 |
kodak.com
presents
Jodi Cobb, National Geographic Photographer
Author of “Geisha: The Life, the Voices, the Art”
February 08, 2001
|
Page 4 of 5
Jodie:
You're so lucky to be a 'Rebel' with a great cause. Keep up the good work.
Jodi Cobb:
Thank you. This was one of the first pictures I took as a professional photographer. I was given the assignment to photograph the Suwannee River, and I was terrified. I am in no way a nature photographer, but I was game. I paddled for weeks on the river, and then finally landed in this small town where I was delighted to find people to photograph again. (I think most stories come down to the people) Ten people lived in this small three-room shack, and I was curious to see how they were able to do that--how each one was able to find any sort of privacy in that situation. Again, it's a matter of spending a lot of time with the people to get to the point where they don't even notice you anymore. I had obviously reached that point with this family, for I was able to take the picture that, for me, summed up how they were able to live that way.
Xan:
Do you miss contact with people you know when traveling?
Jodi Cobb:
Yes, definitely. The loneliness is really the hardest part of this job, and it is something that you never get over. In fact, it gets harder and harder as the years pass. You certainly do make new friends along the way, but sometimes it's like someone once said that traveling is not actually broadening, but makes you more stoic and isolated inside. The rewards are huge, so you spend a lot of time on the phone and on the computer with friends and family. I also like to try to not spend as much time in the field in long stretches as I used to. I used to be away for three to four months at a time. Now, it's usually four weeks at the most.
Mike Utah:
Jodi, as your viewing their world, are you a participant, or only an observer?
Jodi Cobb:
It's hard to make that generalization. Obviously, I'm participating in the event and there in the room with people, but everyone knows the reason I'm there, and that's to photograph. So I actually have to do both things at the same time. I need to engage with the people and participate as much as I can, while still looking for the moment that will sum up what I'm trying to say about the situation.
Boop T Doo:
No question, really. I just wanted to drop in and say hello from your high school class, and say we missed you at the reunion.
Jodi Cobb:
Hi to all of you! And that's just another example of the loneliness of life on the road. You have to miss all the reunions, but I promise I'll be there next year. We'll take a commercial break here for a shameless plug for the book, "Women Photographers at National Geographic," available at bookstores today.
Homer:
Is there anything special that you look for when you are photographing people, a special spark that catches your eye, or a feeling you get from the people, scene or situation?
Jodi Cobb:
I think you summed up perfectly what I'm looking for. It's hard to describe, but I think you look for the moment when they are interacting with someone else, or lost in their own thoughts, or, in some way, revealing what they're thinking or feeling. That's harder to do than to photograph what they're actually doing. For example, in the pictures of the geisha, I tried to show not only what their kimonos looked like and their surroundings, but I was also trying to give a sense of how they fit into that world, and, hopefully, how they felt about it. I think the picture of the geisha smoking is one of those 'moments between moments', when she seems somewhere else, and totally oblivious of me. I like that one.
Page 4 of 5
|
