“Exposed; The Story Behind the Image” posts pull the covers back on how some of my favorite images were made. The image above is fun. It has a surreal 3D effect which, if truth be known was a combination of luck and skill. Left unexplained, you might think I used a Lensbaby on it, but in fact I didn’t.

The image is of six Rajasthani women walking along the roadside to the Kumbh Mela festival in India.

As I was traveling, I saw many ladies in colorful saris walking along the road and I knew this was a photo opportunity. I was sitting in the front of a packed “Vickram” — a large auto-rickshaw or tuk-tuk — so I knew the only option was to snap a shot while on the move. I wanted a certain amount of motion blur so I shot it at 1/40 sec. I knew this was the right speed because I shot several other sample images along the road. It was not a huge amount of skill, but a few minutes of preparation that led to knowing this was the right speed to shoot. I also knew, from experience, that by shooting at a slower shutter speed, by panning the camera from right to left, and by using the Vickram’s forward movement, the ground would blur into a circular pattern.

What I did not know was that if any object or person was found to be on the axes of the rotation, they would be sharp. Sharp objects or people against a blurred background ends up creating an artificial 3D effect.

Like many great photographs, it is a combination of luck and knowledge.

This was not an easy photo for me. My first inclination is not to shoot directly into the sun. The day before, I shot some similar images but with the sun behind me. They came out flat and lifeless. I had been watching Amy Vitale shoot for the past week and there were several times I thought to myself, “That will never come out”, because she was shooting in direct light or some of the harshest light you can imagine. Yet every time, her images were spectacular. It dawned on me that I was limiting myself, I was playing it safe. One of my biggest struggles is getting out of my safety zone. Stepping out of the box that I make for myself. I’m sure I’m not alone with that, I bet you have your own boxes that you’ve drawn around yourself, your photography and your techniques. Not to say I’ve never shot into the sun. I mean, everyone shoots sunsets, silhouettes and such. But this was none of the above. This was midmorning at around eight o’clock. The sun had been up for at least two hours, maybe longer.

When I arrived at the scene, David duChemin and another photographer were already shooting it. I knew it would not be a unique shot. I also knew that David’s would be incredible, and of course I was right, check out his images HERE. But does that mean that I don’t shoot it? Maybe, sometimes. But this time I thought I could make this different than theirs, my image.

So, after watching this man winnow for a while, I was able to observe the particles of chaff in the air and the sun glinting off of them. I knew that’s what I wanted. I shot several images standing, but I could not seem to get what I wanted. The angle of the sun just wasn’t right. So I laid down.

You might not know, that when a farmer is winnowing he uses the wind. We were downwind and as a result, became covered completely with barley dust and dirt. Barley chaff went down my shirt, up my sleeve, in my ear, in my mouth and everywhere on my camera. Maybe you are thinking, “Were you afraid of the dust and grime that would get on your camera?” The fact is, my camera is a tool, it’s designed to be abused to a certain extent. If it can’t take dust in the field, or a certain amount of rain then it’s a pretty poor excuse for a professional camera. I was certainly aware of the dust, and as soon as I left, I borrowed a friend’s brush to dust off the camera. I certainly didn’t change lenses at that moment.

So there I am, lying down, dust flying, trying to time my shutter to the apex of the man’s toss and lined up the tossed barley with the sun. I think I shot something like 15 to 20 shots. A few are okay, but I think this one was what I was looking for.

Maybe, the moral of this story is don’t be afraid to risk. I risked my gear and I risk making an image that everybody else was making. But my gear survived and I think I got an image that is uniquely mine. Go out and risk a little today.

This post is not so much about the story behind the image above, but about the “how” behind the image. I have been thinking a bit about what it takes to see “the image” before hand. I am not talking about telepathy. What I mean is when you go into a location to shoot, or when you shoot a given subject is there a difference between the familiar and the new? Of course there is. I was reminded about this after this past weekend. Our photo walk took us to many Chinese temples and neighborhoods where I struggled to see the shot. Well, not so much struggled to see the shot as struggled to anticipate the shot. This is the point; anticipating. Later, near the end of the walk I found myself kneeling next too a mosque door and knowing what to shoot and when to shoot. Thus the above image.

It’s about the moment. The blink of the eye, the millisecond of the shutter. As Henri Cartier-Bresson wrote “There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment.” The more we are familiar with our surroundings, the more we stay a few seconds ahead of our subject and anticipate the next action or move, the better our image will be. We can prepare for the precise moment, at least to some degree.

I have lived in Penang, Malaysia for just over a year. Over this time I have spent far too much time in my office working on NGO projects and not enough time in the streets with the people of this place. I have visited a few of the Chinese temples in the area and have learned a few things about the culture, but still woefully short of my knowledge of Islam. About now, you might be wondering why this is important? Knowledge of who, what and where you are shooting is key to anticipating the shot. Here’s how it works.

You know people. You know that when you raise a camera to their face they will most likely either smile or turn their head away. In Asia there are a few well chosen poses that you might receive. If you are observing to men arguing and getting into each others face, you know from experience that one of them, if it keeps going, might put his finger in the others face or even push the other. You can anticipate it because you know your culture and how it works. So you get your camera ready. (Here is where you need to know your gear. Quickly adjust your f/stop your speed and know your lens choice. Be ready.) But, what about other cultures?

I have lived in and among Muslims for over 15 years. For instance, I know that there are several “raka-ahs” in the namaz or several rounds or rotations of the prayer form. I know the hands come to the ears in Sunni prayers at the start and don’t in Shia prayers. I know that there is a long pause at several places in the raka-ah. I know that their head is coming to the floor and that all worshipers are going to stand shoulders to shoulder and that later they will touch the floor with their forehead. At one point at the end of the pray the participant will look to the left then the right and then the prayer will be over. “Ok, so what?”, you say. “So you know a little about Muslim namaz, who cares?” It matters because I know when to take the shot. I can anticipate the next move. All these serve to give me cues to what is happening next.

Even in the image above, I anticipated the shot. I knew the mosque, the weather and the direction of the sun. I even knew that in the cold the men in the mosque would find some sun light to sit in to pray to stay warm. So, after namaz, I waited in anticipation for this moment and it happened. I was ready.

Here is the difference not knowing the culture can make. I can’t tell you how many great shots in Buddhist temples I have missed by seconds, because I could not anticipate the next move. I don’t know the buddhist forms of worship and I miss the cues. This goes beyond just forms of worship, it applies to culture in general. I am not saying without detailed knowledge like this you cannot get a good image. No, you certainly can. But you are more likely to get that image if you are ready. We need to be students of the culture we are shooting in and even more so of the one we live in. All this to say, it serves the photographer well to understand the culture and the environment he or she is photographing in. The more understanding the better. Be ready for that decisive moment.

This is not one of my strongest images, but it has a joy about it that makes me keep coming back to it. Here is the story behind it. This image, like the last one, was taken on a Lumen Dei workshop (See, if you join us you will have a great many new additions to your portfolio.). I was at the Taj Mahal walking around looking for something or somebody interesting to photograph. I had just walked out of the mosque that is to the right of the tomb and I saw a whole family sitting around a park bench taking family snaps. Several of the children where beautiful and I really wanted to shoot their portraits. So, being the manipulator I am, I walked up and offered to shoot the snaps for them so all of them could be in the photos and of course they obliged. I took one shot with this camera and another with that. We have all been there, three camera hanging off one hand and two more off the other and then mine all weighing me down. I must have looked like a walking camera salesman. “Psst! Hey buddy! Wanna buy a camera?” So I took the shots and then managed to throw enough guilt at them to let me take each of their images on the wall of the mosque behind me. At first they just posed straight faces and solemn. Like they were a part of the stone structure it’s self. Then I started making google eyes and laughing at myself. Remember laughter is contagious. I often will start laughing when I am shooting a portrait on the street to get the subject to giggle or laugh. Works well.

Why does this image work? One of the first reasons is the gesture, the laugh. Here again, we come back to the same reason the catch light is so important. Just like a catch light, the laugh brings the image to life. Laughter make the person real – a human – and the viewer can relate. Speaking of catch light, you see again in this image. This time it is so clear and sharp you can actually see the Taj Mahal silhouetted behind a blue sky in her eyes. Barely, but it is visible. (Click on the image to the right for a close up.

Compositionally what makes this a stronger image is the triangle formed by the her posture, the railing and her elbow. The viewer naturally starts at her eyes, then your eyes move to the railing and up the railing to her elbow and then back to her eyes. All this is done in seconds and probably several times over as you view the image.

The triangle is one of the most common compositional forms found in images. I think, because things bend and connect and turn; like arms, branches, buildings. Maybe because lines converge and when they do, often a triangle is formed. Whatever the reason, they are everywhere. Triangles are useful in an image as they draw the viewers eyes along the path from point A to point B to point C and back to A. So your eye has a natural path of movement through the frame and this is really import. It is important because the last thing you want to have is a stagnant image, one without

movement and boring. The opposite of a boring image is a busy one, an image where all the elements compete with each other for the viewers attention. Either way, the picture loses the viewer’s interest and that is a bad thing.

So there you have it. A laugh by the photographer, a giggle by the subject and some nice light, mixed them together and get a decent portrait.

I thought it would be fun to talk about the story behind an image every once in a while. So many photo bloggers to it, I thought, why not? What I really hope to do is demystify some of the technique or ability that many of us seasoned shooters have and show you it is just a combination of skill, guts and luck. Not always in that order.

I shot this image on the ’08 Lumen Dei workshop while in Delhi. I really love this shot for so many reasons. The blue shutter behind the boy, the arms up and hands on the back of his neck. But what make this a strong image is a couple of things. One, the sharpness on his eyes. You have heard me gripe that digital photographers over do the importance of sharpness at time. (see Steve McCurry Sharp ) I still believe this, but when you have a subject looking directly into the lens, you need two things; sharpness, spot on focus on their eyes and you need a great catch light. Never, ever underestimate the importance of a great catch light. The eyes are what we look at when we speak to one another face to face. Ever talk with someone who won’t look you in the eyes? You think, either they are up to something or they are very insecure. Our eyes communicate almost as much as our words. So if the subject, like this one, is looking at you directly, the eyes have to be sharp, the sharper the better in this case. The reason the catch light is important is it gives life to your subject. If you can see a refection in the person’s eyes I think you see some of their world. The catch light makes them real/alive in some way.

The second thing that makes this image work is the strong diagonal lines running from upper left to lower right. Diagonal lines create a dynamic force in a photo. Michael Freeman call’s it “unresolved tension” and I think he is right. People’s eyes already want to move from left to right in a photo, but with a downward slant of the strong diagonals you get at since of gravity pulling you through the photo. So a diagonal line running from left to right is a very strong compositional element. In this picture it is even enhanced as it is duplicated with the boy’s arms running parallel with the lines of the shutter. By the way, the lines of the shutter at a diagonal where intentional, I move to the boys left, my right to get those lines. But his arms were luck. Here is where I want to maybe do a little demystifying. When I saw him, his hand were on the top of his head. As I approached, as so often happens, he giggled and started to drop his arms. I knew I was loosing the shot. I shouted “Rukho! ek minaṭ.”, or “Stop! Just a minute.” in Hindi. At this his hands stopped on his neck at the same angle as the lines of the shutter. Pure dumb luck, or the grace of God, depending where you are coming from.