42 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY JUNE 2016
several layers of meaning, but always keep an eye out for these
layered pictures while shooting, selecting and arranging the
images for the story.04
Trust your instincts
Picture yourself walking through a bustling city with
your camera around your neck for your storytelling project on
“Finding calmness in the chaos”. There’s a constant sound of
horns as you try to dodge your way through the traffic. Your
mind is racing, as is your heart: it’s a total sensory overload.
You spot an interesting looking character across the street,
sitting quietly reading the newspaper amidst the chaos.
You’ve been trying to find your peace in the chaos and think
to yourself ‘this is the shot’, so you approach slowly, raise the
camera to your eye and click the shutter.
Next minute you hear the sound of a bus screeching to a halt,
which makes you turn your head frantically to jump out of the
way, but as you spin around you notice the bus is just coming to
a standstill and people are about to get off. There’s a man in the
window sitting calmly smoking his cigarette. Within seconds you
raise the camera to your eye and take another shot, framing the
passengers leaping out of the doors and the man sitting in the
window, all in one frame. These are two examples of times I’ve
trusted my instincts. Trusting your instincts to take a picture is
important. In this case, finding peace amongst the chaos and to
capture it despite the urge to move through the crowd without
taking a single photo.
Photography has the ability to capture and freeze moments in
time that we may never have thought about until picking up the
camera. These are the moments that inspire us as photographers,
and can help us create our own unique vision. If you notice
something in particular and think it may be a good photoTOP TO BOTTOM
This image was
taken with my
favourite focal
length, 35mm. Wide
lenses force you to
move closer, which
I find results in more
personal images.
Canon 5D Mk II,
35mm f1.4 lens,
1/200s @ f/1.8, 400
ISO. Adjustments
in Lightroom.
A slower shutter
speed enabled me
to blur the world
while keeping focus
on my subject.
Fujifilm X100S,
35mm f2 lens @
1/15s @ f/16, 100
ISO, handheld.
Adjustments
in Lightroom.
Tuk-Tuk driver
having a nap on a
hot day in Hoi An,
Vietnam. Including
the bicycle wheel
told more about
his story. Fujifilm
X100S, 35mm f2
lens, 1/160s @
f/7.1, ISO 200.
Adjustments
in Lightroom.