Will Yurman - A Day, A Photo

There are several people here doing 365 projects and the like, so I thought this might interest and inspire some of them, and also inspire those of us who just look for the photos in every day life. About a year ago my brother was telling me about a printing project he was doing for a guy named Will Yurman, a professor at Penn State University, to document a photo a day project that he happened to stumble into years ago quite by accident. To paraphrase my brother, "There are a lot of people who go out and do these things, and you get a lot of great pics, some really good ones, but there's always fluff. This guy has been doing this for years, and there's no fluff. Every photo has something to it."

So here you go, Will Yurman - A Day A Photo

If you're inspired, he's doing a Kickstarter campaign to help him get these exhibited. Please know that I did not post this to promote the kickstarter, only some great photos.

Works for me. Here's the link directly A day A Photo

You can also try just the domain Will Yurman A Day A Photo

Very nice Jake, thanks for sharing... No fluff is nice, but hard when working 50 plus hours per week. I try to minimize my fluff... (though tonight may be fluff!! ) I like his approach... gives me ideas to improve my photo on 'fluff" days..

Pat in NH

It also helps that his job is teaching photography, so the camera is a part of work. I did something last year iPhone related, which was MUCH easier. If you look at his exif data you'll see that his stuff is a combination of 3 or 4 different cameras, including an iPhone.

Just thought I'd bump this up for new folks, if only to get this photo blog on their radar.

If I manage to click a picture today then I'll have made it through the first 4 weeks of the 52 week project that is the "365" here. Will Yurman has just celebrated 524 weeks of posting not only a photo a day, but a pretty damn good photo every day. I haven't been to the page in a while and as I clicked back through the month and a half of photos I've missed I'm pleased to find myself seeing things in Will's photos that I've (more or less) seen in my mind's eye as I wander through daily life. Could that mean that a photographer's eye may finally be setting in? Let's hope so.

What it should mean for all of us is that if you've got some form of camera with you (he shoots with 2 or 3 different cameras and an iPhone) then as long as your eyes are open there's (almost) always something worth capturing - we're just not looking for it... yet. It also doesn't hurt to have a house full of busy kids and some pets - something that's sorely missing here.

A day A Photo

When I shoot pictures like that I get criticized around here because, the shot isn't straight, too close or of no interest. Some people don't see it. Random is good! I have been delivering mail in this town for 20 yrs. I have opened my eyes to things most people don't see. Since I have been shooting, I see even more. I just wish I could just stop and take a picture of what I have seen. But, I might get rear ended. I try to take my camera on the go. Cold days like today they stay in. I just might start taking of key shots like him. Most would look good in B/W.

It's so funny you mention the horizon because that's something I noticed immediately as I went through these - not critically but because it's one of the things that gives character to the photos. While composition is surely important the one things I'm seeing in a lot of great photographers is that rules are made to be broken - just not all the rules and all of the time. A slightly crooked horizon could mean a great landscape photo isn't nearly great, but it can also make that playful moment with the dog seem all that more raucous. There's a responsibility to the observer with a critique to be able to determine when details are missed and when normal conventions have been purposefully ignored, and with a good photograph it should be fairly obvious.

Thanks for the link, BH! He is very creative. Love some of those "awkward" positions he uses for the angle, because we don't ever see that ourself! Like, the parent pick up - I've seen a million people sitting waiting in different surroundings, but never ever from that point of view Something I actually try to remind myself of when shooting, trying different positions.

Just-Clayton said:

When I shoot pictures like that I get criticized around here because, the shot isn't straight, too close or of no interest.

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Not from me I agree, a slightly tilted landscape image can give the idea someone just didn't use the time to straighten it. But when done properly, I think it can give so much. Also I love to wrap blurred objects in front of the focused object, but I still find it a bit hard getting it just right.

wud said:

Thanks for the link, BH! He is very creative. Love some of those "awkward" positions he uses for the angle, because we don't ever see that ourself! Like, the parent pick up - I've seen a million people sitting waiting in different surroundings, but never ever from that point of view Something I actually try to remind myself of when shooting, trying different positions.

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For me the biggest part of this is getting over the discomfort (I was going to call it fear) of pulling out a camera and actually taking a photo in situations like that. You risk confrontation by someone who is not necessarily wanting or willing to be photographed - much like street photography. Smart phones obviously aid in that, and there's a part of me that wants to grab a mirrorless camera that will fit in my jacket pocket for just such things. But I also think that it's a matter of making the camera an extension of who you are so it's a natural extension of your body. For example, a good street photographer looks so absolutely natural raising the camera to their eye and shooting in the middle of a crowd that no one notices, where a nervous photographer hoping not to be noticed is almost always going to be noticed because they're not acting in a way that is natural to them. Having a business card or 3 in your wallet and a willingness to show them the photo and offer to either share it with them, or delete it if they're hostile, always helps.

BackdoorHippie said:

For me the biggest part of this is getting over the discomfort (I was going to call it fear) of pulling out a camera and actually taking a photo in situations like that. You risk confrontation by someone who is not necessarily wanting or willing to be photographed - much like street photography. Smart phones obviously aid in that, and there's a part of me that wants to grab a mirrorless camera that will fit in my jacket pocket for just such things. But I also think that it's a matter of making the camera an extension of who you are so it's a natural extension of your body. For example, a good street photographer looks so absolutely natural raising the camera to their eye and shooting in the middle of a crowd that no one notices, where a nervous photographer hoping not to be noticed is almost always going to be noticed because they're not acting in a way that is natural to them. Having a business card or 3 in your wallet and a willingness to show them the photo and offer to either share it with them, or delete it if they're hostile, always helps.

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Yeah, I feel the same, my camera are pretty huge and loud, when trying to sneak a shot.. but I see SOOOO many shots I wanna take, when out in public places.
This was done with my phone, the moment lasted about 4 seconds (the way he is standing with his hand) so no way I would have got the same image, if I had to un-cap my camera, and made a few adjustments with the settings:



The text above him says, "Did you get to read what you wanted?". The image could be straightened a bit, but didn't know how to do that on the phone at that time.


I did those 100+ images at a big festival, that was a very great place for working on the ability to capture moments, without asking first. But I agree, its a huge step, photographing in public. I also get nervous sometimes when doing concerts - but after 1-2-3 shots, I completely forget because I concentrate so much on compositions and my (manual) settings, so I just wanna do whatever I can, to get a great shot.

Maybe we should agree on a day to go and do street photography, Backdoor Hippie. Doesn't matter if we end up with 1 or 50 shots, just the idea of doing it

BackdoorHippie said:

For me the biggest part of this is getting over the discomfort (I was going to call it fear) of pulling out a camera and actually taking a photo in situations like that. You risk confrontation by someone who is not necessarily wanting or willing to be photographed - much like street photography. Smart phones obviously aid in that, and there's a part of me that wants to grab a mirrorless camera that will fit in my jacket pocket for just such things. But I also think that it's a matter of making the camera an extension of who you are so it's a natural extension of your body. For example, a good street photographer looks so absolutely natural raising the camera to their eye and shooting in the middle of a crowd that no one notices, where a nervous photographer hoping not to be noticed is almost always going to be noticed because they're not acting in a way that is natural to them. Having a business card or 3 in your wallet and a willingness to show them the photo and offer to either share it with them, or delete it if they're hostile, always helps.

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I have the same "discomfort" level... Agree with carrying cards!

Pat in NH