With familiarity comes the risk of getting stuck in a rut.
Sometimes it comes without you even noticing it. Sometimes it happens despite it being the last thing you want.
When Covid happened (it’s still happening), my world shrunk drastically. Limiting our outings to where our feet could take us for those first couple months was an infuriating limitation that, over time, became a habit. You’d think we know our neighbourhood inside out by now.
And yet…
This month’s photo walk was a last minute get-together in my neck of the woods, and it was full of surprises.
I’m still not quite set up to go back to shooting film, so I stuck with my Fujifilm X-T20. I swapped out my 27mm pancake lens for one of my most fun setups: a repurposed disposable camera lens mounted onto a body cap. I also switched out to a colour recipe (but I really want to try a black and white shoot with this setup next time…)
By intentionally slowing down, without a set destination, and by making a marked effort to just notice, I found new faces and corners of my neighbourhood. Familiar buildings that look totally different from new angles. Back alleys I never explored. A bunny with her own Instagram account.
Can you touch grass by taking pictures?
I think so.
I already know that walking does wonders for my mental health. Somehow, adding photography doesn’t add pressure to the mix. I hope it always stays that way.
I’m constantly delighted by how analogous these photo walks are to my acting classes. The more I do both, the parallels only become more and more striking…
Don’t go in with a plan. Let it be easy. Listen. Follow your impulses. “Dare to take your pinkies off the steering wheel,” as my acting teacher gently nudged last week.
Dare to take the shot.
That’s where the magic happens.
At one point, we spent what felt like a solid 10 minutes completely enthralled by a flock of pigeons. The most mundane thing in the world left me giddy and so stupidly amused.
A new friend lent me his super cool flash mount:
I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out… I haven’t used a flash in DECADES!
Fuck it.
You can go on solo photo walks, of course! But there’s something to be said about going with a group. Different people notice different things. You learn. You share. It’s you and your camera, but it’s also you and the group. Their cameras. Their own special view of the world.
Like walking the Camino, you’re reminded that we’re all at once both more different and alike than we realize. You’re reminded that people are, for the most part, actually fantastic.
Community, man.
So grab your camera. (Your phone’s counts!)
Meet a friend or two.
Walk.
Notice.
Snap.
Repeat.
MÉLANIE DAIGLE 