I haven't had a lot of opportunities to go out and shoot lately so I've been spending more time reading about this craft than actually shooting. The problem is that I tend to get sidetracked by shiny new gear in the form of product reviews, that I end up wasting time thinking about what to buy instead about how to approach my next opportunity in the streets of Torreon. I stole the title of my blog post from David DuChemin who has really changed the way I look at shooting. I mentioned him in a previous post and am really intrigued by his approach. Anyway, tonight I slipped out of the house around 7pm with a vision of what I wanted to shoot and 20 minutes to do it. I grabbed my gear and headed towards Eva's school. I had noticed yesterday under one of the bridges, tucked right underneath it, a mobile restaurant/bar that looked super professional but on the other hand, so out of place. On my way to shoot this scene I passed a man and his boy riding a horse-drawn cart. So I drove about 200 meters in front of them and pulled off onto the shoulder. I quickly got out of the van, set my camera to TV (Time exposure) and dialed in 13th of a second. The cart whizzed by me and I shot one frame while panning my camera from left to right. I jumped back into the van and headed towards my main subject. I now only had 10 minutes left on my little outing. As I pulled under the bridge I noticed the owners taking down the bar set up and attaching it to his truck. I was kind of shocked because normally these types of set-ups run all evening. So I didn't get my shot. Maybe tomorrow.
The good news is that I stopped and got at least one shot and this one shot I'm posting. I'm pumped that I actually got out of the van and fired off a frame. I'm pumped that I didn't chicken out or say, later I'll get that shot. It wasn't my intended subject but I still got a shot that represents a mode of transportation for many people in this Northern city in Mexico.
I hope you enjoy it. It was fun making this image.
3 comments:
Very cool photo, Andrew - It looks like the horse is just flying along. Glad you're enjoying shooting pictures so much - you are very good at it.
Heh Andrew!
I love keeping up with your posts. Everyday I click on my RSS feeds to see if you've posted more. Keep pushing through your learnings...they are fun to watch and they help me remember to keep pushing myself. I've also had very little time in the last 2 months to shoot or post. But just yesterday I drove by a scene and thought....I really should come back and shoot this. I'm gonna try. Harder to get out of the house with the little ones though eh.
I like your pan shot. It is hard to catch that crisp subject at a 13th eh. I haven't found my sweet spot for panning quite yet. I love the motion blur in this one though....so I think it was a good choice for exposure.
I checked into David DuChemin's blog....he looks great! Have you read either of his 10 ebooks? I might pick one of them up....they look really good.
Cheers! Hope the family is doing well. How is Josh's fussiness doing?
Thanks Jon. It's a process. I went downtown the other week and walked around but was too nervous to pull out my camera. It's annoying when you see a great shot but are nervous about asking someone to take their picture etc.
I haven't practiced much with the panning. I wanted to catch the motion and wasn't too concerned if the image was in focus. It can be done but I'll need to practice more.
David's ebooks are good. I've read both of them and they give good insight. For 5 bucks you can't go wrong.
Keep shooting Jon. I stalk your blog and want to see what your shooting and how you are shooting it.
Family is good. Joshua is fussy but we've been through this before and it doesn't last forever!
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