This past week I was lucky enough to attend a joint lecture and slide show of photographs given by Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee at the Michener Art Museum (also on exhibit and discussed were Paula’s beautiful paintings).  I know Michael and Paula and saw an exhibit of their work that was part of the currently running View Finders: Four Photographic Voicesshow I recently wrote about.  Even with my familiarity it was one of the most informative talks I’ve had the opportunity to hear. They presented a great distillation of their approach to photography and what is important to them for making great images.

If you are unfamiliar with their work you need to check out their website (http://www.michaelandpaula.com) or their many beautifully printed books. Of course it’s best to see the real prints. Their photographs are beautiful and the print quality is incredible! Both use large format cameras and primarily contact print from 8×10 (Paula) and 8×20 (Michael) black and white negatives using their own Lodima silver chloride contact paper (they have done some color work, scanning the negatives and printing them digitally).

I thought it would be instructive to share some of the highlights of their presentations. Let’s start with Michael.

• An important point of photography is to have an experience; it’s much more than just clicking the shutter. Their way of working is quite the opposite of the digital capture routine.
• Neither he nor Paula worries about what time of the day they make photographs. Photographs are made whenever they present themselves.
• Always be aware of the spaces in the photograph using the edges and the corners to define the boundaries.
• Everything in the photograph is important and must be in the right place.
• When photographing people with the view camera everything and everyone has to be in the right place at the right time; you have to wait for the right moment when everything relates to one and other as you only have one shot.
• When photographing he has no preconceptions and never has any idea of what he will photograph.

Now Paula.

• You don’t have to travel to exotic places to photograph; you merely need to look in your own backyard.
• Seeing the upside down image when looking through the ground glass of the view camera was her most important photographic discovery.
• She searches for spatial ambiguity and focuses on the rhythms of spaces and lines.
• The only thing you need to know as is photographer is where place the edges when framing the photograph; then how forms fit into space and the tension of how they fit into a rectangle.
• She doesn’t worry about what things are, but rather how things will look.
• You never know where your next influence will come from.
• Whenever she and Michael travel they search out and visit local museums to absorb visual information.

Think about what Michael and Paula said and make your own wonderful photographs!