Photography | Moore Images Photography

The Family in front of the Eiffel Tower

I completed posting my images on Facebook and Flickr and I’m happy with the results. However, when I look at the number of photos I posted I see my growth as a photographer. I’m not saying that photos are necessarily better—although I think they are. However, I am more discriminating of the images I take and the images I upload. When I began shooting pictures, I spent an afternoon in downtown DC and took over 200 hundred photos. Now contrast that with a four-day Paris trip with my family. A picturesque city with infinite photographic possibilities and I took less than four hundred photos.

As I reflect on my time in Paris, there were many aspects of the trip that were memorable. The architecture was as beautiful and detailed as I imagined. The Eiffel Tower lit-up at night was simply amazing. I didn’t want to visit the Louvre museum initially. However, I was glad I went. I even purchased a book to learn more about the art. However, none of that was the most impressive aspect of the city.

I simply admire the Parisian lifestyle. They have a laid back way of life. It is a culture centered on enjoying life. Nearly every restaurant includes an outdoor section where customers enjoy dining at a leisure pace. The dizzying number of quaint restaurants littering the city makes it impossible for any one place to stand out. I won’t go into detail about the clothing stores. However, it was utterly astounding how many clothing shops were in the few areas we visited.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the friendliness. You had a few bad apples in the city or maybe apples that weren’t too pleasant. However, folks were patient with us as we attempted to communicate with our limited French vocabulary.

This leads me to the most impressive thing I saw as I compare it to the National Mall in DC. The mall is a large open area covered with grass, bordered with trees and pathways that stretch for a mile or so between the US Capitol and the Washington Monument. During the daytime, it is filled with people playing, walking, and enjoying the afternoon. However, as the day turns to night, the Mall crowd diminishes in size and it’s left with a few people in transit. In Paris, they have a similar open area that stretches a ½ kilometer from the Eiffel Tower to the Ecole Militaire (Military School). We were leaving the Eiffel Tower from a night of sight-seeing and photography. The time was approximately midnight. However, the mall area was packed with people having picnics. Groups of people were sitting on the grounds with wine and food and having conversations. They weren’t waiting to buy tickets or for any external event to take place. They were simply enjoying life. I found this very impressive and something by which to learn.

So many of us, me included, work two or three gigs to get our “hustle on”. However, how often do we simply enjoy our present situation with our family? I’m not saying we should forego our lifestyle and imitate the French culture. However, something is said for a lifestyle that enjoys the present instead of being consumed about the future or what we want to get next. As we pursue our goals, I think we need to remind ourselves the purpose for them. Every time I venture out for a photo shoot, I try to learn something to help me next time. This trip reminded me of what I already knew but, what I also needed to see.

When we take photos, we normally want the photo to be a literal snapshot of a point in time, a frozen moment that does not melt away or loses its flavor. We photograph many things that catch our eye or impress us. It may be our children running, riding a bike, a fancy car going down the street or some other item. My wife and I were riding down the highway when several bikers came from behind and began doing various stunts on their bikes (i.e., wheelies, standing on the side, etc.). Unfortunately, I was driving so Deborah took out the camera and began shooting. When we got home, I noticed she did a great job in taking the shot. However, there was something missing in the photo. We didn’t capture the thrill of the moment. The shutter speed was so quick that it froze the motion and it looks as if the biker is standing next to the bike.

There’s an opportunity to catch these events in a more “dramatic” fashion. It involves a slower shutter speed and the technique of panning. Panning requires the photographer to follow the subject as it moves from right to left or vice-versa while simultaneously snapping multiple photos. In order to imply motion the camera’s shutter speed must be slower than normal. This technique allows you to have a sharp image of the moving subject while the environment containing the subject is blurry. A good shutter speed, starting point would be 1/20s and you can increase or decrease the speed depending on the object’s speed or the desired effect. If we use this technique for the biker, the background would be so blurry that it leaves no question as to whether or not he was moving.

Place the camera in the Shutter Priority mode and set the time to 1/20s. Also, put the camera’s shooting mode to continuous. This allows you to hold the shutter button and the camera continues to take images. Finally, follow the action on your LCD screen or view finder and begin shooting. This is a hit or miss technique that produces plenty of misses initially. However, as you get a feel for the technique, you’ll discover a new way of photographing images. I find this technique so challenging yet rewarding that I commit to this technique whenever I travel. I take many shots. However, I usually find a few keepers that make it worth the effort.

Panning is such a popular technique that SLR lenses have components in place to help keep the moving object in focus as you follow it. It is often used in sporting events. However, they often freeze the image with a fast shutter speed (i.e., 1/250s or higher). Nevertheless, the same principles are used during slower speeds.

Thanks for reading and “Keep Shooting”.

-Roger

Category: Photography

My Time in Paris

Slowing Down the Shutter