Kyrgyz Baker
What do you do on a photo trip?
This is a baker of traditional Kyrgyz bread (tukuch) in Narin, the capital of a district of the same name in Kyrgyzstan.
On our photography trip we stopped at the Narin market, spoke to the baker and he allowed us to photograph him inside the bakery. Since we could shoot inside, most people’s initial instinct was to get as close as possible, but that’s not always the right thing to do.
In the first picture we see him up close at work. The charred bakery walls make for an interesting and relevant background, but as it is – you can’t really see what he’s doing.
So we took a photo from the outside (second photo) – that way, we see the pile of fresh bread loaves and also the charred walls. The bread provides us with the visual context for the image (what this man is actually doing). Beyond that, it also adds content to the front of the image, which creates another visual layer for us. That, in turn, adds depth to the image – something we usually strive to do to simulate the three-dimensional world in which we live.
After we’ve added the loaves of bread and spoke about the technical aspects (exposure, focus, etc.) and the composition (as described before), we can move on to the highest level of photo creation: the decisive moment. Taking a photo of him at work, with a loaf in the air, makes the third photo the most interesting of this set.
So what do you do on a photo trip? You practice this thought process several times a day in amazing locations, with an instructor who is focused on improving your skills (that’s me!). There is no better way to improve your photography.
