We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Gall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience can come and go for me. It’s there most days, especially while I’m on the clock. I’m still working on creating better habits to maintain the daily routine. I was raised by an immigrant mother and a military father. Both of my parents had an incredible work ethic while I was growing up. I didn’t think anything less was possible or even acceptable. So I try my best to keep the momentum going.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
How do I explain what I do? I usually don’t tell people that I’m a photographer. It’s something I do for myself. So I don’t consider telling people about my photos. I guess I should start with how I got back into photography. I have a Bachelor’s degree in graphic design with a minor in marketing. I knew I’d never be able to survive in an office job. That life sounded draining and daunting. I did random jobs after college with the odd freelance opportunities until I found a photo lab that still developed film. I wanted to learn the process. I loved photography, but had never taken a class. The closest thing I’d experienced was yearbook in high school and college. The new knowledge was fascinating.
Over the 7 years I’ve been a lab tech, I’ve seen photos that inspire me and encourage me to try something new. I’ve acquired a few film cameras and various gear. I even sold my DSLR since it was just collecting dust.
Currently, I’m attempting to manage a film photography Instagram account. Our goal is to have a meet, do a giveaway, or do a photoshoot once a month. My personal work is only on Instagram as of now. I’m not great at promoting my work since I see it as a hobby. A website is imminent, but I would also like to show my photos in a gallery next year. I forget that other people might enjoy my work. Let the masses see it and judge for themselves.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Is there skill required to take pictures? Some people don’t think so. You just press a button, right? I don’t believe it’s that simple. I don’t know how other photographers work, but I take at least a few seconds before I press that button. There are many calculations going on while I’m looking through the viewfinder. Since my background is in graphic design, I try to think of the whole composition. Is everything of interest in the frame? What’s the focal point? Is there supposed to be a focal point in this shot? Is the horizontal or vertical line going to be straight and how can I achieve that? There have been times where I didn’t achieve what I was hoping for from the framing, but sometimes I’ll take a picture and say to myself “that was the one.”
I think patience is a skill that gets overlooked. Timing can mean the difference between a great shot and one where something’s missing. There have been photos where I’ve waited for a several minutes for the sun to come back out. Once, I stood in the freezing cold rain, holding a shutter release cable, hoping that the image I was capturing would be worth it. Sometimes it’s not. I just don’t let the few frames that didn’t turn out discourage me from taking the time to set up a shot.
Some photographers have others they aspire to or are inspired by. I appreciate other photographers’ work, but I don’t consider their images while taking mine. Master painters and sculptors influence most of my artistic tastes. I don’t think you have to have one particular artist or photographer in mind. You should draw inspiration from what you see, but referring to what others have done can give you guidance.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I think my challenge is a problem most artists face no matter what medium they use. I don’t think my photography is worth yelling from the mountain tops about. Do I have some good shots? Sure! Would someone buy my stuff? They have! Should I showcase my work in some other form besides Instagram? Probably. Will people come to a gallery showing? Uhhh… Maybe? So that’s where I start to doubt myself. I question whether my work is good enough to put out in front of a bigger audience. I think part of it is the fear of people not being interested, which happens no matter what. I don’t take pictures for the sake of making money. It would be nice to see that the many hours and money I’ve poured into this hobby could have some kind of return. The work I’ve put into my art, because that’s what it really is, shouldn’t be minimized. There are many years behind each image and I forget that.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: my_maria92
- Other: film group Instagram: kcfilmphotographers
