Learning To See

Alex spent a week trying to find the right words, the right approach, the right script for asking a stranger to be photographed. None of it worked until Alex stopped trying to find the right words at all.

Alex fixed the thing that went wrong in the alley, off center placement, real negative space, a frame that finally had somewhere for the eye to breathe. It worked. Then Alex tried something the camera couldn't help with at all, walking up to a stranger and asking for a portrait. That didn't go nearly as well.

Alex figured out exactly what caused the freeze at the bus stop, too many decisions happening at once, and found a way to remove most of them before the next outing. The fix worked. The moment arrived, the shutter fired instantly, and the exposure was perfect. So why did something still feel off?

Alex went out for the second time with a new habit and an obsession. Light. The walls and doorways suddenly had something happening on them that hadn't been visible the week before. Then a real moment showed up, light and subject together, and Alex froze.

We have gotten some messages from people who are new to black and white photography and do not know where to start. Over the coming weeks we are going to follow Alex through the early stages of learning to see in monochrome. This is where it begins.