It's oh so quiet...

I've been thinking lately that I seldom marry commercial looking photography with photography in  documentary mode, well. I either think a shot's got a lot of substance but I
Could have done the subject more justice, or I get a pretty stylized shot and think it's just too shallow.

Diane zapps me with Pentax Spot Meter V April 2011

Having a beer in the garden, practicing with my new lights. Got a bit of "hey! look at me" about it.
That's how most commercial type photography is, it's a bit shouty. Mind you to sell something I guess
you have to get noticed. Don't know what I'm selling here... Stella? Ipod touch? Pentax spot meter?
Logitech docking station?  Needs rediting to

Diane. York 2008

This shot was taken two months after we were married. We'd just found out that Diane had a tumor on her
liver and retreated to York to wait for the results. Given what we were told at the time, we were sure that
the news would be bad. The survival rate for liver cancer is very low. It's normally found by accident as was the case with Diane's  tumor.

No lights, just window light here. Nothing on my mind at the time other than the feeling that I had to take the picture. It was important to me, to us, that I did. Not even sure why now as nothing would have mattered had the news been bad. Turns out the news was good and the picture remains important to me, I return to
it when I need a reminder of how much I have. Funny, I swore I'd never need reminding when I was
preying to myself she's be spared.

Is it really fair to compare the two? They were both taken for very different reasons.
Ones shouty, one has a quiet voice. They're both auto biographical

Diane chilling in the Garden may 2010

Here she is laid back again. What the shots do have in common is of course there all pictures of Diane.
She's laid back in all of them, she was where I found her at the time (even with the lights) and they do
describe some aspect of our life. Aesthetically maybe picture 1+2=3 


Alls I know is I'll keep trying. As much as the second picture is important to me, I'm glad that it isn't the lasting
picture I have of her.