We asked photographer Craig Semetko (@semetko) to share a few stories behind some of his most well known images. In 2017, he will be leading a Masters workshop in Miami Feb 2nd-5th and our first international trips to India and Myanmar (Burma).
"Anxiety will cause you to miss opportunities. I was in Varanasi, India and had hired these young men to row me up the Ganges River so I could photograph a religious ceremony. I only had a day and a half in Varanasi and this would be my only opportunity to get the shot. When we got to where the ceremony was being held, all kinds of problems presented themselves: there were dozens of other boats between us and the shore so we couldn’t get close to the scene, there were hundreds of tourists cluttering up the background of any shot I could get, and frankly the ceremony itself wasn’t that interesting visually. I had researched this event—I really wanted the shot and was failing at my one opportunity. After getting more and more frustrated I finally took a deep breath, exhaled, and resigned myself to the fact I wouldn’t get the photograph I’d wanted. I turned back to say something to the rowers—and there was my shot. What appears to be luck was actually the result of letting go of my expectations and allowing myself to see what was already there—a much better photograph than I originally had hoped for."
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