Friday, February 15th, 2013

Setup and Wait – the secret of great shots

Often the secret to a great shot is to stop and wait

I shot this image in London recently. I had stopped at a busy street corner waiting for the lights to change and I saw a double decker bus go past and I caught the reflection in the front window. It was bright and colorful – but before I could do anything the bus motored past.

I had a choice, keep walking or stop and wait. I waited. I stood on that street corner waiting for the next double decker bus to come past in a position where the reflection hit the window nicely and without any distracting vehicles between the bus and me. I also wanted a clean bus so the window would reflect well.

It took a while and I shot quite a few buses until I got this shot. It’s a lucky shot in part because I saw the possibilities, the rest of the shot is pure patience – waiting long enough for the situation to occur again.

Do you stop and wait for things to happen or do you just keep moving on?

Helen Bradley

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Have Patience – it will be rewarded – guaranteed!

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is patience. The secret to this image isn’t the place although it was pretty cool or the weather – a hundred feet above the buildings are surrounded with grey fog. It isn’t my camera – it’s good but not great or my skills, anyone on Aperture priority sitting where I was would have got the same shot. No! the secret of this one is patience.

I spent about an hour shooting kids playing in 1 inch of water at this fountain. Waiting. Watching. Hoping for something to happen. I found a good location, got comfortable, and waited. I got a lot of good shots but when this kid opened the umbrella I knew I was onto something. I pressed the shutter and kept going – I didn’t stop when I thought I had the shot I just kept shooting. When I got home, the shots I thought were great were good.  This was the winner,this was the shot that keeps me going out every day… looking for magic.

Next time you’re out shooting – be patient. Find a good spot and wait until magic happens for you.

Helen Bradley