I currently run photography training workshops for beginners (with SLR’s) on a one to one basis, however watch this space for slightly larger workshops in the near future.
One of the the most important aspects of photography that I try and teach is the art of seeing and how to look beyond the obvious. Significant moments pass us by each day within our busy lifestyles and unless we sometimes stop to look or listen we will miss the beauty of what is right in front of us.
This is a perfect example….. a true story…..
In 2007, one cold January morning in Washington DC’s metro station, a man played on his violin, six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately 2 thousand people (many of them on their way to work) passed through the station.
After 3 minutes: a middle aged man, noticing there was a musician playing, slowed his pace, hesitated, then continued walking.
After 4 minutes: a woman threw a dollar in to his open violin case and rapidly continued walking on.
6 minutes:
A man stopped and leaned against the wall to listen to him for a short while, realized the time and continued on his journey.
15 minutes:
A 3-year old boy holding his mother’s hand tried to slow down and turned to to look at the violinist. His mother tugged him along hurriedly but he continued to turn his head, looking back all the time. This happened on several occasions and every time a child tried to stop, the parent, without fail, briskly moved their child on their way.
45 minutes:
The musician played the 6 pieces continuously. In that time, a few people turned to look, only 7 stopped and listened for a short while. A total of 27 people gave money many of them continuing to move on at their normal pace and the violinist collected a total of $32.
1 hour:
He had finished playing, no one noticed….there was no recognition, no applause just silence as he packed up his violin and moved on.
What nobody knew that cold January morning was that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the finest classical musicians in the world. All the pieces he played that morning were masterpieces that have endured for centuries on their own brilliance, one of them being the most intricate pieces ever written. Three days earlier Joshua Bell sold out at the Boston Symphony Hall where seat prices started at $100 each.
His performance was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment to determine people’s perception, taste and their priorities. The question asked was: do we perceive beauty in an every day, banal environment during an inconvenient/unexpected hour? Do we recognize talent in this context? Do we appreciate the beauty.
Beauty is all around us every day whether it is in the form of a talented musician in the metro station or the pretty early morning light across the city buildings on our way to work or even in the time worn grain of the beautiful old farmhouse table in my kitchen. It is there in the simplest forms and as in the case of the violinist, unexpected forms. How many of us stop or even slow down to appreciate it?
On April 7, 2008 it was announced that this provocative think-piece by Gene Weingarten was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Read the full article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
