Judging by the turnout on Wednesday night, the Mattapoisett Historical Society Museum’s photography workshop series is a hit with the local community.
Board President Jen McIntire introduced Deb Fraine, the first of three in a series of local photographers, noting that the impetus for the workshops is an effort to “…keep the museum vital and relevant.”
Fraine first met McIntire while selling her photographs at the Historical Society’s Annual Holiday Craft Fair. Fraine describes her approach to photography as rather relaxed, and pictures often are a result of luck, not skill, saying, “I walk around town with my dog, and it keeps me in the moment. Pictures tell a story.”
Fraine, who works as an occupational therapist, stated, “Working in healthcare is so fast-paced; this slows me down.” She thinks anyone can be a photographer in this era of smartphones, which allows one to always have a camera at hand rather than lugging around bulky equipment.
Fraine presented a broad selection of her photographs, which included landscapes, nature close-ups, and family and friends. Most of the pictures were taken with her digital SLR, but she did allow that some of her favorite shots have been captured with her iPhone.
Fraine used her photographs to describe to the audience the basic tenets of taking a photograph, such as lighting, composition, shutter speed, and aperture selection. When asked if she uses a tripod, she responded, “I don’t like to use a tripod. I like to be mobile.” Fraine also cautioned against using too many editing tools, saying, “I like to keep the natural colors – I think it’s kind of fake to edit too much.”
While many of her photographs were taken locally, she showed a number of pictures from out of state. Of particular interest was her photograph of Kettle Pond in Stowe, Vermont. Using it as a cautionary tale, she suggested that people can Google great places to photograph while they are on a trip. However, while the Kettle Pond location was quite beautiful, it was also quite crowded with other visitors and photographers, even some using drones to capture their shots.
Fraine also suggested that often the best times of day to shoot photographs are early morning and dusk. She suggested to the group that they experiment by taking photographs of the same location at different times of day to determine the best shot. She also noted that while photographing people to be aware of the background, looking for lights or other items that may detract from the quality of the picture.
The Historical Society hosted professional photographer and Marion resident Corinna Raznikov on November 8 and will host Mattapoisett’s own Peter Mello on November 15 at 6:30 pm.
By Sarah French Storer