The Gift of Time in Photography
A key lesson for photographers attending the Missouri Photo Workshop, and for all documentary photographers, is that time matters. It’s just not possible to drop into the lives of people and expect that your pictures will honestly reveal the character of your subjects. The pictures may show what people look like, but they won’t necessarily show how people live and relate to each other in the absence of cameras.
But time can make a difference. A photographer can learn a lot just by spending time observing daily rituals, expressions and gestures, and the way people connect to their family, friends, and colleagues. But observing this kind of unguarded behavior—which can produce honest, un-posed pictures of real life unfolding—requires an