A photo I took today about points of viewThe students represent a variety of majors that have nothing to do with photography and most of them are working with point-and-shoot cameras. My goal is to help them learn to appreciate the work of important photographers and to use that knowledge to take better photos here in Paris.
Too many tourists go home with exactly the same photos (Here's me in front of the Eiffel Tower. Here's me pretending to hold the Eiffel Tower in my hands. Here's me in front of Notre Dame. etc.) Wouldn't it be great if more people thought about expressing their unique thoughts and reactions to what they see? I'm trying to keep realistic expectations, but I hope to see photos that make me understand my students unique points of view.
"Too many tourists go home with exactly the same photos" - So true and so... well.... painful. One the most important rules I follow while enjoying a foreigner city is while in familiar location is to try and avoid the obvious. It's not easy, but way more rewarding than just taking 'another' shot!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, a good photo exercise to avoid such "obvious traps" is something closer to home - Try to take photos of your family (banal and regular to 'you' environment') in a way that will interest someone who is not familiar with you.
Just tweeted your post - http://bit.ly/14TE94 :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea, Ilan. The sad thing about most people's very generic vacation photos is that after a couple of years, most of them aren't even interesting to the people who took them.
ReplyDeleteFew years? I can't look at my parents vacation photos from a week ago :)
ReplyDeleteGreat shot! I am really interested in following what the students come up with.
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