait sessions in pretty high traffic, high activity intersections.  People are going somewhere.  It seems that the real skill is trying to convince someone to take the time (no matter how little) to have a portrait made.  Interestingly, it tends to exclude the “busy” people.  So I thought that I would change it up.  For this quick setup, I decided to try out one of the large city parks here in Houston.  I wanted to find a place where people are already lingering…excercising, walking, sitting by the large fountain systems, reading a book, lounging in the grass… I wanted to find out if I could have conversations that extended beyond the forty-five seconds it takes to make an image.

So, this StreetPortraits vol. comes from about a half-hour in Hermann Park on a lazy, late-summer evening here in Houston. I was of course glad that Cody came out to shoot as well…

First things first: Roll out the cart, setup the (small) backdrop, put up the light, shoot a test:

Now obviously the left image is natural light, the right is strobe… Personally, I was really digging the natural light, but it was getting late and we were already chasing the light.  Every few minutes was another stop gone and in a pinch, I went for consistency… So we fine tuned the strobe and off we went.

Some images:

Now, I know that I have talked about the why of this project, but it struck me again how strongly I feel about giving subjects a copy of the images that I make.  Giving someone a good portrait can be such a healing act.  More importantly, though, it acknowledges our partnership in the process.  For these moments, I am not just “Taking Pictures.”  We both GIVE, we both RECEIVE.  Now, I don’t want to have an overly developed sense of importance when it comes to photography.  I don’t necessarily believe that photography, in and of itself, can really do that much.  People surely can, though, and I do believe that we, through our interactions, are responsible for putting legs on the big ideas: peace, hope, love, home.  But again, rarely is it the big, sexy, “significant” stuff that helps us feel connected.  The clearest pictures are painted through the small, intentional actions, repeated over and over.  So for me, with this project, the small action is simply passing along a copy of the image.  I hand out cards with an email address to my subjects/neighbors(!) so that they can contact me if they want to.  I would say that nearly seventy-five percent of the people that I photograph end up contacting me for images. Of those that ask, I would say a third of them have emailed me after receiving the images to tell me:

1. how surprised they are to have actually received them

2. how much they enjoy them

It’s a small thing, but it is something.

Now, if all of this Street|Portrait stuff sounds interesting to you, then head over and check out my friend Jeremy’s idea: Help-Portrait. It is going to be quite an event this December and it could be a great way for you to get involved with some GIVE AND TAKE photography.

What do you think? Email me at ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here

Ok, a brief gear geek-out. When I am heading out and I think that I might need/want photo gear, or I am heading out on a street/night type of shoot, I will bring the following:

5DMK2 | 24-70L 2.8 | 85 1.8 | Pocket Wizards | SB-800 FLASH | MAUDIO MicroTrack Recorder (record audio separately!) | AT Stereo Mic | Hot Shoe Adapter | Gel Sampler Pack (perfect size for small flashes) | Sync Chords | Gaff Tape

Next, how to transport it.  I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it matters.  You don’t want to be limited by either a lack or glut of equipment, nor do you want to be worried that if it gets stolen out of your car, you are going to be ruined.  It is part of envisioning and executing a successful plan.  So, for that, I want to briefly further digress into a bag geek-out:

I currently own three photography bags:

PELICAN 1510 (perfect for traveling in less than ideal conditions and for the abuse it can take)

THINKTANK Airport Addicted (perfect for airplane overhead compartments and ease of transport)

LOWEPRO PhotoRunner (totally non-descriptive and holds a ton relative to its size)

I am obsessed with transporting as much gear as I can get away with carrying… I love to pack and repack my gear to find those perfect combinations for gigs.  I have rearranged the dividers in all of my bags so many times it just isn’t funny.  Seriously, I have a problem. When I was in Cambodia with VII, Gary Knight kept saying that his ultimate goal in packing is to be able to carry, at all times, everything that he has brought with him.  Clothes, cameras, everything.  I keep that in the back of my mind on every shoot :)

I will always pack my PhotoRunner into one of the other bags to bring with me because, once you get on location, you often (amazingly) find that you don’t need as much gear as you actually brought.  It is a great little “bare essentials” kind of bag and makes for a perfect incognito walking around solution.  I still intend on popping the “lowepro” off of the bag just because that is the only indication that a camera is contained within and, especially on the street, I don’t really care to advertise that fact.

All that to say, every piece of that gear listed above fits into this LOWEPRO PhotoRunner. It is a wonderfully small, over the shoulder, on the fly, fanny-pack sized bag:

Now, I don’t know about you guys, but all those iPhone productivity apps and desktop organizers and essentially every digital tool that exists to make and manage to do lists are completely lost on me.  They are nice and sleek and sound like such a great idea, but it seems that I inevitably end up needing an analog to do list to keep up with my digital to do list.  So, why add the extra step? I personally carry blank 3x5 notecards.  Lots of them.  And I scribble on them and I fold them up and I stick them in pockets and glove boxes and on the fridge and by my bed… Now I am not a hardcore GTD type of guy, but I do find that the more I can get the little stuff out of my head, the more that I can get it done.  Especially when it comes to production work.

So, in honor of little pieces of paper strewn all about, here is the list I just threw away after finishing James Caronna’s promotional images:

I realized that I ended up skipping right on over my PaperRoute blog post that I wrote a few months ago.  I think they are coming back in town soon, so, in honor of an upcoming Paper Route show, my original blog post:

Ok, full disclosure. I knew these guys from my Nashville days… We ran in overlapping circles and would end up at the same party or cookout or concerts from time to time. In fact, I remember being over at a friends house and everyone was just shooting the breeze and Chad (bass) started talking about the studio he was working in and how he was thinking about getting some old band-mates together to write and record some music to “cleanse [his] musical palate from that stuff” (read: crap) he was having to work on during the day.  Everyone was like, “cool, you want to start a band?” Not too uncommon a thing in Nashville. Well, yeah, seems he wasn’t joking around. Needless to say, I have been a fan from the beginning.  I believe in the guys, in what they are doing, and in the music itself.

I have been consolidating my business lately, refining goals, and making plans on the direction(s) that I want to be headed.  That is huge for me because, to be honest, I am not a detail guy.  I have no five year plan (they seem irrelevant to me - the people who are doing exactly what they planned 5 years ago tend to scare the crap out of me…), I have very little micro-awareness.  I am a completely macro, big idea type of guy.  I tend to bounce like a pinball, making it up as I go.  I find it to be more interesting, to be more exciting, and honestly, to have generally worked out pretty well thus far. I am not saying that I am giving that up, but I think that there is a sweet spot that exists between my nebulous big ideas and the tedious micro-managing. It is in that place that I am creating my optimal blend of focus/progress and vision/execution.  I know that it is needed to move to the “next level.”  And that is what I want to do.

All that to say, PRACTICE has become a big mantra of mine as of late. Part “don’t wait for the paying gigs,” part “focused test shooting,” and just a little bit of “showing up” in general… These are the little disciplines that I am trying to work on.  Not just taking a picture of anything and everything (that is what an iPhone camera is for), but making the kind of images that I want to be making.  Visualize, plan, execute.  It equips you when you get the bigger jobs, when you have to push through the inevitable (and occasionally crushing) fear that comes with doing creative work.  The pressure to make something interesting is often overcome in the ability to fall back on the confidence that comes from repetition and practice.

Anyways, whenever these guys come in to town (which has been several times in the last few months), we will usually meet up for dinner and then Anne and I will go and catch their show.  I generally don’t bring a camera because to be honest, I am just not a fan of taking pictures during a concert.  I am first and foremost a music fan.  I don’t find many things more moving than really good music and getting the chance to see it created right there in front of you is, for me, sacred ground.  For a few moments all the pieces come together and wrap up into something much bigger than the individual parts…a mystical blend of elements: the audience, the drums, the guitars, the voices, the feelings, the sound, the smell.  There is a word for it: EPIPHANY (literally, “to stand outside of yourself”).  For me, those are fleeting moments and I don’t want to miss it because I have a camera. Some people can experience the music AND be taking pictures.  I cannot.  So, I don’t.

But there isn’t any reason that I couldn’t make a few images after the show, right?  Originally I thought I might try and make some portraits with my portable seamless setup (like the StreetPortraits).  The PR guys would be disheveled and hot and tired and generally look like they had just played a show.  Might be interesting.  I ended up nixing that idea simply because it felt a little limiting.  Plus Jeremy Cowart had just done a series of fantastic images for the album packaging that included individual shots in front of both white and dark backgrounds (well, I mean the “dark” was just night, but same idea).  I have been shooting some long exposure stuff that ends up being streaky and moody and thought that it might really fit the mood of their music… Also, this idea allowed me to shoot at night (ideal for them cause after the gig allows the most time), would mostly hide the inevitable post-concert disheveled look, and would not require me to get them all to travel to a separate location…

I called the guys and ran it by them, and asked if they might take an hour after the show and make some images.  Just for my book.  No one is getting paid, no one is stressed.  Let’s just hang out and shoot a bit.  No agenda other than that.  They were into it. Let’s do it.

Now, I have to stop here and say, I became instantly terrified. Terrified that I wouldn’t be able to come up with something, terrified that I will make a fool of myself (somehow), terrified that the whole thing will end up being an epic, colossal failure. I know that seems strange to say, but I mention that is because I think that it is extremely common.  Seriously, every single time that I pick up my camera there is (even if it is just in tiny doses) RESISTANCE. Stephen Pressfield, in his book The War of Art, calls this “resistance” what it actually is: FEAR.  Fear of failure, fear of the dark, fear of who knows what. Fear of the unknown and the accompanying combinations of irrelevant worst-case scenarios. Getting over the fear is, to me, often the real work.  Once the fear is channeled, you can really get down to it.   I know that that all seems ridiculous, but I feel like we, as “creators,” rarely speak about this part of the creative process… I mean, our job is to literally bring something into the world that didn’t exist before.  Not that the process is as important as childbirth, but I feel like it is an appropriate, if a bit loose, metaphor.  Everytime we make something it is a little mini-birth. A micro-birth.  And think about all of the fear/concern/questioning that comes along with having a for-real baby.  I feel like that is where that fear comes from. And that is where the confidence that comes from repetition, from practice, really takes over.  It helps you start.  Then you can take back over…

I knew that I wanted to shoot with a single source, gelled to make some bizarre colors.  The sodium vapor street lamps, mixed with headlights/taillights, mixed with a gelled strobe could be pretty interesting.  So I laid out the gear that I thought would best suit the idea and off I went.  It was a great show.  They played well, clearly had fun, and treated everyone in the room to some great music.  After the show and after some autograph signing, I grabbed them and we went outside and around the corner to an intersection where I had set up the light on a stand. These long exposure shots aren’t that hard to take.  It is an idea that has been around for a long time and has been in vogue as of late.  The concept is pretty simple, drag the shutter to burn in ambient light and pop a flash to illuminate your subject.  No big deal.  What is difficult, however, is the focusing and composition.  If you are shooting for longer than 2-3 seconds or so (which I was), the mirror is actually locked up that entire time.  So, you can no longer see through the viewfinder to compose the images.  You are essentially shooting blind.  Suffice to say, you don’t get those light streaks/blurs by holding the camera steady.  You have to recompose several times during those 3+ seconds. Lots of trial and error.  Lot’s of chimping and as I call it, “camera math.”  The guys were generous with their time and (hopefully) had some fun collaborating.

At one point a small group of paper route fans cruised by and ended up stopping and hanging with the guys for a bit while we were shooting. It was interesting to watch them interacting with these fans who I would describe as the “early adopters.”  At one point, one of the girls was saying how sad she was that they hadn’t played her favorite song… So what did they do?  They sang it a cappella.  Right then and there.

PAPER ROUTE TV from Ryan Booth on Vimeo.

(yeah, i had to play it through my tv and film it with a G10 because of some memory card issues…)

It suddenly struck me, not only is this how you build a loyal following (brick by brick), but this how you “practice” as a musician…getting out there playing small-ish shows and riding in a van and staying late to talk to the few people who made the effort to see you.  It is playing a small club show as if you were in an arena, it is pushing through when a crowd isn’t into you.  It is pushing through consecutive 12 hours legs of a poorly routed tour.  It is, at least partly, just showing up.  Trust me, you will only be seeing Paper Route shows in large, sold-out venues not long from now and this time on the road playing these kinds of shows will undoubtedly prove invaluable.

I wished the guys safe travels and we went our separate ways.  They to pack the van, I to head to my house… In the end, the images, for me, are much less important than the process.  We both showed up that night.  I, to make some images, they to play some music.  I can’t ask for much more than that.

You know, Anne Lamott, in her wonderful book on writing, says that, quite frankly, a book won’t write itself.  You have to put “ass in chair” and peck away, bird by bird…

So here’s to some great music, great practice, and generally putting our collective “Asses in Chairs”.

Some images:

Ok, as a little post-script, a few more images…

I have been thinking about some image treatments that could translate to video work and I can’t get this super-grainy + super-pixelated look out of my head… I am shooting some test footage this week. We’ll see where it goes…

Well, let me know what you think:

Send an email to: ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here.

I got a call from a photographer and now friend here in town named Cody Bess… Seems Cody and a few other local guys had been thinking about trying out a StreetPortrait setup of their own.  Cody scoped out a location, got some gear together,  and asked if I wanted to come out so we could all shoot together.  Well, of course I would love to…

It was really great to do a StreetPortrait session with other photographers.  It is interesting to see how everyone interacts with potential subjects, with people as they are being photographed, and with people who don’t want anything to do with you…

We were set up across from a train station, right on Main Street:

All we had to do was shoot a few light tests and we were off…

Now, to me, the key to these StreetPortrait sessions is to approach people with genuine interest.  Interest in where they are going, interest in what they have to say, interest in who they are.  If you approach with a bit of humility and this genuine interest…well, the doors just seem to swing a little bit wider…

It was great to see the guys work.  They did a great job and made some great images.  I feel like I was operating in more of an advisory role (I use that phrase very loosely) on this particular setup, but definitely managed to make a few portraits along the way:

I am definitely looking forward to sharing StreetPortraits with more and more photographers as we spread out over the city, interacting with our neighbors…

What do you think? Send me an email: ryanwrites[at]gmail[dot]com or just click here

I am constantly astounded at both the quantity and quality of information that is available in the form of podcasts.  Trust me, Radio is back and in a major kind of way.  It exists in this sweet spot between Film and Literature.  It is linear and conversational and when done well, can be quite captivating.  It is often a little meatier than a film in that it requires you to actively participate in the mental creation of the world that is being described, but it is still a story that is being conveyed to you. It doesn’t require the kind of focus that a book does, so you can engage with it in a number of ways.  I listen to about 20 different shows on an average week.  I listen while driving in the car, while jogging, while editing.  I listen to everything from Harvard lectures to interviews with directors to economic analysis to the stories of This American Life.  Anything you could think to learn/hear about, it is there.  I promise.

All that to say, I promise that I am still working on a mixtape.  I want to make about 10 of them before I start releasing so that I can automate it and not have to worry about new content for a couple of months.

Well, one of my favorite shows is called RadioLab.  There really isn’t another show like it, in my opinion.  They work thematically, tackling the big ideas, and explore them from different scientific angles.  So a show on Morality, for instance, isn’t about religious construction of moral norms, per se, but rather about what science can tell us about how neurophysiology or brain chemistry or the structure of our blood vessels interacts with our concept of morality.  This show is constantly providing “ah ha” moments for me…

Well, they have just wrapped up a show called “After Life.”  Honestly it has been a bit of a departure from their normal show…slightly less science, more hypotheticals.  But nonetheless, a great show.  Well to follow up the show, they have been releasing RadioLab “Shorts” to further expand the ideas explored in the full program.  Well, they just wrapped up the week of talking about death with a short film (experiment) called “Moments” as a celebration of life (to end a week of death).  It is stunning.  Seriously.

Check it out:

You can check out RadioLab as well, both online here and in iTunes here