By jahdaimoriah
Right before I left for spring break, I saw a film on photographer Nan Garcia. Although I am not a fan of her work, I did take away one lesson from her: always take your camera with you. I know that sounds obvious for a photography student but shockingly we don't always like taking our camera with us everyday. I am currently shooting digital with a canon 60D and although I love my camera and refer to it as my child, it is pretty heavy and bulky. It often becomes a burden carrying it on my back or around my neck. However, I made sure to always have my camera with me--the only exception was when I went out to a bar or club, but still I found myself wishing I had brought it along. By being disciplined, I caught so many awesome moments and captured amazing images.
I was determined not to do the touristy stuff in any of the cities I visited, especially in Paris and Barcelona where I had visited in the past. Often times I ditched my friends after the first day In each city, my excuse each time was that I needed to go shoot. When I shoot, I prefer to be alone. My friends talk to much and become a distraction, and a lot of my friends are also art/photography majors and I get territorial and possessive of what I shoot and my ideas. When I shoot I like to get lost. I get on the metro with a starting point and them wander around for hours.
Paris was my most successful shoot. I had visited paris when I was 16 so I was not interested in going to the Louve or Versailles etc. I wanted to start my shoot day by going to a modern art museum but I got lost trying to find it. Thank god I did, and thank god I had my camera. I stumbled upon the entrance to a Paris Fashion Week fashion show, and got shots of celebrities, designers, and even had the pleasure of meeting my favorite singer Frank Ocean!!
Barcelona was amazing as well. London and Paris were pretty gray but Barcelona was filled with sun. Supposedly it was the first weekend in a long time where it did not rain and everyone was enjoying the sun. After turning a few corners I found the modern art museum. I wanted to go in but was to distracted by 50 or so skateboarders who were doing stunts along the outside of the museums. They were all willing to let me take pictures of them. Showing off some of their coolest moves.
I am so glad I took Nan's advice for my camera, although a heavy pain in the ass to carry, became my second pair of eyes.