 |
Shoot The Verb
October 2008 |
By Roger Cox Cameras are devices that respond to light. The basic concepts behind photography haven’t really changed much since they were first invented. Cameras control light to capture images on media. That’s all there is to it. Light, a piece of glass, and something to shine the light on that is physically sensitive to it. But most photographers are not interested in just “pictures”; we want to capture something else. We want emotion, shock, rawness, elegance, fear, solace, greatness, passion, indifference, we want the verb! For me, looking through a lens is like seeing slices of life. A photo of an athlete can capture more than just their physical attributes. It can capture a glimpse of the person. In essence, all the things that got them to this moment may flash out across the stage to be seized by my camera lens. As I frame a contest through the eyepiece of my rig, I am looking for that moment when the story of that person comes through. I watch the eyes, and look for the delivery from the person. I am looking for what they are unknowingly trying to tell me. I am never disappointed. It always comes through, and I am ready to catch it, That verb, That exclamation point. It might come as part of a pose, or a smile, a look, or an expression. It is that connection that I want to capture. Lights and shadows help deliver the verbs. But it all comes together in the eyepiece. When I see it, I hit the trigger. For the most part, that is how shooting a contest goes for me. It is like a treasure hunt, or panning for gold. The camera is my sieve and the endless stream of images is passing by me waiting for the one to be plucked from the river. The moments happen fast, and are so very fleeting. Because I am not just shooting pictures. I am not just making a catalogue of factual statements about what happened first, then second, then third, etc. I am capturing small fractals… little verbs,…that make sentences, people, events, and life.
|