Travels With Charlie

© Charles Traub

One of the joys of my time with the Do You Know What It Means project has been working with Charles Traub. I have known Charlie for a while now, but our relationship has been defined by highly structured situations. First, with me as MFA student and Charlie as department chair at the SVA and next with me as Director of DYKWIM and Charlie as the visionary and leader behind the project. So much of our time together has been spent in roles other than our primary pursuit and passion; photography.

Yesterday, we finally got to spend some time in New Orleans just taking pictures and it was a great experience. Two photographers taking advantage of some great light and the luxury of daring and experimentation that digital cameras afford to explore and see and capture together.

Charlie is an amazing photographer and the experience definitely challenged me and opened my eyes to different ways of seeing. It got me thinking about how little time I spend with other photographers taking pictures. I go to openings and portfolio reviews and spend way too many nights drinking with my photo friends. We talk about the business of photography, the logistics of process, and the gossip of the photo world, but we never seem to get together to do the thing that brought us together in the first place. How come we photographers don't get together more often to take pictures?