What did we learn? Well, lots. McCurry opening. Parr/Shulman opening. Lee is a fun guy. If you don’t know him, check him out—books, shows, etc. Jorge is a damn good photographer. So is Hawre. Sarah is the editing and book queen. Ed’s show was grand. John’s too. The weather is cooler and wetter than many would have imagined, which, for me, is a good thing. Wear a jacket, bring a shell, and keep going. The streets are quiet, the locals charming and talented. Last night was a dinner at the Salt Flats, an incredible location restored to its glory days and still in full production mode. The structures made you want to quit your job, secretly slide into a back room, and hope to go undiscovered.
We also learned that Uncle Danno did reviews.
This means that I met with photographers in twenty-minute blocks for roughly five hours. Sit, introduce, show, talk. We can learn a lot from this. One, know how to talk about your work. This is so critical. There were language barriers here, but that’s okay. Everyone got their point across. I asked photographers why they were there and what their ultimate goal was. This is where there were lessons to be learned. Some could answer better than others. You need to know because at some point, someone like me is going to ask.
And then there is the work. Some came with fleshed-out stories, others with initial sketches. This part can be a bit more fluid. Some asked for suggestions, others explained their desired pathway. There were lessons here, too. This festival and RAW are deeply connected to street photography. There are other genres here, but street is a popular endeavor with the group; consequently, I looked at numerous bodies of street photography, some stronger than others, which is to be expected. Experience level varied from one year to a decade. Some were full-time travelers/shooters, and others could only snatch a day here and there.
Several folks said they were hoping to make this style of work a full-time career. That’s going to be tricky. Not impossible by any means, because there were people who had found a way to do this, but for most, this is going to be a challenge. My suggestion was to continue to do this work, but also branch out into doing reportage or stories, portraiture too, so that they would be more viable to more outlets. I suggested people move closer and engage with those they were photographing. I suggested they find someone inside one frame and focus on that person, get to know them, their family, and their lives. Build depth, connection, and story.
And I walked around shooting short clips, handheld because that’s how I screw up most of my footage. I’m taking a few hours this morning to do this post, edit and download files, and begin working on a short film to give you all a flavor of what this place is like.
