~ The Moment ~

I think that photography is amazing. However it seems there are photographers out there...and yes you know who you are. These photographers are the "technical" nerds, the ones that obsess over lighting and over all the technical aspects of photography. These photogs need to always see sharp images and technically sound photos. Their gear and the lenses they use must be top of the line. I think far too often this type of photographer loses the moment in the quest to get that "perfect" image. I have been learning more that the moment is far more important then the light, the sharpness. Sometimes it's the moment that matters most. Let me explain. I shot a wedding where I had the couple select an image to be printed. She picked an image I liked but when I went to edit it for print. It had a blury area on it that happened do to movement when I shot the picture. There was nothing I could do in photoshop to fix it so I thought it probably wasn't a good image to use. However after looking at it I could see it was a special shot even with that "flaw" and the couple liked the moment in the picture.
I am starting to try and find those moments in my pictures now and hope that I can try not to become obsessive about being one of those technical nerds and allow the pictures to just happen. A few years ago I was doing this shoot and caught the model adjusting her boots and this was not a posed shot. I had my camera ready and snapped this shot. It is one of my faves from the shoot and happened when we were both not really "trying" for anything amazing. It just happened. I think that quest for L glass and great SLR bodies needs to be set aside sometimes and the moments need to be caught. There will always be an amazing SLR on the market, always be great lenses to buy. But those moments come once in a lifetime and it's up to the photographers to catch them. So use a point and shoot, a SLR, a disposable...just catch them.
Oh yeah and Oilers win!!! :)
-Randy