This picture was the product of visualizing the shot before it happened. It was shot during the rehearsal for the Parade of Nations segment of the upcoming Asia Conference (which takes place in a few hours time at the time of writing!). There was this part of the performance where multiple drummers were placed strategically in the hall, and as the spotlight fell on each, they became drumming in an anti-clockwise manner around the hall.
I knew it was impossible for me to capture all the drummers in one shot, as they are very far from each other, so I placed myself below one of them, and waited for his turn to hit the drums. As he was doing that, I shot into the light, knowing that the effect would be pretty dramatic, even with a bit of lens flare. As I was not sure of the exposure, and the entire sequence happened pretty fast, there was no time to chimp at the LCD. I shot in rapid succession, varying the exposure each time (I was in manual mode).
I even had time to take another variation of the shot:
Drummer 2
Photography is all about light, and the light makes all the difference. Of course, you would have to be there at the right place and the right time too! :)
A lot of time spent in waiting, a few seconds of madness, all for that one special shot. That's what often happens, and that's when all the good photographs come about. Many people credit chance, or a moment of luck to a good shot. Typical comments would range from "wow, good shot. You're very lucky to be there!" or "Good shot! What camera did you use?". Not to mention the classic "nice photo - did you edit it in photoshop?"
Yes, some moments in photography are shot when one sees the moment, quickly grab the camera, and make a shot of a priceless moment. Is that luck? You got to be prepared, to have the camera with you already right? Like this moment of Whisky stretching - I had my camera primed and ready when she did it. Was I lucky?
Whisky Stretching
Many other great moments in photography were actually pre-visualized. The moment may or may not materialize - I'm talking strictly about unposed, documentary type photography here, yet before it happens, the photographer had already read the light, chosen the background, and waiting for something to happen. IF, and when it happens, he / she will be ready!
Good photographers make their own luck. Bad ones make excuses!
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