The Shadow Of The Photographer
Retro//Reflection - Issue #25
Once or twice per month I send out a letter with a handful of (my) photographs and share a bit of insight on the ‘why?’ or ‘how?’. As an enthusiastic photographer, anything goes.
Maybe you’ll learn something?
Or perhaps it will spark some inspiration?
A quick side note: a small detail maybe, but I decided to swap the Title and Subtitle of these letters. Until now the title was always Retro//Reflection - Issue # and the subtitle what the item was about, but as of now it’s the other way around. No specific reason other than to try something different. So it’s not your vision, screen or browser settings!
Also, recently I created a page on my publication called “The Photography Community on Substack”, you might’ve seen it ;-) Perhaps it coincides with something else, but since publishing this page a lot of you subscribed: great to have you here! I hope you enjoy what I write and show1.
Although I thoroughly enjoy making photographs, I’m rarely in them. If I’m in one, often I’m not alone and the kids accompany me in the frame. I don’t particularly like selfies either, only maybe for documentation purposes (to prove that I did make it to the top of that mountain summit).
But, looking at my catalogue of photos, I noticed that I am in them sometimes.
Well, sort of …
My shadow is.
In my early days in photography it was more on accident. When I first used a really wide angle lens. Or when I had the sun in the back and I couldn’t see the LCD screen properly.
You know, common rookie mistakes.
However, I kept making these rookie mistakes, so I decided to just go with it and declared it could be used creatively too! I’m not sure if this is going to be a long-term project, or just a little goofing around, but in this issue I present you a selection of photos including (mainly) my shadow: the photographer’s shadow.
Looking at the photos I think it’s a challenge to try to keep the camera out of the frame, that it doesn’t look you’re doing it on purpose. I still could work on that. That said, including the camera (often the phone really) can make a funny image.
Now if I could only shoot faster than my shadow!2
So how are your shadow modelling skills?
Each issue I want to end with mentioning a photographer, a photography-related website or publication, simply to show my appreciation for what they do.
Recently I have been looking to replace my 6-year-old smartphone, with one that has a better camera system. Quite a lot of times I ended up on the Amateur Photographer website and I found this to be a very useful resource for (gear) reviews.
I’m sure many of you already heard of and know this publication (and maybe even subscribed to the magazine?), but I think they deserve a mention. They have an extensive article database about technique and buying gear as well.
That’s it for this issue. Thank you for reading until the end. Feel free to leave a short comment or message. Appreciate it!
Until next time, cheers,
Ronald
ronaldsmeets.info
ps: this article/letter/post is free, because I’m not doing this to make a profit. Also, I don’t like subscriptions at all. However, if you do want to show your support, a coffee always helps me writing and posting here ;-)
And if you don’t, don’t feel bad to unsubscribe okay?
Lucky Luke, remember him?
These are great! I now count photos of my shadow as self portraits, as you show there are clever compositions you can cast your shadow to make and capture. Or even a straight up "I was here" statement!
I think as a project this could be really cool. Great photos, Ronald and yes I absolutely remember Lucky Luke, it was one of my favourites.