STORY
The First Call: Let’s Play a Game! — Jessica
My six year old has reached the stage where he loves to play board games, until, that is, he is about to lose. We were fortunate to have a lazy morning yesterday and plenty of time for a couple of rounds of Dogopoly.
So that’s the background story of the photograph: young child, practicing counting and turn taking, rolls the dice and moves his game piece around a board. Is that the only story here?
One of the primary things that I want to do this year is to improve the storytelling aspect of my photography. Rather than simply document a moment in our family life or home, I want to mine the scene a bit deeper. I want to reveal universals of family life, of growing up, of living an examined life in service to the good, the true and the beautiful.
I want to know how to do that. Beyond mere gesture, or contrast or composition — maybe it’s the unity of all three? What is the secret to unlock the story of our lives?
That is the primary aspect of story that interests me. But there is a secondary one that I have very much neglected and I think it shows in the creativity of the thought behind my photos.
That is the aspect of Story as input in the creative process. Twyla Tharp in her book, The Creative Habit talks about how when she is beginning to choreograph a new dance she seeks out all kinds of varied inputs; everything from art, to novels, to science becomes fodder for her to mash into something new.
How often do I seek inputs away from pictures and other photographers? Lately, not very often. Music, poetry, novels, fairy tales, prayer — all these things offer keys to unlock my mind. I just have to remember to look for them.
Well, Jessica, I like the Call, but I’m doubtful about how successful I’ll be in coming up with anything decent for it. I’ve always had a hard time with the storytelling aspect of photography. Sometimes I know it when I see it, but not always — not by a long shot! I also have a difficult time seeing it in my own photography. Please feel free to include lots of quotes and links this week. I think I’ll need them.
I love the in-focus scaredy cat in your photo, and the pointing finger is interesting. What is he pointing at? Why isn’t he moving his game piece or rolling the dice?
[…] letting me know that she has posted her first Call of the week for STORY. I headed over to C&R, read her contribution, and felt the wheels in my head engage and begin to move. Writing a comment on her post is a great […]
That’s my problem with storytelling. I try to just capture what’s happening and it’s hard to fit a story to a single frame, you know? In this case, Tommy was counting the dice to figure out his move. It would have been better to have him more in focus but our living room is really dark until mid-day and so I had to shoot wide open if I wanted in any hope of getting a shot with SOMETHING in focus. : )