Seventy percent of photography is simply showing up.
Last Sunday, my wife and I went to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to celebrate her aunt Marj’s 90th birthday. The party was held at the Barley Club, a golf club bar/restaurant. Normally, in the middle of the winter, the club is nearly deserted and the perfect place for a family birthday party. That is what the planners thought when they arranged the event a month earlier.
A lot can happen in 4 weeks.
The Green Bay Packers, in spite of numerous injuries and a less than brilliant season, were able to back into the playoffs at which point they started playing inspired football. Over the preceding three weeks, the Packers marched steadily towards the NFC championship, culminating with a shown down for the title with the Chicago Bears. Last Sunday, in Chicago, under an arctic sky and with frigid temperatures, the Packers and Bears played classic Great Lakes football.
This did not go unnoticed throughout Wisconsin or at the Barley Club. Marj’s birthday was swallowed whole by a green and yellow flood of Packers fans.
To paraphrase the old canard about hockey: I went to a birthday party and a football game broke out. I had two photographic opportunities given to me.
Marj’s family, four generations strong, had come to celebrate her 90th year. I focused on photographing the youngest/newest members of the clan. I knew that their mothers, grandmother, and great grandmother would enjoy my effort.
At the same time and just twenty feet away was another world: Packer backers cheering on their team. The Barley Club’s eight large screen TVs made it possible to watch the game from any place where I stood. This allowed me to watch the game, the fans’ faces, and anticipate when and how they would react. When the commercials came on, I’d return to the party and watch the kids, waiting for special moments.
Seventy percent of photography is simply showing up. The rest involves planning, engagement with your subject, careful observation, composition, patience, technical knowledge (knowing how to read the light and use your equipment), and post production (getting the most from your image in the lab – digital or chemical).
Green Bay Touchdown is quintessential Americana.
Many thanks to the folks at the Barley Club for their enthusiasm and friendly reception. Go Green Bay!