Arron Stanton Training

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Shooting the Third Episode of Spiritual Lives Documentary


Life is unpredictable. You're ambling along when something falls from the sky at your feet. You pick it up and you're running around with uncontainable joy. I met Babu and Visha, an Indian couple from Rajasthan, two weeks ago when Babul emailed me about joining the vipassana meditation group at my house. Last Friday I went to his house to listen to two Jain nuns that the couple was hosting. Yesterday morning I got the idea of shooting the nuns who readily agreed. I locked myself out of the car when I got at the house. My good camcorder and tripod that I had been relearning to use (the last time I used the Sony  HVR-Z1U was in 2007 when I had the help of a friend. He shot and I monitored the sound while interviewing my Muslim friend about the five daily prayers a good Muslim does whether at home or at work. 

Yesterday I was on my own and was flustered that my plans had gone so quickly awry. I called AAA and proceeded with the shoot. Then nuns were on a tight schedule. I had taken along my small Sony HDV camcorder and used that with the built-in microphone. Oh well, I'll have to make do with what I got. While I was collecting my things, Visha's mother struck up a conversation with me. She wanted me to take her picture but not a close-up. Another Indian couple had arrived to take the nuns to their next speaking engagement. I shot Mrs. Tatia with the new arrival's daughter. Portraits are intriguing. Maybe doing them on the fly has advantages, too. Too much planning can ruin creativity.

Posted via email from Duende Arts

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