ALIGHT 001 ✧ Street Photography in Paris with Magnum Photos
Learning about the uncomfortable with Richard Kalvar
Hi Everyone! ✌️
Wow - thank you very much for being here and trusting me with your time by subscribing to ALIGHT. From old friends to new ones, you’re all extremely appreciated, and I can’t wait to have more and better conversations with you all as this project progresses.
It took me a long time to understand that creativity is not a well-defined path, and if there’s one mission statement for wherever this project goes, it’s to walk that path with pals so we can have a laugh while we’re on the move.
After the content, as a proper introduction, I’d like to share more about who I am and (maybe more interestingly) where I am right now on my own journey with photography. Until then, lets talk about the main topic this month - spending time in learning about how a legend like Richard Kalvar approaches his creative practice, with Magnum Photos in Paris.
Richard Kalvar - Woman trying to have a telephone conversation. Via del Corso. Rome, Italy. 1981.
Maybe The Louvre Is Not Important
When I first learned about Richard’s work in college (more here) as part of the history of photography, there was no chance I’d have imagined that I’d be face-to-face with him one day while he critiqued some of my work. Contemporary Street Photography can’t be understood without studying artists like Richard Kalvar, Martin Parr, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank - to have the chance to discuss photography with a true student of the medium was stunning.
One of the things I took away most from the experience was how Richard broke a photo down into its base elements — what he pays attention to in order to get 1% better every time he looks at an image. What makes a photograph, and what’s just a picture? Being too precious about something I’ve created has held me back too many times from learning more about what worked within it, what didn’t, and what to change for the next time.
I brought this image for a critique session. It’s one that I like, but I loved having it torn down a bit:
We discussed why I was interested in this scene, that it’s got some nice balance and texture, then Richard asked me how many photos I took here to capture the scene - my answer of ‘just one’ was all he needed to nail down why I’m sometimes not happy with my creative practice. There’s never just one perfect moment to capture, especially if something about that moment interests you. There are always alternatives, and maybe the 20th try would have been the one that really hit on the impact of the scene.
“Why give up?”, I heard him say time and time again over the course of 3 days. It’s such a difficult question to answer, especially when you know what you’re capable of — but the answer is, of course, fear. Especially with street photography, you’re constantly aware of the possibility of confrontation, and if it’s not that, you’re afraid of looking silly.
And of course he’s right; that when I have let go of that fear of being too close or too bold, I have come away with results that seem to please that little demon in my brain that tells me I could have ‘done better’.
Another main lesson about creativity I took away was after Richard took a very long, silent look at someone else’s image of a man sitting in front of some columns and eventually said to them “I mean, nice columns. What am I missing?”. We went further down the rabbit hole trying to understand the intent of their image, and the line from Richard “Maybe it’s not important that it’s the Louvre” came through and lit up my brain.
So many times, I’ve been more concerned about where I am instead of what’s around me. How much have I been missing? I don’t even think it’s an instagram thing (though that probably doesn’t help) - we’re all guilty of trying to show off a bit. But I think if we’re are really just trying to tell each other stories, wether it’s about our own lives or the lives of others, ‘location’ probably shouldn’t be the overwhelming factor in that story. Get closer.
With all that said - I took some photos for ‘me’ during my week hiding out in Paris with just my camera and a good pair of walking shoes, something I haven’t done in nearly 9 years. I wrote down in my notebook, after all the critical discussion about photographs, that sometimes pretty things are nice. That’s okay. When I look back at all the effort I expended on creative work, will I regret the pretty, simple things that I enjoyed spending some time on? Probably not.
Lessons Learned:
Don’t let the unknowns that you’re afraid of get in the way of telling the story you want to tell. Be bold, and don’t give up too soon.
Sometimes the story isn’t about the place, it’s about what’s happening in that place. Get closer, and find the hidden things around you.
It’s just fun to practice. The closer you get to knowing who you are and what you like about yourself, the easier it is to explore and incorporate other styles into your own.
The Part Where I Say Hello
👋 My name is Christian Mackie, and if you ask me what I do, I’ll usually say ‘photographer’ first and then maybe 5 minutes later I’ll admit to having a full-time day job (that I do actually like).
Over the past 2 years, I’ve been on a mission to understand my photography practice in more detail, and as a side effect, I’ve been diving deeper and deeper into thoughts and essays about creativity and ‘the process’ in general. The more I learn about how everyone approaches their own work differently, the happier I’ve been getting - not just with my artistic work, but also my daily self confidence in approaching the other many unknowns in my life.
You can find more of my work at my website, https://www.mackiec.ca/
And if you’d like, follow me on Instagram and Twitter
Next month, I’ll be discussing uncovering interesting things about something you don’t like.
Until then, please do take the minute to share ALIGHT with anyone you think might like it!
super rad. congrats on 001. excited to learn through you. 🙏