STANDING OUT IN CHARLIE
It’s tough to come up with something new in a place this old.
People have been documenting Chucktown since before the invention of the camera. And for good reason, it’s stunning. Full of history, teeming with culture, fashion and personality, it’s an artists dream. The galleries on King Street are packed with colorful, vibrant paintings; and there’s no hiding the skill, love and care with which they are made. There’s no 'making it look easy', this is clearly upper-echelon, world class level stuff…
So… Why does the photography suck?
Well that’s harsh. There are a couple of photographers whose work I do enjoy. But that’s really not many in the grand scope of things. This place is huge, well populated and goes back to the literal start. What gives?
The problem to me is that a lot of the local photography captures the scene just fine, but not the feeling. Walking down Meeting Street on a perfect Sunday morning is a FEELING. Not knowing what’s around the next corner, down that secret alley, just over that iron gate is… thrilling. The sound of hooves clicking on cobblestone streets , the smell of coffee and pastries from small corner shops, the pulse of a living and breathing peninsula… it’s a photographer’s dream. So why does everyone keep taking pictures of the same four houses? When I’ve look at Instagram over the last half decade, at the photo galleries downtown, and in the old issues of Charleston Magazine lying around at work, I don’t get that feeling. The only feeling I get is that I could do it better.
Recognizing some of the components that make it hard to stand out is half the battle. For example most of the most popular subjects are statues and architecture - some centuries old, which have given them ample time to be captured in every way possible, from paintbrush to TikTok. Approaching those spots with a more creative approach - sometimes requiring patience - or steering clear of them altogether can help keep it fresh.
Combine that with Chucktown being one of the best places to visit in the whole country, seemingly adding a new list of boutique hotels and hot-spot restaurants to try every week, you’re going to get quantity over quality. The pineapple fountain, Rainbow Row, the Battery. It’s been covered, literally hundreds of thousands of times over. The bigger the pond, the harder it is to not seem like a small fish.
So the idea is to come up with something that no one else is doing, which I believe I did here:.
Don’t just photograph the people, don’t just photograph the town. Photograph them in harmony.
This is the shot that gave the idea some legs. I had just walked through the MUSC campus, facing a place called Caviar & Bananas. I was reviewing some shots in camera when this gentlemen passed the violet wall of C&B, in nearly the exact same color shirt. I noticed it immediately but because my camera was not ready, I asked him if he would stop for a pic. He wasn’t overwhelmed but still obliged, acknowledging the coincidence for someone that isn’t there every day. This was likely just his routine, and that his work shirt, probably never thinking anything of it. But to me it was the start of a new series, one featuring Charlestonians in outfits that match their surroundings.
That was July of last year and for the subsequent few trips after, I have had my eyes peeled. And good news: it was doable challenge. This is a colorful town and people dress for it. The hard part, of course is to capture it. Not only do you have to notice it before it happens, but you have to actually get the shot: focus, composition, light, etc. There were a lot of close calls, even a handful of very memorable missed opportunities that would have made for better, more clever versions. However, I only ended up with a few and the collection would remain incomplete.
Haunted by those misses and thrilled by the hunt for more, I made my return yesterday (9/22/24) and spent almost eight hours observing, predicting, and patiently waiting to pounce. The everlasting possibility of these coincidences happening and the desire to be there when they do is SO exciting to me, and it was a lovely day for hunting.
This one was crazy because I was sitting there waiting for someone wearing pink, and here she comes in a dress that almost matches the pattern in the windows. The frames match the skin tone, and the upper windows have 'blonde' pediments, and the photo still screams “classic Charleston”. Easily my favorite one so far.
The green match was right on, but it’s the hat and the neighboring door syncing up that really did it for me on this one. If you look REALLY close there’s also a mannequin in the window wearing the same basic white girl Charleston hat. Those are very stupid.
In addition to the obvious yellow throughout this photo, the tree, the shadows and the door all compliment the outfit color schemes as these ladies pass by The Flower Cottage. When sharing to Instagram, however, I cropped to just the yellow on yellow, shown on the right. I also included a much tighter shot of the pink wall so that you can get a better look at the patterns in the window and on the dress, as seen below.
The frills and the siding! Ha. This is the only vantage point at which I would have been able to shoot this one, with the siding not being visible from straight on. So I’m not mad about the angle, which would normally make for a terrible photo.
Color match with a classic car, through the windows in motion. Gimme that.
This ones an honorable mention for me, not quite good enough for the series. The shirt, paint, lettering and record button all fit the same palate, but that wasn’t quite enough. If the ladies hair was either white or blowing in the wind like that beautiful horses, I would have included it in the set.
While I did feel like I collected enough to share, this is NOT done. More to come.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!