Photography is About the Moments.

What I look for when I take photos.

When I first got into photography, I had one thing in mind when I went on photo walks. I’m sure a lot of you have heard of the ‘rule of thirds’, and how it’s an effective way to add interest to a photograph. Well, for me, this was the holy grail of my earlier photos. I disregarded every other vocabulary in the photographer’s dictionary, less so because I disagreed but more so because I hadn’t reached those pages yet.

A man pushing a food cart: I’d see him in terms of the sidewalk to his right, parallel to the busy, traffic streaming, street to his left.

A couple sitting on a bench in the park: I’d see them in front of the fountain in the distance, which occupies the remaining 2/3 of the image.

Everywhere I looked, I’d see these splits in the scenery, as if a camera grid was placed in front of my eyes. I wouldn’t know it then, but these early hunches of composing an image laid the foundation to my work today.

Over time, I paid less attention to the rule of thirds. Of course, I still apply this to my photos, but like many rules, this one was also meant to be broken. The grid within my eyes is still there, but I see so much more now.

Which direction is the light travelling in? Where is the subject in terms of the light source? How quickly is the person moving? From what angle should I take the photo? How close to the subject should I get? — these are amongst the questions which stream through my mind when I frame a shot.

Answering these questions serve a single purpose; to prepare me for the moment. It’s difficult to describe what constitutes a moment, as it depends on the specific instance. For example, in the photo to the left, you wouldn’t be able to see the woman if she wasn’t directly illuminated by light from within the office.

Time is ever moving, and so is everything in sight. A second of hesitation could mean the sun being obscured by the lazily drifting clouds, never to illuminate the scene in the same way again. Another second could mean the subject noticing me, and veering off to give me the landscape (an act of kindness, but nonetheless a detriment as they are no longer where I want them). As such, the ability to be ready is paramount. The questions prepare me for the magnitude of the moment; to not let a never to be seen again occurrence slip through my fingers due to technical shortcomings.

So, to bring us back to the beginning, what do I look for when I take photos? Do I search for moments? Yes and no. I look for the potential of a moment occurring, but not the moment itself. The more I try to do so, the less likely I am to produce anything of worth. Rather, it’s about laying the groundwork, to be patient, and to know that as soon as I see something, I’m ready. Photography is about the moments which come and go and my job is simply to be ready and forever capture them through my photographs.