Discovering Intention in Street Photography: A Lesson with Ibarionex Perello
As fate would have it Saturday morning, I was catching up on my Substack list of newsletters when I finally got to the latest from Ibarionex Parello. Lo and behold, it turned out he was giving a lecture in my backyard at Mike’s Camera in downtown Sacramento. What the heck? Why would anyone of note come to our backwater little city?
The talk was scheduled for 1pm that day, plenty of time to get ready and drive down there (about a 20-25 minute drive from where I live). But then the lazy boo-birds began to descend into my brain. “You’ve listened to his podcast forever. And you have participated in an online discussion of his already. What can you really learn by going and listening to another street photography lecture?”
Where do these thoughts come from? Is life about not doing shit and sitting at home moping and hoping, or is it about getting off your ass and doing things and going places? I get tired of my trepidatious side sometimes, well, most of the time. I mean, how many times have I decided to act and actually regret it? Maybe a handful, if that?
After the conclusion of the mental wrestling match, I showered, informed my wife and daughter of where I was going (and asked if they wanted to tag along into town), grabbed my camera, and headed into the farm-to-fork capitol.
Traffic was heaving getting into the city and finding a parking space in the area—with the Saturday morning mid-town farmer’s market in progress—was filled with joy and reverie. Finally, I snaked a spot from a car pulling out and bid my daughter farewell as I hustled to the camera store.
Mike’s Camara was in the middle of a three-day event with camera reps in-house and guest lectures (hence the reason for Ibarionex to grace our small city). I’ve been listening to The Candid Frame podcast for around eight or nine years and consider it The Tonight Show of photography podcasts. It is the one all others are measured against.
The store was crowded with customers and camera reps from all the camera companies in existence (except for Leica). Not too surprisingly, I spotted Ibarionex chatting up the Fuji representative. He ended their conversation just as I sidled up to him and introduced myself. 56 years-old and I still can’t help being a fanboy when I run into people who have had an impact on my life. I tried to play it cool but not sure I pulled it off.
We chatted for a couple of minutes before he had to go downstairs and get ready for his lecture. I spoke with the Fuji representative for a few minutes, but with the Leica hanging around my neck, he seemed a bit disinterested. I headed downstairs to the classroom. It was a cozy area in the basement with a few rows of plastic folding chairs, a TV, and our host sitting in front of a computer. Upon seeing me again, we engaged in some more small talk before others filtered in and the lecture began. Honestly, I didn’t expect to learn anything but I thought meeting the man himself would be reason enough to make the trek downtown.
Holy shit was I wrong. I’ve taken multi-day workshops from the likes of Alan Schaller, Matt Stuart, Gus Powell, and Teresa Freitas, but nothing has struck me with as much clarity as Ibarionex’s lecture. For years, I have struggled with exactly what I’m doing when out shooting street. What was I looking for? What constituted a good street photograph? How should I know if I took one or not?
Ibarionex talked about individual things that make up good street photography like light, setting, composition, etc. These are not new concepts to me and I’m willing to say I’m quite adept at most of them. However, the concept that stuck in my head was “Intention.” This was not the first time I’d heard this word in relation to street photography, but sometimes a person frames an idea in such a way that it finally penetrates.
I’ve been on a real “shoot on instinct” kick recently. Priding myself on only shooting the moment my brain tells me too, before I even know what exactly I’m photographing. And there is a freedom in this, which is why I’m so attracted to it, but upon hearing Ibarionex speak with such eloquence about being conscious of your intention, it struck a chord within me.
It relates back to my trepidation for coming to this lecture: Fear of the unknown. Planning something and screwing it up is failure. And knowing that you learn from your mistakes does not make them any easier to live through. As he said in the lecture, just because a picture didn’t turn out exactly like you saw it in your head doesn’t make it a bad shot.
When his lecture ended, I found a new sense of clarity I look forward to implementing in future endeavors on the street. I wanted to grab a portrait of him afterward, but there was a smattering of people waiting to chat with him and my daughter was waiting for me a few blocks away in a coffee shop. I slipped out and grabbed some shots along the way. I had a coffee after meeting up with her and then we grabbed some tacos on the way home.
I’m glad I didn’t listen to the negative thoughts in my head and attended a valuable event in my continuing photographic journey. If you get a chance to work with Ibarionex, I highly recommend it. Also, give The Candid Frame a listen. You won’t be sorry.
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