The photograph at the other end of the scale
My Fourth Friday photographs, including this one from 2023, usually sit at both ends of a large seesaw.
At one end is a deep stack containing most of the photographs I made. I've forgotten how many there are because the number doesn't matter other than weighing enough to balance the scale. At the other end sits a single photograph, one so striking that it seems the heavens intervened to hold the moment together just long enough for the shutter to release.
A photograph with enough density to balance all the failed others.
This is that photograph.
I made it without looking through the viewfinder. The camera was almost on the ground, where I used the dancers’ shadows to judge my position and the timing of the exposure. The wide-angle lens took in the full width of the performance, from the large foreground dancer to the main subjects, the surrounding dancers, the audience, and the buildings enclosing the street.
The aperture was set at f/22 to turn the sun into a star as it appeared between the central figures. The dancer in the air, the performer lifting her, the sun, the foreground figures, the long shadows and the converging lines of the stage all found their places within the same fraction of a second.
Some of that placement came from technique. Some came from anticipation. The rest feels divine.
PhotoCamp Daily isn’t about the technical skills needed to be a good photographer or a photojournalist. Numerous resources are available, including videos, self-help books, training courses, classes, and social media as a learning tool.
PhotoCamp Daily focuses on learning the process of creating good photos, observing subjects, and connecting them to storytelling. It’s about learning to express yourself more effectively, shaping a shared understanding of your world, and embracing new experiences.
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