Robert Fahey is guided by two rules in his creative practice. The first rule: the best images have three elements - an appealing composition of subject, light that interacts with the subject, and the subject experiences a moment. The second rule: stand in front of more interesting stuff.
Fahey looks for subjects while walking. They can be landscapes, people, objects, anything. Sometimes it is with the intent of finding an image that he can capture immediately. Sometimes it is to scope out a subject at different times of the day to see how the light changes the subject. He will photograph the scene with early light from the east, late setting sun from the west, twilight and even midday light. He will photograph the same scene throughout the year in all four seasons. He looks up. He looks down. He finds vantage points to shoot down on subjects and shoot up from ground level.
He looks for potential subjects while driving. He’ll make a mental note to return to that interesting barn just off the highway the next morning at dawn. Occasionally, he decides the light is right, the subject will not be in that position if he waits till tomorrow; He makes a u-turn, parks, jumps out of the car with his camera into the minus twenty degree morning, take six photos, and jumps back into the car. A few days later, the best of the six images is on page twenty of the local paper and will feature in a black and white abstracts project he is putting together.
Fahey looks for subjects others pass by and tries to find the image that attracts attention. He looks at iconic settings, that red weathered barn of a Vermont farm, and tries to find the image not taken before. He waits for the moments. He stays close to the basic tried and true compositional techniques, such as rule of thirds.
