Meet Greg Pastuzyn from New Jersey. Greg attended my last New York Workshop, and hosted one of our Wednesday evening chats from his home. Greg has been working with Project 52 for a while now.
“I was introduced to Project 52 through Don’s blog Lighting Essentials. At the time I was looking to bring my photography to a new level. Overall the style could have been considered documentary/capturing life, but basically I would just shoot anything that interested me. I have been participating since assignment 1 and I must say it has been a great education for me. You can read all the blogs and books you want but without taking the camera in hand and getting out of your comfort zone you won’t improve. Don’s assignments forced me to shoot things I normally wouldn’t even think of.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was in coming up with an idea and vision for the assignment. Some were easier than others, and the ones that I had a firm direction of what I wanted to do usually came out better. It became apparent very quickly that the more effort I put forth the better the critique. Which then gets us to the next challenge: balancing between the assignment, home life, and the job that pays the bills.
It took a lot to get some of the assignments done when I did not find them inspiring. Like going to the gym every weekday morning I dedicated time, but perhaps often not enough time to completing the assignments, and again the rush jobs usually coincided with marginal work. Go figure. The pre-visualization became easier as time went on and I found that reading the assignment when it was posted rather than waiting until the week it was due helped immensely (another go figure?). The critiques were always very helpful and added to the learning experience.
A few takeaways from a year of assignments. Shoot them all with the same attention to detail that you would bestow on a shot of something you were passionate about. Practice. Nothing says improvement like practice, and sometimes you need something like project 52 so you don’t practice the same shots over and over.”
More from Greg after the jump.
“I am looking forward to P52 2012. It has really become a community. What would Wednesday evenings be without Don? But seriously, I can honestly say that my work has improved since taking this on in January of 2011. I knew I needed something to increase my learning, and gave this a shot. It has been one wild ride. From many of the assignments I have met people in local businesses, some who can directly benefit from photographic services and some that can be an asset through networking and referrals. So for 2012 I intend to grow these relationships to grow the business side.”
Greg Pastuzyn
gregpas on flickr
greg@gregpastuzyn.com
www.gregpastuzyn.com
beerfly.wordpress.com
Some of Greg’s images:
All images copyright Greg Pastuzyn.
Thanks Greg!
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Great post Greg. It has been fun having you on P52.
Don, why is that weird stuff from FB showing below this post?
Thank you
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