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Everybody with an iPhone and an Instagram account fancies themselves “a photographer” these days, and that’s part of what makes it so rewarding to watch real, trained masters of the art form at work — because you actually can’t do this at home. Sometimes, real magic happens when everybody steps back and lets the professionals take over.
Maybe that’s why it felt like love was in the air during Lexington’s September 21 opening Gallery Hop, as local photographers Alan and Kristina Rideout began taking the first photos at the Second Shot Pop Up Gallery at West Sixth Brewing. As they point out, “The setup was nothing fancy. Just a plain white backdrop, a bench, and some lighting. But with that we were able to make the kind of photographs we had been wanting to make for a very long time.”
Friday’s pop up was the culmination of an IndieGoGo campaign spearheaded last month by Lexington blogger Ann Bransom and co-hosted by Ace Weekly at West Sixth. (Their IndieGoGo Page can accept contributions through Wednesday, September 26, 2012.)
They “took photos of  friends, family and some new friends that we were just meeting for the first time. We photographed babies, couples, and groups of friends. And there are just no words to describe how happy taking these photos has made us.”
The Rideouts said, “We weren’t interested in lining people up at an event and taking a generic snapshot of them. Making a portrait of someone is a very special thing for us. It’s not about matching outfits or perfect hair or even a pristine background. Taking a true portrait enables not only the photographer, but also the eventual viewers, to learn something about the person in front of the camera. A good portrait allows you to look in a person’s eyes and at their expressions, and know them…even if you’ll never meet them.”
Everyone who donated to the campaign came away with an image from the event, according to the level of contribution selected. Did the campaign succeed, and meet Bransom’s goal of getting this couple’s art and photography back on its feet?
The couple writes on their blog, “This experience has filled us with love, inspiration and hope for the future.”
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