Pure Raw Talent
January 29th, 2006 RachelA lot of people take pictures.
The barrier to entry in the photograph taking field his shrunk and shrunk to the point that anyone who has the inclination and at least a camera as part of their cell phone, or a $10 disposable number, can take a stab at visually recording a moment in time.
But, there’s a big difference between a photographer, someone who takes pictures, and someone who has a camera.
I have a camera, and I put it to good use, though hardly for much more than group shots and taking pictures of the animals doing something cute. In the second group, there are those who take pictures all the time, have hundreds, but don’t do it for much more than just for fun and their own personal enjoyment (I slide into this category while on long trips where at the time it *does* seem necessary to have a stack of pictures of buildings that a year later all look the same.
Then there is the photographer. I went to high school with a photographer and didn’t even know it.
When you have the time to really enjoy it (or even if not, because I’m sure once you start looking at the pictures you will make the time), take a look at www.tessaangus.com. From concerts to museums, to an all american fudge stand and ‘empty spaces’ (though there is something more than is immediately visible to the eye…it’s invisible, but at the same time powerfully present) the amount of natural ability bounces off the screen. Yes, she has studied photography at a well known Toronto school. Yes, her equipment is undoubtedly more than just a camera phone (though the polaroids featured on her website without question hold thier own). But she clearly sees something, senses a moment, and clicks that button at just the right moment, a moment that would easily be missed by a less sensitive touch.
I don’t see Tessa much now, but I’m very proud of what she has accomplished and I look forward to watching as her portfolio grows. I am sure that one day I will be casually flipping through Vanity Fair and see that dozens of the photos in there are by a girl I once knew in high school.
