Tanya Mayer Photography wrote: > Kostas, it was Malcolm Smith who wrote that, and not I. > However... despite its seemingly simple nature, it was indeed > a difficult shot to make, but probably not for reasons that > Malcolm even realises. Firstly, I was on the other side of a > busy highway when I shot it, with big cattle trains > (semi-trailers) passing in between us. Of course, any > inkling of a wedding and every truckie takes the opportunity > to beep his (very loud) horn at us and to flash his very > bright spotlights at us!! Made for a fun atmosphere, but > they couldn't hear me and I couldn't hear them for me to give > directions, so they were relying on sign language of sorts. > The dirt/ground that you see in front of them is actually the > dirt edging the side of the bitumen highway. They were only > about 2 ft from the road. > > Also, it was long after sunset. That shot is very > overexposed to give the impression of light, and to increase > the colour saturation, but in fact, it was almost dark. I > could barely see them to focus and they most definitely > couldn't see me. It was shot, handheld with my Tamron 135mm > (which equates to a focal length of 203mm on the *istD), f2.5 > lens @f2.5 and a speed of 1/10. It was also very windy, > making it even harder to hand hold. I positioned them with > what was left of the sunset (a mere glow on the > horizon) behind me, and I used the AF360fgz, manually at 1/1 > for a touch of fill on their faces and fronts, hence the > shine on their dresses. > > So, yep, it was quite a difficult shot, and it is one of my > favourites too, but I would be interested to hear why > Malcolm, you thought that it was a difficult shot to achieve? > I am guessing that your thoughts were different to mine as > you couldn't have possibly known the circumstances involved > in shooting it. > > I totally agree with the branches coming out of her head > thing and I can't believe that I missed it! I taught some > beginner's photography classes last year, and I stressed this > point frequently to my students and then went and did the > thing myself, AND didn't even notice it! How funny!
Hi Tanja, It was more a question of intrigue and choice from my viewpoint. I am delighted you could remember the circumstances surrounding the taking of this shot. The foreground held my attention and in my mind's eye I had pictured this as a bit of extra parking for the church where the grass was obviously flattened - not across a busy highway! It summed up an enjoyable rural wedding and the background (let's ignore the trees) was fantastic. Given the situation described I like it all the more. I certainly enjoyed looking at the wedding pictures overall, which conveyed pleasure. It is also a classic example of the problems that wedding photographers face to capture the moment. I would *never* do a wedding. Much admiration to those who do! ********************************** On a general note, I try to view all the PUGs (for which I too would be happy to chip in towards an annual fee) and as many of the links provided in postings as my internet connection allows, as I not only find them enjoyable, but I treat them as a resource for ideas and techniques. Just that is excellent, but if you want to ask more it's interactive too <vbg>. For someone like myself, who picks up a camera purely for pleasure, this has prompted me on many occasions to try something different and expand my experience. A quick thanks to all. Malcolm
