Ashlen Carr, savvy fishmonger, musician and plumber. St. John, USVI, 2013.
Connecting with the Stars, the Fish, the People.
This past week I was on St. John, USVI. One goal, a gimme, was to re-learn to relax: snorkeling, hiking, enjoying rum drinks at sunset, and grilling Mahi-Mahi outside our cottage at Cinnamon Bay Camp. Another goal can be more elusive: to come back with quality photographs of substance.
One satisfying shot came after hiking up to the remote and steep America Hill, with its breathtaking view of Maho Bay. But, I’d long ago perfected the art of landscapes: filtering the environment, honing composition and pre-visualizing exposures. I’d had my fill of sunsets and water shots. I was feeling like I should go into the postcard business.
For an antidote, I’d squeezed a tripod into my luggage . Rum drink in hand, I employed it at night capturing the spinning stars at exposures of up to 50 minutes. I used to love this kind of special effects shooting when I was in school, and it was fun this time around, too (except for the bug bites). But it will take a lot more testing and experimentation to perfect time exposures.
Another fun trick was shooting underwater with my iPhone—with a case that allows full-function shooting while snorkeling. Trying to keep aim on meandering turtles, running out of breath chasing down a nurse shark and thinking my skull would pop open while sneaking deep down to the octopus, I quickly gained even more respect for underwater photographers. What we saw beneath the impossibly blue surface of the sea was stunning, and I’m glad I had a new tool (toy) to help me capture it.
Despite all their technical challenges, shooting stars and marine life was a breeze compared to shooting the St. John locals in Cruz Bay. The fish put up with me. The stars posed. But not the taxi cab drivers playing chess, who silently refused—all I got was a still life of the later-abandoned chess board. A passerby on Prince Street raised her hand, indicating $5 for her photo. A few gruffly obliged without asking for money.
By rights, they are on the street, in a public place and are fair game for my camera. But I wanted to play it differently. I wanted to respect them and gain their respect. So I asked permission of everyone, and I tried to compensate by offering to send a print, or by buying a rum smoothie from their stand.
My best portrait was of Ashlen Carr, a savvy plumber and fishmonger down on North Shore Road. My wife had just bought Mahi Mahi from him, and I asked if he knew the way she went. He quizzed me on her clothing; I could not remember. We got a rapport going and I asked if I could take his portrait. He sold fish by day but is a musician at heart, having appeared in music videos. “You will have to pay me twenty dollars,” he said with a West Indies accent. I said I would give him all my singles, and he let me shoot, satisfied he could buy a liter of Presidente.
Ash cautioned me not to sell the photos, so instead of debating copyright law I took his contact info to get in touch later. He gave me enough that day; I would see about a model release later. The people of the Virgin Islands get their fair share of shutterbugs capturing their image, so I understand their push-back.
It is clear that its not easy being any kind of a pro photographer these days. The stars may be patient and the fish permissive, but the tech stuff gets in the way. And a street photographer can capture an image of the people, but the soul is much harder to seize.
www.jerrymann.com
