by Melinda Eliza Sabo - Global Snapshots
( April 25th, 2012 )
[Moldovan Popular Musicians Warming Up – On a River Boat On the River Bîc – Republic of Moldova – July 2001]
Photo Tip – Capturing Candid Images of Strangers
Feel shy about snapping candid images?
The trick is to start slow and build confidence. I recommend practicing candid photography at a musical event – specifically while the musicians are warming up. They will be focused but casual and they will be doing something that has meaning to them so you’re likely to capture a bit of their personality as well as their preparations. There are usually other audience members milling about prior to the start of the show too so you won’t feel so inconspicuous. If you’re at an indoor venue, the lights may be up and this will help to simply the process too.
The image above was one of the very first candid images of strangers I’ve ever shot. I was nervous, but the situation made me bold enough to try, and after all it wasn’t odd that I wanted to take capture the moment – we were on a river cruise in the early evening and the band was picturesque.
Exercise: The next time you have the chance to hear live music, be sure to snap a few candid images of the band/orchestra getting ready.
- Goals:
- above all – be confident
- breath deep (don’t hold your breath or the camera will begin to shake)
- really take in the details of the scene before you and focus on the most important elements when composing your shot
- if possible, move around and shoot from different vantage points
- take lots of pictures so that you can end up with lots of choices
- have fun
In joy,
Melinda Eliza
Add a comment
by Melinda Eliza Sabo - Global Snapshots
( April 22nd, 2012 )
Tattooing is about personalizing the body, making it a true home and fit temple for the spirit that dwells inside it.
- Michelle Delio, from the book “Tattoo: The Exotic Art of Skin Decoration”
Yesterday I got my first ever tattoos. It was an exciting experience and one I’ve been waiting for since I was in my early twenties. Over the years I’ve considered different designs and admired the work of different tattoo artists, but I never found quite the right image. Finally, at age 37, it struck me that it was words that I wanted, not images – words that brought to mind the best of times and the best of me. Favorite words. Words with power.
[Favorite words filled with memories from my travels – 4/2012]
Wanderlust: Wanderlust has been my favorite English word since the 7th grade. I can still remember looking at the word scratched in white chalk on the blackboard and thinking yes. Yes – that is what I want from life, to wander through the world and let one adventure fuel my passion for the next. And that was that – end of story – wanderlust has been my favorite word ever since.
мир: The next word is Russian (in the Latin alphabet ‘mir’) meaning peace or community. I lived on Peace Street in the Peace Corps and my photography business was called Strada Mir Photography or ‘Peace Street Photography.’
Comoara: The last word is Romanian for treasure. The Moldovan national anthem is called Limba Noastra – it’s a beautiful song about how the Romanian language is a treasure. The first line of the song is “Limba noastra-i o comoara,” which means “our language is a treasure.” On the way home from a competition in the capital city, a whole bus full of my students sang this song to me, except they replaced the word ‘limba’ with my name, Melinda. Too often I forget to treasure myself and I forget too how much I mean or have meant to people. Comoara is a wonderful memory, my favorite Romanian word, and a good reminder too.
I already have a favorite French and Sanskrit word picked out to add to the list.
What travel tattoos do you have? Where did you get them? What do they mean to you?
In joy,
Melinda Eliza
Add a comment
by Melinda Eliza Sabo - Global Snapshots
( April 14th, 2012 )
The other night I was looking through Pinterest when an unusual image caught my attention. I did a double take and then laughed out loud. There on my screen was an image of an average, middle-aged guy (big hairy chest and all) standing in the middle of a field of cows – wearing nothing but a pale pink tutu.
[“Cows” a self portrait © Bob Carey – Available for purchase to raise money for breast cancer research.]
I love this photograph – it is a brilliant and truly funny image and yet it’s not silly – here too is vulnerability and self expression. In my opinion, this highly unusual self portrait is varsity-level work. The color is rich, the composition is great, the way Bob Carey is holding both his body and his hands is at once graceful and clunky, and the interaction between Bob and the brown cow on the left adds a level of narrative interest that really appeals to me. When I launched over to the Tutu Project website, I was impressed with the diverse portfolio of travel self portraits; there are tutu portraits in Italy, snowy urban streets, parking lots at night, beaches, and red desert roads. Here are two more of my favorites:
[“San Fransisco” a self portrait © Bob Carey – Available for purchase to raise money for breast cancer research.]
[“Subway” a self portrait © Bob Carey – Available for purchase to raise money for breast cancer research.]
And then there is the best part. Bob made his first tutu image for a commercial job he took on for Ballet Arizona, but when events in his personal life became a challenge – namely the stresses of moving across the country and then his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer – the self portraits became a lot more. This time he took the portraits simply to make his wife laugh. Wow. That is so sweet and so poignant that it breaks my romantic heart and makes me tear up. Here’s a quote about the power of love, laughter, and art from Bob’s website:
“Six months after the move, Linda, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat it, only to have it recur in 2006. During these past nine years, I’ve been in awe of her power, her beauty, and her spirit. Oddly enough, her cancer has taught us that life is good, dealing with it can be hard, and sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share a laugh with others.”
This fall, Bob will self-publish a book called
Ballerina, and 100% of the net proceeds will go directly to breast cancer organizations – including
CancerCare.org and the
Beth Israel Department Integrative Medicine Fund. In addition to the book, Bob sells limited editions of the tutu portraits, and t-shirts. Check it out:
In Joy,
Melinda Eliza
2 comments
