Working Before Breakfast

Breaking Old Habits


When I am traveling to a workshop class, the question of "What are we going to photograph today?" always presents itself. The feeling is that we have to go someplace special, someplace "photographic" in order to make good images. I know better but I still find myself falling into this trap of "photogenic locations." Over the past year or so I have tried to force myself to find and make an image before I join the group. In Santa Fe, at the APIS 2001 Conference, I shot my dorm bed and alarm clock with the 12x20. At Peters Valley Craft Center, I photographed my pillows. Both were forgettable images. But while in the Monterey/Pacific Grove area, I photographed in the motel bathroom.

Have you ever noticed how often bathrooms have the greatest light of any room in the house? Is it because the windows are often frosted over to provide privacy? Or is it because the sinks, tubs, and walls are often white? In most motels the towels are also white. On several mornings I noticed that the early sunlight fell softly into this white tiled bathroom. I photographed my towels, untouched, hanging neatly, before I got in the shower. As I was leaving the room I noticed the light had changed slightly, but more importantly the rumpled towel from my shower created a nice juxtaposition to the unused, dry towel still hanging on the rack. I quickly reset the 8x10 and shot it again. This time it seemed much better to my eye. Again, is it a great image, or even a totally original image? Who cares? I don't. But for the rest of that day I was ready to make images.