Photographing America - Rick Gerrity

Hopefully, you’re having fun with photography and are shooting so you can practice, experiment, and improve.?

One lesson?Rick Gerrity shares in Part 2 of Lee’s recent interview?with him is the fun he finds in his work and especially in his?Photographing America?project. It’s not the compelling, striking, or deeply human portraits he catches in the frame, but the love, humanity, and stories Rick skillfully captures outside of it that matter most to him.??

“Photograph the people for who they are. Everywhere.”?~Rick Gerrity

If you missed the two-part interview for Artist Profiles Lee did with professional photographer Rick Gerrity; you may want to grab a cup of tea and tune in. (Or wine if you prefer! lol)?

Rick knows how to?find a good story, feel a good story, and tell a good story,?and his images are always more than what you see. He somehow shows you (sometimes hard) reality, but with a sense of compassion and warmth.?

“A photo that doesn’t have a story behind it is just a photo.”?~Rick Gerrity

His heartwarming encounters with people of all walks of life are inspiring. And the photos feel unquestionably truthful. One day, when I write an article about street photography, know it’s Rick Gerrity’s among-the-street photography philosophy and genuine kindness that inspire me.

His focus on two things,?the?people?he shoots and?natural lighting, makes Rick the?el natural style?as a photographer. I kind of love it! You? And, of course, part of that is having a minimal focus on the gear. Like Lee, Rick agrees that your photograph’s success is in the result rather than in what you used to get it.?

“I want to get what I want to get, naturally.”?~Rick Gerrity?

Rick also offers this advice for all of you:

1. Start close to home.?(You don’t have to go anywhere special to get great photos.)
2. Practice.?(It’s how you get better!)
3. Understand your settings?by getting to know your camera. (#TamronUSA)?
4. Drive it. (Your camera, that is, so give it a spin. A lot.)?

Finding the best style for your photography and settling into a specialty means learning what you love to shoot. It means experimenting with techniques and genres, cameras and settings, and with lighting. Start small. Start nearby. Expand as you’re ready or as opportunities arise in front of you. Try different things. Try new things.?

Darrin Ferrel, The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club.

If you’re learning to SEE like an artist to improve the stories you tell in your photography, you may never run out of ideas! Just look around you. Find a new angle. Find a new perspective.

"Photographing America is far greater and far larger than just a photograph. It’s everything I experience.”?~Rick Gerrity

Delivering a powerful story, memory, or moment in time forever through your photography helps motivate you to, perhaps, be a little more thoughtful. Or just a little more aware of what you strive to capture in the frame.?

When Rick talks about the delight and honor he feels to get a great photograph of a person, you feel his joy. Celebrating the connections he makes with his photography, Rick carries each person, each story, each place as his journey and mission for?Photographing America continues.?

Thanks for being a part of the Photo Mentor Academy community,

Sue-Ann, Content Manager, Photo Mentor Academy