August 12, 1998

When I am mired in the daily humdrummery of finding front page art - wild art because nothing is going on because it is too bloody hot for anyone in their right minds to be outside except for nutty photogs - I think how nice it was to work on personal documentary projects. Not for publication but just to explore something. This relates somewhat to the “just because” photos I talked about before but photos that are not just unrelated found things but a project that has something to say. At least one hopes it has something to say.

A couple of months ago I started a documentary look at Las Vegas. One of the things I hope to accomplish with these images is learning how to shoot more spontaneously - not so studied as to framing and composition but shooting from the hip. And in some cases this is exactly how I was shooting. I am not sure, but I don’t think casinos want people taking photos. So I wandered about with my camera resting against my hip, with a wide angle lens - it pointing one way and me looking the other very casually. I let the digital camera do the focusing and I tried to hold very very still ( it is dark in those places) as I quietly released the shutter. In the arcade and outside I focused and shot normally.

I converted the images to black and white to minimize the grain of a high ISO and also because I think the pics look more surreal than they did in colour.

Just as in shooting the “just because” photos, this is a good learning experience and one that keeps me interested in the pure joy of photography. I do love it so.

click here to see more photos from this series

August 12, 1998

Lara Hartley