Capturing the moment is one of the joys and ultimate challenges for every photographer.
Karl Lagerfeld said that photographs "capture a moment that's gone forever, impossible to reproduce."
Every moment is unique and precious. People are also different and so some photographs might appeal to one viewer more than to another. Training your eye to choose and capture the moment that works best as an image is therefore important.
I love the quote by Susan Sontag who once said that “all photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.”
At my recent visit to St Pancras Station in London I took some photos of a man playing a piano. This was a totally spontaneous situation which lasted only a few minutes so I had to respond very quickly. I did not want to interrupt the music but felt that I need somehow ask for a permission to take photos. I stood at the distance and took out my camera. I then waited a little to catch the man's attention and when he looked at me I raised the camera indicating that I'd like to take some photos of him. He nodded and smiled back so I proceeded with taking photos.
I had my Canon 5D Mark II with me and two zoom lenses. We were inside the station so I had to think carefully but quickly about the available light. My subject was moving so I decided to raise ISO to 400 to compensate for the luck of light. With most of my photos I stayed within the 73 mm to 100 mm focal range bracket.
Deciding what my captured moment should be:
Below is a print screen of the images uploaded in Lightroom.
I think it is very important to be aware of the vulnerability, mortality and fluidity of the moment of life (whether it contains a person, event or an object) that takes place in front of your camera.
I had to think on my feet and decide very quickly on my position in relation to the pianist. I quickly assessed the setting and made my decision based on the following:
I did not have much time to walk around the pianist
I liked the combination of the colours and shades of the shop windows behind the pianist - I thought that it would make a very suitable background
This helped me to decide to stay on the right hand side of the pianist. I set my white balance, change the ISO and started shooting in AP mode.
Whilst taking photos I looked out for the eye contact with the pianist, for some interesting clusters of some passer-bys, for matching colours (e.g. passer-bys and in the background).
Karl Lagerfeld said that photographs "capture a moment that's gone forever, impossible to reproduce."
Every moment is unique and precious. People are also different and so some photographs might appeal to one viewer more than to another. Training your eye to choose and capture the moment that works best as an image is therefore important.
I love the quote by Susan Sontag who once said that “all photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.”
At my recent visit to St Pancras Station in London I took some photos of a man playing a piano. This was a totally spontaneous situation which lasted only a few minutes so I had to respond very quickly. I did not want to interrupt the music but felt that I need somehow ask for a permission to take photos. I stood at the distance and took out my camera. I then waited a little to catch the man's attention and when he looked at me I raised the camera indicating that I'd like to take some photos of him. He nodded and smiled back so I proceeded with taking photos.
I had my Canon 5D Mark II with me and two zoom lenses. We were inside the station so I had to think carefully but quickly about the available light. My subject was moving so I decided to raise ISO to 400 to compensate for the luck of light. With most of my photos I stayed within the 73 mm to 100 mm focal range bracket.
Deciding what my captured moment should be:
Below is a print screen of the images uploaded in Lightroom.
I think it is very important to be aware of the vulnerability, mortality and fluidity of the moment of life (whether it contains a person, event or an object) that takes place in front of your camera.
I had to think on my feet and decide very quickly on my position in relation to the pianist. I quickly assessed the setting and made my decision based on the following:
I did not have much time to walk around the pianist
I liked the combination of the colours and shades of the shop windows behind the pianist - I thought that it would make a very suitable background
This helped me to decide to stay on the right hand side of the pianist. I set my white balance, change the ISO and started shooting in AP mode.
Whilst taking photos I looked out for the eye contact with the pianist, for some interesting clusters of some passer-bys, for matching colours (e.g. passer-bys and in the background).
After reviewing my images, I made a selection of the following four.
Image 1
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I like that the pianist is looking towards the camera. This creates a certain level of intimacy as if he is playing for the viewer or communicating with the viewer. The smudged shadow of a passer-bye makes the pianist stand out even more and emphasises the fleeting and fluid nature of the captured moment. I also like the woman at the distance coming out of the shop - she is facing the pianist and looking towards the camera which creates a connection with the viewer and the pianist linking the furthest and the closets parts of the image together.
I decided that this image would work best with colours turned down as it helps to focus on the movement and connect with the pianist.
Image 2
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Whilst the first image was about making the connections, with this image I wanted to do the opposite and emphasise the disconnectedness. I shoot the pianist from the back so the viewer can not see his face (hence disconnecting the viewer from the main subject). I then waited for a number of passer-byes to enter the frame and I took a number of pictures hoping to get the best position of the passer-byes in relation to the pianist. I thought that this image worked best as the balance between the main subject and the passer-byes is just right - the passer-byes have a real presence in the image on both side of the pianist (emphasising the movement and disconnectedness). At the same time they don't obstruct the pianist or take up too much space within the image. Also, the colours of the background and the passer-byes' clothes worked well.
Image 3
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I loved the expression on the pianist's face. I think this is a warm and lovely image to look at - it creates a feeling of joy and a feeling of being ok in our busy and fluid world. I like the reflection of a lady on the glass panel just behind the piano. The shadows of the passer-byes help to create the feeling of movement and make the pianist's face stand out more. It is the play of movement and stillness within this picture that makes it work.
Image 4
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This image creates a slightly more reflective and thoughtful feel. To enhance this feeling, I changed the tonal range of this image to sepia. I liked the way the passer-byes look at the piano player - although their faces are smudged by the movement the viewer can still catch their smiles and curiosity. Again, the balance of the still and moving figures works well here, for example the shopper who is just entering the store is in focus whilst the group of moving passer-byes are out of focus.
My lessons learnt from this exercise? It's always challenging and exciting to try and capture the right moment! It was interesting to note that some of the photos that I was hoping to use were unfortunately out of focus but there were some others that came out well quite unexpectedly.
