longer you do something, the more
likely you are to know a bit about what
you’re doing.
Fortune favors the prepared mind and
all that. I might take minutes in a loca-
tion or [I might take] days. It depends
on what I find and connect with. In my
humble opinion, there’s no one right way
to photograph anything.
My cup is both empty and full at
the same time. I don’t know how I
will photograph something, yet I have
a wealth of experience, which inevi-
tably informs the way that I work. I
rarely make any elaborate preparations
before I go to a location.
I walk, explore, attempt to discover
and photograph. I search around for
some sort of resonance or spark of rec-
ognition. I think that approaching sub-
ject matter to photograph is like meeting
a person and beginning a conversation.
How does one know ahead of time
where that will lead, what the subject
matter will be, how intimate it will
become, how long the potential relation-
ship will last?
I try not to make consciousdecisions about what I’m looking for.
Certainly, a sense of curiosity and
a willingness to be patient to allow
the subject matter to reveal itself
are important elements in the pro-
cess. There have been many occa-
sions when interesting images have
appeared from what I had considered
uninteresting places.
The reverse has been equally true.
One needs to fully accept that surprises
sometimes happen, and they’re not
always good surprises.
I personally don’t believe thatHillside Fence, Study 7, Teshikaga, Hokkaido, Japan 2004.20 | Digital Photo Pro digitalphotopro.com