My Next Photography Assignment

Last week my instructor announced our next photography assignment. This time we have to get lost.

Get Lost

Derive
Webster’s New World Dictionary Definition:
1. to turn a stream from its channel
2. to get or receive (as from a source)
3. to get by reasoning; deduce or infer
4. to originate (used reflexively).

In this project you are to utilize the classic method of the derive as it applies to the making of art and imagery. This method means that you must journey forth without any destination in mind; just get in your car, bicycle, bus, skateboard, motorboat, big wheel, or whatever and head out. Your journey must last a minimum of two hours, but can go longer if you wish (sometimes being lost you don’t have a choice). During this time, you are to use the experience to make imagery.

Your imagery can take the form as a pictorial record of your experience (a la photojournalism), or iconographic representation, or it can be completely re-fabricated through alternate photography after the fact. The main focus of this assignment is to let the experience inform the art, and to look for photographic opportunities in unknown surroundings. You may do this alone, with a friend or with a group.

Restrictions:
You can not know where you are going ahead of time, therefore if you are familiar with your surroundings, you may need to develop some kind of system to keep the experience fresh. For example; every time you see something (vw bug, man with facial hair, etc) you will turn left...

Technical:
Concentrate on utilizing your settings in your camera to optimize depth of field or motion blur. Remember to calculate your minimum shutter speed to avoid “camera shake” (1 over the focal length is the slowest shutter speed you can use).

Notes:
Give yourself lots of time … Stop the car and get out of it (freeway shots are very boring)…Be prepared (Take lighting, reflectors, actors, props, whatever with you…you never know when you will need them)…Take everything in (even bad experiences can make great work)…Take the road less traveled (a sense of adventure is required)…
Have fun.

The assignment is always the springboard for your creativity. Your job as the photographer is to shoot what you like to shoot within the constraints of the assignment.

I'm pretty excited and at the same time nervous about this assignment. I had this idea of the roaming gnome for this shoot, but with a more editorial glammed up twist. I want to dress up a model in a sexy gnome outfit and take photos along the way of us getting lost. My version of the roaming gnome visiting all the places along our lost way.

I usually have one of my sons assist me when I need reflectors and props so they will most likely be getting lost with us as well. But I'm torn with the concept. I might just fix up my friend Wendy and another friend that wanted to get some porfolio images and just take some hot picks along the way.

I just keep thinking that the gnome outfit might seem too "comicbooky", yeah I know it's not an actual word but you get what I'm saying. I could probably even use my son as a model and an assistant. I need to use everything at my disposal for my projects. I just hate getting lost. I better remember to keep my AAA card and cell phone handy!