Photo Corners headlinesarchivemikepasini.com
A S C R A P B O O K O F S O L U T I O N S F O R T H E P H O T O G R A P H E R
Enhancing the enjoyment of taking pictures with news that matters, features that entertain and images that delight. Published frequently.
Matinee: Jordan Herschel
2 April 2016
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 129th in our series of Saturday matinees today: Jordan Herschel.
Part of Adorama's Through The Lens series, this five-and-a-half minute video of Lake Tahoe photographer Jordan Herschel visits some of the most scenic sights in the Sierra Nevadas.
But it isn't just the crisp air that's refreshing. Herschel himself charmed us.
The video begins with him driving to Yosemite (can we still call it that?).
It's important to get outside. It puts your problems in perspective, he says.
It all began as a hobby, an escape from his studies. He has a masters in public policy and he worked in two different state capitols, he tells us.
Photography forces him to get outside, he says.
He speaks rapidly as he sits on the wall at Tunnel View at Yosemite, a very familiar scenic spot looking down the valley at Half Dome in the distance, as he acknowledges.
It's important to get outside. It puts your problems in perspective, he says. "There's something beautiful out there."
As he speaks, the video puts up some of his stills. Those are great occasions to pause the video because, like other Adorama videos in this series we've seen, the banter is uninterrupted. Sometimes you need a break just to swallow.
He has no political point he wants to make with his landscapes. He just wants to please himself and if anyone else likes them, that's great.
He appreciates the camaraderie of Instagram, he adds. Everyone cares deeply about what they're doing. And they each understand the struggle the others went through to get where they are now.
He gives three tips to conclude the video:
- Find a camera you can afford that you enjoy using.
- Find a subject you really care about.
- Pay attention to the light.
We'll leave it to him to elaborate on each of those suggestions a bit. He spells them out clearly.
But he also exemplifies them. He loves his Canon and the outdoors and flatters them both with his sense of atmosphere.
A breath of fresh air.