Being the Only Photographer
I recently spent a few days in Nashville leading up to my sisters wedding and we made sure to visit Broadway while we were there.
Whenever I think of Nashville, this is the place that I think of. Broadway is a long street running through downtown Nashville showcasing all sorts of restaurants and bars that you can go to for some live music. There’s a different musician every couple feet on Broadway, and you can listen to many of them as you walk up and down the street!
One of my favorite shots from the trip.
Many of my photos are taken while I am by myself exploring someplace, but often I am with other people. Additionally, I am often the only photographer in the group. This can be challenging, because the pace of the group doesn’t usually align with the ideal photo taking pace. Usually it’s quicker, making it harder to get the compositions that you want, 100% the way you want them.
Many restaurants and bars on Broadway keep their windows or doors open so you can hear the music from outside!
While not always ideal, this definitely tests your ability to shoot on the fly; to be able to adjust your settings in the blink of an eye, and to be confident in the composition that you are piecing together. Street photography is generally like this anyways, but roaming while in a group adds another layer of challenge, and not one that is necessarily unwelcome.
I love seeing people enjoy what they do.
This candy shop on Broadway had a taste of home camouflaged amongst the Coke.
Challenge will often cause a person to grow, and photography is no different. That’s why photography “challenges” are so often used; things like limiting yourself to only one focal length for a month or creating only black and white images for a set period of time are two simple examples. Being forced into constant motion when trying to create an image can grow a photographer’s ability to capture the fleeting moments that are so often present in street or candid photography.
My beautiful wife checking out the caramel apples- and yes, we got her one.
Additionally, I think it is important to become intimately familiar with your gear. I prefer to talk about the abstracts of photography more than I care to talk about the equipment (though I am absolutely a gear-head), but I do find how well you know your tools to be vital to producing good work while on the move. Know your camera settings inside and out so that you can correct them in the heat of the moment without even thinking about it. With cameras that have a million and one different features, this can be really daunting, but nailing the basic settings and dials down is a really good start.
Regarding my camera, I’ve personally been experimenting with the custom buttons more than I have in the past, and it’s been super helpful. One change I’ve really been enjoying is mapping the APS-C mode on my camera to the custom button on my prime lenses (for those that have that particular button), that way the setting is in the same place as a zoom ring would be.
Another one of my favorites.
This trip was a long one, and these are only the photos from the first day. As I make an effort to write more and publish more of these posts with my thoughts and ideas around photography and other topics, I will definitely be sharing more images from the trip. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed these! Thank you for reading my first blog post!
