For this exercise I found myself image hunting in London and Grantchester. I used my Canon 5D MII and a 70 to 200 mm lens. I took quite a variety of shots on these days and am including a small selection to demonstrate the benefits of using a telephoto lens.
Image 1
This image was taken in the village of Grantchester on an overcast day. There was a well-attended village event on the day so the place was crowded with people, dogs, cars and children. This kind of environment makes it easier to approach the chosen subject so it was not difficult for me to spot these two wonderfully reach characters conversing at a table. The couple was so preoccupied with their conversion that they did not pay much attention to what was happening around them. Using the telephoto lens allowed me to stay at a safe distance and go annotated. `i made a number of images and I selected this one because I liked the way the smoke was raising from the pipe. I also liked the intense face expressions of the two characters. I opened up the aperture and increased my shutter speed to freeze the moment. To make my key subjects stand out of the immediate background (which happened to be busy and noisy with colours and shapes) I decided to make the image black and white. I think this worked quite well.
Image 2
This image was taken in London. The morning sun threw a perfect long shadow across the street and I was quite far away when I spotted the opportunity. The two people enjoying some coffee and a cigarette we quite nervous about being photographed. So I turned my camera to the side whilst adjusting the aperture and working on the camera settings. I wanted to wait for the cigarette smoke to appear in the sun light. I kept my camera ready but pretended not to look towards the couple. When I spotted the right mount I raised the camera quickly and fired a few shots, then moved away. I chosen this image as the smoke was clearly visible in the sun light enhancing the atmosphere of the scene.
I really enjoyed catching the moment with the additional challenge of not showing much interest prior to the shot. I will definitely use this technique in the future if people are anxious or nervous about my camera. Again, I decided to make the image black and white to focus on the smoke, the sun light and shadows.
Image 3
This is my second image of the 'Beer conversation in Grantchester'. I think it catches very well the tension and the emotions of the interaction. The atmosphere of the scene is quite intense and this keeps the focus on the conversation and the main characters, their hands and faces despite the fact that there is no eye contact with the viewer. In post production, I darkened the edges and corners of the image to draw the attention to the centre.
