Speeding By

Technical:
Canon 300D, 16-35/2.8L (thanks ~pjc10 )
35mm, f/13 @ 1/30th, ISO100.
Shot in Aveiro, Portugal on July 9, 2006.
Workflow: Custom Channel Mixer to BW, Curves for contrast and some burning just on the road. Resized, added border+name.

As prerequsite, you must read about street photography, and this is an amazing article [link]

I was shooting other things, other patterns with railings and such when across the street I saw this man walking. Please note, the following took place in a matter of a few seconds, but Im trying to slow down my thought process to explain to you cause when it happened it was all run by gut feeling and instinct and was a thrill !

Right away I was interested and RAN over without him noticing. I wanted to capture him with the building behind him so the building filled the frame, but just past the door on the left, the building ended, so I knew I only had a few seconds to make it work before he walked too far and got lost in the dark door or got past the building and ruined the composition.

Then I heard a car coming just as I framed this, and I realised I wanted the car in the photo, but not clear so that it looked parked with a fast shutter speed, so I stopped down as fast as possible to f/13 to slow the shutter to about 1/30th to get the car blurred. I knew 3fps wouldnt do justice so I had to get this shot in ONE capture, ONE shot.

So Im looking through the viewfinder, worried about the man getting lost into the dark door, worried about keeping the camera steady, worried about the timing of everything, worried that the car might not come in time before he got into the door area and most of all, worried about pressing the shutter at the exact time. Heart pumping, pure excitement, the feeling in your whole body you get, the thrill. Im listening for the car, listening, listening, watching the old man, and then BOOM. All those factors taken into conisderation instantly resulting in the photo.

A moment was made, a 1/30th that will never be exactly the same. Street is most definitely all about reacting and knowing and using your enoviroment to your advantage.



I leave it open for interpretation, about modern speed vs. elderly, about societys true beliefs about the elderly, how one is still ahead of the older idealogically, about anything you want.

Note: Tilt was unintentional, just goes to show what adrenaline does to your sense of balance, but it works great for your precise timing !