At the risk of over promoting myself… I wanted to talk about why being chosen for VSCO Cam® Best of 2013: Black & White is a big deal to me and how it relates to the Ride x Create vibe Kyle and I have been promoting for the last few years.
So… I’m not a photographer, but I do strive to develop better photo capturing skills. When I first nabbed an iPhone (about a year after Kyle) I went picture taking crazy and polluted the internet via Instagram for a long time (I still do to some extent), but after watching Kyle really fine tune his iPhonography skills (and FOLLY started developing)… I saw the light.
“Argue for your limitations and soon they will be yours”. There is a lot of truth to that statement and something the resonates with me daily. When you have perceived limitations one of two things happen… you either give up (maybe because you don’t want it bad enough or you’re just really lazy) or you get creative and make it happen with whatever tools you have available (thanks Macgyver). So… the tool that I had was an iPhone and away I went developing better perspective and understanding how light works.
I started searching for spots to shoot as I cruised around town. It had/has a very similar feel to searching for skate spots. Once I find a spot to shoot the creative juices start flowing on how to capture that spot. This happens most when I’m out shooting BMX (Chris Rost) or other like minded folks.
With all that said, at first I was using a lot of Instagram filters to “enhance” my snap shots and they were ok for the time being. Then VSCO happened. I saw Kyle Steed and Brenton Little #VSCOcam and check’ed it out. My initial thoughts were “These aren’t nearly ‘enhanced’ enough” HA!! I was very ignorant to the purpose of VSCO and didn’t even know it stood for Visual Supply Co. Neat right? As I saw my buds pushing some absolutely stunning shots I gave good ol’ VSCO a second look. I. Was. Hooked!! Once you dive deep into the VSCO vibe, you never look back. They have developed a mobile editing app that will allow you to better develop yourself as a photographer on the go.
I start pushing VSCO, diving deep into its functions and before I knew it I started producing better photos. It was so rad! I would get on the phone with Kyle and he would say… “that was a good shot”. Simple right? It let me know I was on the right track, and If I wanted to get better I needed that affirmation of good or told it sucked. Oddly, no one has told me I suck yet. Not saying you haven’t thought it. Sometimes I think it.
The next step is to transition out of editing the photo at all and let the shot speak for itself. Now that… that’s hard with an iPhone (Editor’s Note: That was a perceived limitation), but I’ve been working on a #nonvsco hashtag project that only utilizes the “tools” vs. filters. It’s a fun personal challenge.
To sum all this up. It’s a big deal to me because I started out at sucking and pushed until quality started presenting itself. It also doesn’t hurt to capture a rad pro skater. Push your “limits” every. damn. day! Get the tool (photo taking device, skateboard, bicycle, etc.) that works best for you and dominate. If you suck at first… that’s ok. We all do. Get/Stay motivated and get better.
Go check out all the amazing folks on VSCO Cam® Best of 2013: Black & White. I’m so amped mine is featuring Collin Provost.
Time to go ride. Cheers!
RIDE x CREATE
