Chris Orwig took a great approach to environmental portraits of the bottle house and Charles Stagg.  From the moment Chris arrived he began taking thoughtful images, starting the conversation he got to know the bottle house itself.  I Believe this is an important part of learning to photograph a person in their own environment, becoming intimate with the environment itself.  I noticed that Orwig became comfortable in the place, and with the people.  The photo shoot was more conversation, and less observing.  This to me is an interesting new stance on on a portrait series like this, previously I have followed the Ideas of Annie Leibovitz and her quite separate observer.

The two styles lend very different results, Leibovitz are candid in a observation where as Ormigs portraits are candid in a friendly way.  Mr. Stagg opened up to Orwig in a way a friend would, leading to quite contemplative moments, joyful laughing and almost even joyful at times.  At no point did any one seem uncomfortable making a photograph.

There was also another thing that I really took away greatly.  Chris Orwig describes the capturing of a photograph as “making rather than “taking.”  This seems to just simply be a different of verb usage but i think it is important.  This caused a change in my perception and he was really right about this as photographers we do not take  photos, we do not simply close the shutter, we spend time we set up the shot we close a shutter and capture a moment, we make photographs.  All of the skills known by photographer, aperture, shutter speed, iso depth of field… We make these decisions in the seconds and minutes before closing the shutter to make a piece of art work, we then make further decisions in post processing to go further in making.  Like a painter my make mock up sketches or even a sketch painting of something to create a grander work of art we as photographers are making not taking.