Don’t Chase the Picture …
…… the picture will come to you.
I do not normally expect to receive photography advice via the BBC News Channel, but that is what happened during a recent episode of its travel show segement which featured Cuba. It came from a man to whom several minutes were devoted; part time B&B owner, part time horse whisperer, he also found time to lead photography courses. He talked about not forcing pictures while showing the presenter around the town of Trinidad on the island, giving me the title of this article in the process.
Is it true? Clearly there are some genres of photography where waiting for something to happen could prove less than satisfactory. These usually involve a degree of planning, with studio work or still life coming to mind as examples. This was not the situation here, but street photography in Cuba. Of course, a fair degree of planning had already taken place to be with a camera in a location which is renowned for being photogenic. It is a trip many photographers have made.
That does not guarantee returning with memory cards, or rolls of film, full of great pictures. Being somewhere exotic can improve the odds, especially as the senses will be heightened by the unfamiliar. One of my more frustrating photographic experiences was a trip to Marrakesh a few years ago, where opportunities for pictures abound, especially in the medina where I was staying. Or they would if the locals were more open to being photographed. Not just themselves, either. On more than one occasion I heard a voice behind me enquiring why I had taken a shot even when there was no one it.
I believe that we should respect someone’s wish not to have a camera pointed at them and a few years later I had reason to be thankful I had not been more adventurous. That occurred when a couple of enthusiastic photographers I encountered described how in the medina they had innocently accepted an invitation to shoot inside a walled house. The gates were promptly locked behind them and they were not released until they had parted with a fairly large sum of money. From what I have heard, not having visited the island myself, the people of Cuba are considerably more friendly.
My own discovery of images occurring came a year or two back when I did a photo-a-day project over the course of the year. For the first few days, all my shots shots were planned but then I ventured out not really knowing what I would find. What I came back with was a shot of the tracks of the local tram system set into cobbles. Not the best image I have ever captured, admittedly, but expecting every picture taken on such a project to be a masterpiece is not realistic. Its importance was in showing me that I did not have to worry about there not being opportunities if I looked.
My first unplanned image taken during my photo-a-day project.
A few days later, it got better than that. Going to a meeting one morning, I set out early to see what I could find near my destination. That was not a lot as it turned out, so I resumed my journey. Venturing onto on the London Underground, I framed a shot looking down the escalator on which I was travelling. If I am honest, it would not have turned out that well without a point of interest. That was until just as I was pressing the shutter, someone came rushing past me and his jacket flew open at the precise moment of exposure. Talk about serendipity. The shot had indeed come to me and would not have occurred had I not had a camera in my hand.
The shot which turned out better than I could have expected. I called it “Down the Tube”, but “Flasher” might be a better title.
What I learned over the course of my project was not to be concerned about finding pictures. Yes, there were a few days when nothing much happened, but more often than not I came back with something. A few of those shots grace the galleries of the website which accompany this blog. If you have a camera at the ready and your mind is tuned in to taking pictures, you might be surprised at what can be found. Often in the most unexpected places.