Two of the hardest things to photograph are people and motion. Why? Well for people, pictures are extremely disposable now so they are used to looking through photos, finding the most flattering ones of themselves and throwing out the rest without a second thought, so obviously a photographer can do that too right? As a photographer half of the time the split second picture that is caught of a person laughing/making a silly face/kissing/etc is not disposable. Photography is not like taking selfies, there’s no do-over for most shots, and believe me, unflattering photos are often seen, so when it comes to photographing people as the photographer you hope that ( 1) you capture a flattering photo and (2) the subject agrees with your definition of flattering. As for motion, unfortunately slowing down the world around you to capture the perfect shot isn’t yet possible. So things are there and gone. Moments that are missed will never be repeated that exact way ever again. That’s a little formidable.
And that is what makes photographing runners such a bitch.
First of all, you guys never stay still.
Secondly, you guys all look derpy, it’s inevitable. First of all you’re bouncing up and down, which makes your skin become the definition of elastic. Then you’re hot, and sweaty and probably not feeling that great. Your determined face becomes a scowl, your happy one a glimpse of insanity. And god forbid you’re wearing a hat that casts a shadow over your face so that I can’t even tell if you’re smiling or telling me through your eyes to fuck off.
But it’s so much fun. I love going out and challenging myself to capture awesome shots of all the runners I come across! Oh, and the 2 second conversations are the best!
“Good morning!” (Gotta start with this one to make sure you guys get your headphones out of your ears and smile)
“How are you feeling?” (I always hope this is a safe question to ask…if not, whelp, sorry I fucked up your mojo)
Then I get the answers… They range from dead silence to inspiring quips. They make me worry, they occasionally make me irritated, they make me laugh … they make me wish I was running.
Keep in mind these conversations lasts as long as it takes for a runner to initially hear me talking, to when they run past me. And you guys aren’t usually going too slowly.
How is it that that simple conversation can invoke so many emotions?
I don’t honestly know the answer to that question. Of course I could go on and on about how runners find themselves while running and blah blah blah. But honestly I think that it’s just the fact that when I go out and take photos I have these 2 second conversations with at least 50 different people, all with their own thoughts, emotions, and mental strength running past me. And for that brief time I get to see why they run.
“How are you feeling?”
If you ran past me what would you say?
“Please just don’t lie and say I’m almost there.”
“I’m feeling amazing! I haven’t challenged myself this much in years!”
“Worse than you!”
“*silence accompanied by the soft background of music in headphones*”
“You’re here to pick me up right?”
As a photographer capturing people while they run allows me to understand why they run.
For some runners it’s for the challenge.
For some it’s to clear their mind.
For some it’s to drink beer (ahem…gotta drop a beer soaked reference somewhere in here right?)
For some it’s to stay in shape, for the upcoming zombie apocalypse obviously.
It’s an amazing connection. And that’s why I love it, despite the derpy, motion blurred, sweaty, snotty challenge it presents every time I go out and do it.
But hey we can’t all look like this guy right? I know I can’t!
And that is what makes photographing runners such a bitch.
First of all, you guys never stay still.
Secondly, you guys all look derpy, it’s inevitable. First of all you’re bouncing up and down, which makes your skin become the definition of elastic. Then you’re hot, and sweaty and probably not feeling that great. Your determined face becomes a scowl, your happy one a glimpse of insanity. And god forbid you’re wearing a hat that casts a shadow over your face so that I can’t even tell if you’re smiling or telling me through your eyes to fuck off.
But it’s so much fun. I love going out and challenging myself to capture awesome shots of all the runners I come across! Oh, and the 2 second conversations are the best!
“Good morning!” (Gotta start with this one to make sure you guys get your headphones out of your ears and smile)
“How are you feeling?” (I always hope this is a safe question to ask…if not, whelp, sorry I fucked up your mojo)
Then I get the answers… They range from dead silence to inspiring quips. They make me worry, they occasionally make me irritated, they make me laugh … they make me wish I was running.
Keep in mind these conversations lasts as long as it takes for a runner to initially hear me talking, to when they run past me. And you guys aren’t usually going too slowly.
How is it that that simple conversation can invoke so many emotions?
I don’t honestly know the answer to that question. Of course I could go on and on about how runners find themselves while running and blah blah blah. But honestly I think that it’s just the fact that when I go out and take photos I have these 2 second conversations with at least 50 different people, all with their own thoughts, emotions, and mental strength running past me. And for that brief time I get to see why they run.
“How are you feeling?”
If you ran past me what would you say?
“Please just don’t lie and say I’m almost there.”
“I’m feeling amazing! I haven’t challenged myself this much in years!”
“Worse than you!”
“*silence accompanied by the soft background of music in headphones*”
“You’re here to pick me up right?”
As a photographer capturing people while they run allows me to understand why they run.
For some runners it’s for the challenge.
For some it’s to clear their mind.
For some it’s to drink beer (ahem…gotta drop a beer soaked reference somewhere in here right?)
For some it’s to stay in shape, for the upcoming zombie apocalypse obviously.
It’s an amazing connection. And that’s why I love it, despite the derpy, motion blurred, sweaty, snotty challenge it presents every time I go out and do it.
But hey we can’t all look like this guy right? I know I can’t!