Sunday, July 25, 2010

Making The Most Of Every Shot

By Stephen Drury

Pro photographers have known for years the magical ability to just capture a second when they press the shutter at just the right millisecond. Occasionally such moments can be planned, and often they can't. Occasionally they are just there, and you have to snap it without thought for composition or lighting or any of the other elements everyone knows are vital for quality photography.

As an example, you can plan for a photograph full of the energy of the wind when someone or a vehicle crosses the line of sight.

Or when you know something impressive is prepared to occur, like the arriving of a baby, having a camera prepared for that first moment of life could lead to a wonderful picture. Such life moments can be caught if you're prepared with your ability and talent and apparatus.

That moment when just the right elements come together for surprising composition, is often nothing that you may have planned or set up. Lately my partner and I escaped and spent a weekend in the mountains where, one evening at dinner, we were seated on the porch of the dining room. Just as our salads were served, the sun moved from behind clouds and the brilliant metal roofs of mountain houses were illuminated across the meadow. Bright red and green and blue and grey roof colours flooded our senses as if a bucket-full of marbles had been tossed against the green and brown mountainside.

The sight was so full of energy and potency that we could hardly talk with the vibrancy of it all.

That moment wasn't planned. It just happened. Sometimes such experiences can be imagined before the circumstance. As an example, you know a crop moon will be a powerful sight, and you can make preparations for shooting it by being in the right spot at the right time. The unpredictable can be made easily manageable with a little forethought.

You can envisage what might be, before it actually occurs. Demonstrating patience may open doors for a selection of unusually composed photos, especially if you would like to attend on just the right natural light, or shade, or form or energy.

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