Where To Stand, Premonition, Patience, Position, & A Pow Wow: More Nonsensical Ramblings.
Subtitle: Had a thought. Save yourselves. Run now…
This is not advice. I am a camera nut who medicates himself by taking photos wherever he goes.
Still here?
Well. I warned you.
I was at a Pow Wow yesterday,…
…and once I arrived, there was one question on my mind…
Where should I stand?
That is usually the first question I ask myself when I arrive to a new space. Sometimes I have an epiphany while already in a space. My wife was observing me as I captured the reception of the first wedding I ever did.
She relayed to me that she was impressed with how I bounced across the room “like a ninja”. I had no recollection of that, but I do remember one moment where I very nearly harmed myself. At one point, the wedding party and others encircled the bride and groom in the middle of the dance floor. The thought hit me.
An elevated shot would be great.
That is when I took notice of the empty balcony. Then I noticed the stairs and bolted towards them, but in the cave lighting, I had not seen a rope blocking the stairs until I was too close to stop. Being on the stairs, the rope was higher than waist level. That is when I had a thought I had many times in my youth, once I realized too late that I had inadvertently bitten off more than I could chew by way of hubris. Too late to stop my momentum, I jumped, and by what can only be described as divine intervention, I cleared the rope.
Cool.
Continued up the stairs while adjusting the settings and got the pic I had envisioned.
Woot! My favorite pic of the day. Which is saying a lot, because I came away with many pics I liked that day.
Ok. Where was I?
Right. Yesterday. Pow wow. Where to stand.
Before me was the dance circle. Folks had chairs in front of me. But I have a zoom lens and could easily capture images over their head. And as friendly as everyone was, I could easily ask my way beside them or in front if need be. But I went with another option.
I cheated.
I took notice of some photographers next to the stage and joined them. I hesitated.
What if they are the official photographers, and walk-on newbies are not welcome?
What if I end up blocking someone?
What if…
You know what. The spirit here has been great. Why would this be any different? Let me hush and just walk over there.
Much better.
So, I was also reminded to get out of my head and not let imagined hindrances limit me. All were welcoming. One photographer recognized me from a prior interaction. Others were welcoming. Those on the stage were perfectly fine with me sitting on the front edge.
So what did I (re)learn?
Get out of my head and focus on:
Premonition.
- Don’t ignore instincts.
Patience.
- Let the process happen, and do not try to force pictures.
Position.
- Sometimes it is more about where you are than anything else.
And in this new position, I captured images I like. But guess what? None of this is a science. My favorite photo was taken at the original location. Hunger hit at one point. Got some very good wings and went to my car for a place to sit dowm. I had gotten enough pictures. But something told me to walk back to the original location one last time before leaving. And then I captured it.
Technically, the best photo taken this day? Perhaps not. But it is my favorite.
So sometimes patience and premonition will lead you to the right position.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 