Missing the Good Shots

[Brian C. Miller]

... like Britney on the wrecking ball ...

Spears? Let's see, there was one major newspaper a number of years back that decided that for the next two weeks or so it wouldn't cover Britney Spears, just because they had enough of her. As it happened, there wasn't any news about Britney during their self-enforced news blackout, so nobody actually noticed. But after it got out about what they had done, there was all sorts of hoo-haw about censorship, fourth estate, yadda yadda yadda. Personally, I had hoped that the idea would catch on.

Of course, other than the man's reported actions, we don't know if he suffered from mental problems or if he was on drugs, or both. He may also have been a sane person who just got through meeting with middle management and had a nervous breakdown. Yes, definitely a shot for a press camera.

If I were given the opportunity of getting a good photograph of a guy dragging a dead raccoon, would I click the shutter? Yes! It's life, it's real, it has happened. It's the neighborhood.

[invisibleflash]

Do you ever feel that you've missed the good shots? I remember reading that photography's greatest forte is capturing unfolding moments.

And then this caught my eye. Seattle Times: Screaming man with dead raccoon in Mukilteo

Sure, I miss some. I can't get em all. But I still get plenty of nice pix. We just have to do the best we can.

[cabbiinc]

... like Britney on the wrecking ball,...

I believe that you're thinking of Miley or Ron on the wrecking ball.

[Bruce Watson]

...I find myself regularly setting up and waiting for the light to be just right. ... Those are the decisive moments of nature that I wait for.

I think of it differently. Where you might be waiting for the moment, I'm waiting for light. I'm not interested in a slice of time, I'm interested in the quality of light. Said another way, I don't equate waiting for the planet to turn, or the clouds to move, to be a decisive moment in the way that Henri Cartier-Bresson made famous.

That said, I think we are basically violently agreeing.

[Jmarmck]

Yup!

[BetterSense]

I like what Winogrand said in an interview, when asked if he was worried about missing photo opportunities when he had to stop and reload his Leica:

"No. There are no pictures when I'm reloading."

[Michael Graves]

That said, I think we are basically violently agreeing.

My wife and I do that all the time. I'm not sure what that says about you and I.

[analoguey]

I highly dispute the contention that "photography's greatest forte is capturing unfolding moments". Balderdash!

I started in LF photography explicitly to get away from the "capture the moment" mode. Rather than reacting to events, I wanted to take my time and think about what I was trying to do, and consciously make a photograph rather than reactively take a snapshot.

+1
mind you, one can set-up to photograph the unfolding moment! (I like that more than reacting to an event)

[Alan Gales]

Embarrassing photos, like Britney on the wrecking ball,

Here you go, John. It's Miley but both young ladies are embarrassing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8

[Jmarmck]

Ya know, there is a point in everyone's life when they realize that they have gotten old. Somehow this one does it for me............thanks a lot Alan.