4 Comments

1. 

   herbeey on 09/07/2009 at 12:04 am

   How do you perceive the inherent tension of privacy with things like communion?

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2. 

   emmsy on 14/07/2009 at 9:42 pm

   @ herbeey: I try to treat it with respect… but also believe that all of life is worship, and therefore a photo of someone play sport might be as worshipful for them as communion. When I take shots of people in a crowd worshipping (rather than someone on stage/ leading), I try not to make it too obvious who’s who. I guess I just try to have a sensitivity to it. And in that vein, taking a photograph is a way I give worship, as well as capturing others worshipping. Make any sense? You got any thoughts on it?

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3. 

   herbeey on 15/07/2009 at 12:06 am

   My thoughts?

   Although all of life may be worshipful, I think that there is a significant difference between worship in sport and communion. In photography terms, it might have a very rough similarity to the difference between kissing and sex. Not a flawless analogy, but the point of it is that one tends to be far more private and intimate than the other.

   I think I err on the side of respecting other people’s choices, privacy, etc. I don’t like to impose my own judgements on others, which is a tension that photography is inherently caught up in to some degree.

   Please don’t get me wrong – I don’t say this with any sense of superiority of judgement. It’s just the way that I currently hope to approach things myself. No doubt you have given this plenty of consideration yourself. I do generally agree with your logic, but not your application (I’d play it more prudently). Your approach could easily be the better approach. It just isn’t mine (for now). Thanks for sharing yours. 🙂

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4. 

   emmsy on 15/07/2009 at 7:04 pm

   @ herbeey: nice analogy 😉 Love the discussion this kinda stuff generates, so thanks for jumping in and being willing to disagree with me!

   I think in all photography there will always be an inherent tension between capturing a moment and respecting privacy. It just happens to be more obvious in something like a worship event. It’s definitely something I am very aware of while I work. In this case particularly, I was specifically asked to capture some images of the worship service. Here, there is a responsibility both on the photographer and on the organisers. To capture something so intimate in a way that is respectful while still capturing that intimacy is a challenge… and one that I am not totally on top of.

   So yea… all that to say, I am always working through the best ways to capture moments, and I’m willing to be challenged, to rethink my opinions, and to the possibility that I may, in fact, be wrong. And I feel that even talking about these things is a step in the right direction.

   Savvy?

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