Wednesday, 4th August, 2010 · 10:28 pm
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Lost in Translation

Being a documentary photographer is all about capturing the truth.

Kinda.

Sometimes the truth can be a bit slippery.

Take this photograph from a recent wedding for instance.

The mother and father of the bride at a wedding in Glandore, Co Cork, Ireland

(c) Roger Overall 2010

What is going on here? Is this a slap or a caress? A gesture of anger or one of affection?

You can’t really tell.

As a documentary photograph, it’s a bit of a dud. Had I been less trigger happy and had I pressed the shutter a fraction of a second later, the story would have been clear. It is, in fact, a gesture of affection between the bride’s parents.

I thought I had something special, caught in the light of a summer’s day. When the shutter clicked, my heart lifted. I felt a real sizzle of excitement. When I saw the image on screen, my heart sank at the missed opportunity.

It happens. It’s part of being a documentary photographer. Problem is, what I do is important. Not heart-surgery important for sure, but I am given the privilege to photograph important moments in people’s lives and record them for posterity. So it really, really bugs me when I miss one – even by the slimmest sliver of a second.

6 Comments

Filed under It Can't All Go Right, Photographs, Photography, Wedding

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  • http://photovi.be/blog/ Tommy

    I disagree. I think you may be too close to the image and maybe blinded by your expectation – eeek! (said with jest).

    I think you can tell exactly what is going on in the image. My take on it – it is an outstretched hand, not a hand raised in anger. An outstretched hand can be for assistance, for comfort, for affection. It can be a hand up. The couple are at comfort with each other. The ambience within the scene, the wine/champers in hand. They are relaxed. If there were anger in the outstretched hand, there would be aggression in the scene – either tacit or explicit but it would show through no matter.

    I think you lose a slight bit of the context of the story to the left hand side into the shadows. The smiling figure just barely visible to the left of the couple is at ease – happiness all around.

    That being said, perhaps there may have been a better moment a fraction of a second later, but meh… you win some, you lose some – a moment, an angle, a perspective, a stop of light…. sometimes things just click (no pun intended) or perhaps they aren’t meant to click.

    Anyhow, that’s my take and you should know that I can often be wrong, but just thought i’d add an alternate perspective.

    Cheers.

  • http://www.petercox.ie Peter Cox

    It really does show how important a fraction of a second can be when it comes to capturing a moment.

    And how important it is to have a camera that reacts when you need it to – this is the opposite problem to the normal one you complain about with the Canons – that they’re too slow. Was this a case of overcompensating for that sluggishness, and with, say, a Leica you might have gotten it just so? =)

  • http://www.rogerverall.net Roger Overall

    Thanks Tommy. Fresh eyes, independent from the creator, give a different perspective.

  • http://www.rogerverall.net Roger Overall

    Well spotted, Peter.

    Indeed, I’m building a case on all fronts to justify the expensive transition. My strategy is to wear the accounts department down gradually until it relents.

  • http://www.johnfinnphotography.com John Finn

    I agree with Tommy. When I saw the image my immediate reaction was that it was a very nice capture of a tender moment. The smile on the woman to the right of the man makes it clear, in my view, that it can only have that interpretation for most observers.

  • http://www.rogerverall.net Roger Overall

    Cheers, John.

    I should hire you and Tommy should sit on my shoulders and whisper encouragement.