The Softer Side

What. How. Why?

Welcome to The Softer Side. On this website I exhibit my photos from around the world. Let me tell you the story behind the name, and a little bit more about me.

The Way Things Are

I started my career in film and television in 2001, when most crews were still shooting on film and most shows weren't broadcast in high definition. HD, with its super-sharp detail, is the way we view images now, and I rarely like it.

I worked as a camera loader. My job was to put film into the camera and to take care of the film stock. Apart from the focus puller, I was the only person who got to touch the celluloid. I fell in love with the process and developed an attachment to film. Now, 17 years later, I miss the texture that film stock gives an image. As a photographer, I shoot with a digital camera because of cost and convenience, but I'm always looking for ways to bring back the texture and feel film gives to an image.

Fighting Focus

I shoot on a Canon 5D mark iii with Rokinon Prime Cine lenses. These lenses are for motion picture - not still - photography. Look on any video/photography blog and you'll find plenty of complaints about the unreliable focus of Rokinon Cine primes. I purchased the Rokinon primes because I wanted fast, affordable lenses with texture, for cinematography. When I got into photography, I used the Rokinon set because that's what I had, and I thought I could handle them.

I love watching people work, and much of my photography has an observational, documentary quality to it. People working generally means people in motion, and photographing people in motion isn't easy on a manual lens, which requires you to adjust the focus and aperture rings by hand. This means -- as my crestfallen self discovered when I pulled up my shots on a computer -- the focus is often soft, just off the mark.

It's not always soft -- I can get the mark right -- but my first few shoots had me seriously doubting my ability to create imagery that I could exhibit. Many of my shots were obviously out of focus and I considered them to be completely un-usable. If focus is your concern -- and in creating images, focus is usually one of the most important elements -- then nothing but a sharp image will do. This is increasingly true in an HD world that considers sharp focus an indication of quality and skill.

"Soft focus encourages us to look for meaning beyond the image's physical aspects." -- Marci Dorman

The Way Things Can Be

Focus points in imagery are most often used to point the viewer's attention to a specific area, and I do a lot of that. I also post photos without a specific focal point -- nothing stands out as sharply in focus. I believe that the technique of not selecting a focus point allows you, the viewer, to look where you are most inclined. It also invites you to consider that there may be something more to what you see. What do you think is going on in the photo? How do you feel? What are you getting from the experience?

I hope this technique encourages you to think about the more quiet, more gentle -- the softer -- sides of people and places. Keep this in mind as you spend time with the images.

Read other posts for background information on the people and places in my photography. Use the contact form on the About Me page to let me know what you think. Come back frequently to see new additions. Thank you for visiting and enjoy your time on The Softer Side!

Special Thanks

Marci Dorman is an excellent photographer and editor - it was Marci that saw the possibility of what I thought was a huge mistake. The site title, The Softer Side, came from Marci's insights.

Shauna McPherson is a talented editor. She provided guidance and invaluable motivation on both my writing and website.

If you like what you see, know that it's the result of Marci and Shauna's efforts to make this site better.