Photography is Harder Than You Think

People don't know how much I mess up...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Bangalore!

I just returned from a week in the rainforests of Munnar, Kerala. There, I found trees larger than buildings and frogs smaller than my fingernails. If you didn’t read it, check it out here.

I have a SUPER big announcement next week, so wallow in suspense until then!

Here are some links I enjoyed this week:

• David Yarrow on Tim Ferris’ Show: David Yarrow is one of the best photographers of all time. In this podcast with Tim Ferris, he talks about how he makes money with his photography, and his philosophy behind the craft. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts.

• The One That Got Away (Size Matters): Why we need to devise a different way of fishing. (I also use this video as a metaphor to talk about photography below)

• Heroes in a 100 Faces: For the past 5 years, I’ve been photographing people across India. These people aren’t celebrities. They’re the common folk I met on the streets, in buses, in markets and more. They are ordinary and imperfect in every sense of the world. Here, I compile 100 such portraits, and I share the stories behind them. My hope is to champion the cause of “embracing the ordinary” and in seeing beauty in doing so.

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Good Photography is Harder Than You Think

I’m a failure.

I was in the rainforests of Munna photographing Malabar Giant squirrels. My camera was attached to its tripod, and all my settings were dialled in. But when the squirrel made that fateful leap from one tree to another, my focus jumped, and the image came out blurry.

I cursed myself. Just like how I cursed myself every time I miss getting that critical shot.

When people look at my photography, they think I nail the shot every time I go out to shoot. But that's not entirely true. There are so many shots that I've missed simply because I wasn't ready, because my settings weren't correct, or because my focus was elsewhere.

Because I was too incompetent

It's like the tales fishermen talk about among themselves. About the ones that got away—stories of big fish that got snagged on their lines, only to break free and escape at the last moment. It describes that emotion of being on the cusp of something huge, only to lose out at the last moment.

I have felt this all too many times with my photography. There are several 1000 images that have gotten away simply because I was too incompetent. People don’t know about this simply because they don’t see my failures.

And so I’ve decided to show them to you.

This was the shot I was describing earlier. I was all ready to freeze the squirrel mid-air, but when the moment came, my focus (both the camera focus and my literal focus) was elsewhere. I missed the shot.

Here’s another shot from the same session. This would have been a lovely shot of a treepie and drongo (two kinds of birds) fighting, but my shutter speed was too slow, and my focus was off. Photographing such natural-history moments is the gold standard, but I missed it because of my incompetence.

I am reminded of a lesson I learnt from David Yarrow, the best photographer in the world (in my opinion) when he says that in a year, he only takes four photographs that he deems worthy of sharing with the world. Just four photos in a year!

That is the simple reality of the craft; quality images take hard work. You need to earn them.

I’ve recently joined my friend

Steven Foster

’s photography course, and one of the things I love about it is that the people are their most authentic selves. There is no drama or pretence amongst any of us. We are a community dedicated to improving our craft. We all embrace our imperfections and are determined to improve.

Postcard

I’ve started using my photographs to create slides that are compelling and which disturb our traditional conceptions of Powerpoint slides. Everyday at university, I watch my professors give the most boring presentations ever. Their slide decks look like something a 5 year old put together.

One of the things I’ve learnt in Write of Passage is that compelling slides can have a huge impact on your audience. Design matters. Put a little effort into it and the returns are enormous.

So I’ve been scouring my entire portfolio to see what images can be repurposed into slides. I’ve also been photographing keeping these slides in mind.

While I don’t know where I’ll use them yet, I know they will be useful at some point. I will continue making them with the blind belief that they’ll help in the future.

PS: These don’t have to be slides alone. They could also work as posters for future content I want to create.

Favourite Quote

“The difference between a warrior and an ordinary man is that a warrior sees everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man sees everything as either a blessing or a curse." -  Don Juan in Carlos Castaneda’s A Separate Peace.

Have a creative, energetic and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)