Saturday, May 14, 2011

Today's Keeper

Today's portrait took some time. Hours, actually. Chasing. Cajoling. Entertaining. Ignoring. Chasing again. Waiting. Trust-building. Strategizing. Charming. And clicking away...until just the right moment.



Sadly, a simple photo can't really convey everything it took to get the photo. I shot a birthday party today, and knew this was a shot I had to get. The young lady had no interest in having her photo taken, so I knew it was going to be a long trek.

At first, I made it clear she didn't have to have her photo taken. I chatted with her grandparents a bit. I tried to engage her like I do other kids. No interest. On to other things.

Awhile later, I noticed she was holding a dinosaur. That was the start of the thaw. I talked to her about dinosaurs, and quickly found out they're her favorites.

I did the usual. I was silly. And snapped a pic occasionally, nothing special. Ignoring a kid is a great way to get their attention, so I did that, too.

As the afternoon progressed, I bumped into her again, and she was climbing through a tunnel in a jungle gym. She was eyeballing the camera, and I knew I'd have my shot. I asked her to act like a dinosaur, and she did. Between snarls, I got her. No forced smile. Just simple calm.

I get the feeling a parent could take a thousand photos of their kid and not get one like this. I hope they like it when they see it.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

The Keeper

I haven't quite decided how I'm going to share the photos and stories from my trip to Europe, but I thought I'd at least put this one out there. I felt like it was special when I took it, and I still feel that way now that I'm seeing it again.



I was making the long walk to get to the even longer walk to get to the amazing (and remote) hill town of Civita in Italy, and I caught this nun out of the corner of my eye. I stopped behind a tree, just out of her sight line, fumbled with my camera case, aimed and got exactly two exposures. I blinked, and she was gone.

It was exhilarating in the moment, and this image was the one that stayed in my mind throughout a trip filled with wonderful photo subjects.

I have no idea if it's a technically good photo, but I just keep staring at it. Like so many things in Italy, this scene feels like it could have been captured a week ago, a year ago or 50 years ago.

I took 6,298 during this trip, so I'll probably have more to pass along soon. This one was really special.