Behind The Camera (Again)

Getting Back In The Photographic Habit

Photo by mojtaba mosayebzadeh on Unsplash

This morning I’m heading to a wedding rehearsal.
Not as a guest but as the unofficial photographer.

The bride, a dear friend, asked if I’d take a few photos of today’s run-through. She’s hired a professional photographer for tomorrow’s big event but wanted some casual candids and portraits from the rehearsal.

At first I hesitated. It’s been years since I’ve really picked up my camera. The idea of dusting off my trusty Sony a6400 and being responsible for capturing moments that might never happen again made me both nervous and nostalgic.

Still, I said yes. She asked with such a mix of excitement, nerves, and trust that I couldn’t refuse.

Once I walk into the venue, camera in hand, I have a feeling it will be like riding a bike. I can’t wait to chase good light and catch those small, human moments that happen when no one is usually looking.

I trust my body will remember what to do: where to stand, where to look, when to wait, and when to shoot. My hands might be a little clumsy at first, but muscle memory has a way of showing up when you need it. By the end of the day, I’ll probably be smiling, not just at the photos, but at how it felt to really see again.

For me, photography slows time down and makes me notice things I can often miss: the tilt of a head, a burst of laughter, the quiet seconds between chaos and calm.

Tomorrow I’ll be at the wedding as a guest, not the wedding photographer. I have permission to take my own shots, but the “official” photos are covered. So I plan on focusing on the “unofficial” moments: family, friends, and the kind of magic that happens when people forget a camera is nearby.

I’m sure I’ll still worry about missing the perfect shot, but mostly I just feel grateful. Grateful to be trusted with capturing a loved one’s memories, to be reconnecting with a bunch of old friends, and to be seeing the world through my lens again.

Keep calm and shoot on!
Clint 🌈✌️

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• The Weekend Edit No. 38 (PJ and Thomas)

• Coming Out At 40 (Matt Fitzpatrick)

• Five Photographers (Andy Adams)

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ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 11

BIRTHDAYS

• 1821 = George Williams = English philanthropist and YMCA founder

• 1884 = Eleanor Roosevelt = American diplomat and former FLOTUS 🌈

• 1912 = Marie-Thérèse Auffray = French painter and French Resistance fighter 🌈

• 1913 = Joe Simon, American author and illustrator

• 1918 = Jerome Robbins = American dancer and choreographer 🌈

• 1925 = Elmore Leonard = American writer

• 1926 = Earle Hyman = American actor

• 1932 = Dottie West = American singer-songwriter

• 1934 = Peter Hujar = American photographer 🌈

• 1937 = Ron Leibman = American actor and screenwriter

• 1946 = Daryl Hall = American singer-songwriter

• 1951 = Charles Shyer = American filmmaker

• 1953 = David Morse = American actor and filmmaker

• 1954 = Cleve Jones = American activist and AIDS Memorial Quilt founder 🌈

• 1957 = Dawn French = Welsh-English actor, comedian and screenwriter

• 1962 = Joan Cusack = American actor

• 1964 = Michael J. Nelson = American comedian and writer

• 1965 = Lennie James = English actor

• 1965 = Sean Patrick Flanery = American actor and producer

• 1966 = Luke Perry = American actor and producer

• 1967 = Artie Lange = American actor and comedian

• 1967 = Peter Thiel = American entrepreneur 🌈

• 1968 = Jane Krakowski = American actor and singer

• 1969 = Stephen Moyer = English actor

• 1970 = MC Lyte = American rapper, DJ, and actor

• 1971 = Justin Lin = American filmmaker

• 1977 = Matt Bomer = American actor 🌈

• 1985 = Michelle Trachtenberg = American actor

• 1992 = Cardi B = American rapper and media personality

• 1993 = Brandon Flynn = American actor

EVENTS

• 1950 = CBS’s field-sequential color system for television is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

• 1975 = Saturday Night Live premieres on NBC.

• 1987 = The AIDS Memorial Quilt is first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

• 1988 = The first National Coming Out Day is celebrated.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• General Pulaski Memorial Day

• International Newspaper Carrier Day

• LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚

• National Coming Out Day 🏳️‍🌈❤️🏳️‍⚧️

• National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)

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PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY

JEROME ROBBINS BY JESSE GERSTEIN

“Give me something to dance about and I’ll dance it.”
Jerome Robbins (to Irving Berlin)