Some people have asked about the Prague trip, what exactly are we going to be doing each day. The answer is, I have no idea. We’ll go out and play it by ear. I’ll explain why.
One of the most exciting things about travel is the chance to see new things and have new experiences.
One of the most exciting things about photography is the chance to see new things and have new experiences.
Put them together and the anxiety about what to do next is almost palpable.
Or, the excitement of adventure ahead can be joyous.
Different strokes for different folks.
An important factor I try to impart is the absolute joy of not knowing exactly what’s in store for you. This can be an entirely liberating experience or, conversely, it can scare the hell out of you. Depends on just how linear your thinking is.
Ernst Haas, who I loved and admired was quoted (I often think, incorrectly) as saying that when he got to a new place, he liked to research it and walk around without a camera to get the feel of it.
My reaction to that is that you can never get a first impression the second time around.
I love the first kaleidoscopic impression, the unplanned reaction on seeing juxtapositions of time, form and content that I’ve never seen before. That, to me, is the joy of photography; the perception, the chase to capture the image. All the rest is just icing on the cake.
We are placing ourselves in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Each day will bring the unexpected, in visual terms. I don’t want you to know exactly what you’re going to see and shoot each day. You shouldn’t be taking pictures of images that you’ve seen in your mind’s eye or already seen in books or brochures of Prague. This is your personal trip. You’ll see things that are unique to you. You will also miss things. That’s the way it is.
All photographers come back from their shoots, if they have a grain of conscience, knowing that they failed. And that’s what really makes you try to improve, because you know that you can’t capture everything that’s happening. What you come back with may be terrific for those who weren’t there, but you know there was more and you always know there will always be more.
The planning one puts into a trip will bring benefits, research is valid. But the great joy is to be a traveler rather than a tourist. The tourist knows where he’s going, the traveler knows where he’s been.
To go out empty, without visual or emotional blinders, to allow oneself to be filled with the subject, that is the great adventure.
P.S. I will be open to any and all questions, no holds barred. However, I am not a technical person and you had better know how to use your equipment. I will also talk with you all at great length about perception, light, gesture, and color and anything else you have in mind.
- Jay Maisel
