I guess it’s a Go!
I called and accepted the position as Fall Artist in Residence (AIR) for North Cascades Natl Park (or NOCA as their friends call it). Cindy, NOCA’s Interpretive Specialist, gave me a much better idea of what the assignment will be like.
Reading blog entries of other AIR’s (painters mostly), it initially struck me that I would be shootting whatever I chose - like conservation, education, recreation and esthetic beauty. In my mind, the emphasis was going to be Esthetic Beauty, which caused its own anxieties, as many others have stunningly documented NOCA from vistas and at times of year that I wouldn’t be able to match.
Cindy put much of that to rest when she shared the Park’s need for a skilled photogrpaher to document eg interactions of Rangers with visiting tourists. In the venacular of this photographer, I initially thought I was going to be an aspiring Craig Tanner or John Paul Caponigro to a wanna-be David Hobby. Love Strobist’s work but how could I kick this up a notch? You know something like Greg Gorman’s TSA images or Dave Cross’ stunning candids? Not to be deterred, I wrote Greg, and magnanimously he instantly called me to share his ideas for the assignment. “Easy…. prominent foreground element (people) with informative background, all from unique perspectives. Stick with your 24-105mm lens to minimize distortions and to help with perspective. Solicit an assistant and use your California Sunbounce MINI reflector to accentuate the sun and your Sunswatter and PRO silks to cut the hard light, allowing you to shoot any time of day.” Great advice, but I don’t own a Sunswatter. A little too pricey for me right now (maybe, they’d sponsor me for the shoot??). And unique perspective, that’s easier said than done. We shall see.
Rick