I’ve got eyes for you

I am preparing to shoot a wedding reception in a few days so I haven’t been actively seeking clients. Even so, I like to keep busy.

My jujutsu instructor recently asked me to come to his annual clinic, Camp Kodenkan Midwest, near Duluth, Minnesota. My body has some infirmities that make me reluctant to practice martial arts anymore but I figured I could contribute some photos and get some restorative bodywork — a tradition in Danzan Ryu jujutsu — in the process. In short, I made the daytrip and exercised my shutter finger. As you can see, these are just grab shots, but they kept me looking through the lens.

Then a friend I know through Argentine tango asked me to make her headshot. It was Saturday, and I asked when she’d need it. “I have to send it in on Monday,” she said. Yikes! I told her to come to my place Sunday morning and we’d get it done. I sent her off with a USB drive with the images she needed for what she hopes will be her new job.

Rachel Sayre

In between assignments I like to visit area coffee shops, read a book, and do a kind of street photography. It’s a fairly new interest of mine. Sometimes I just observe. And when I do end up shooting, few of the capures are what I’d call successes. Still, it’s an opportunity to train the eye.

I am reading a biography of the great photojournalist W. Eugene Smith titled, Let Truth Be The Prejudice. It underscores the fact that I am a dabbler compared to an iconic photographer like Smith, who dedicated his entire life to the work. Nevertheless, I persist. I’m keeping my eyes open for you.