A morning whim
A morning whim
"I sometimes act on a whim; I happen to do things on the spur of the moment. You know, the kind of moment you say to yourself “Now, I’ve got my mind made up, I'm ready, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
I sometimes act on a whim; I happen to do things on the spur of the moment. You know, the kind of moment you say to yourself “Now, I’ve got my mind made up, I'm ready, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
May 19, 2017
Today’s April 4, 2017 and it’s 11 PM. The time for me to do a quick check on maps, google street view, and 2-3 apps just to check the position of the sun at such an early hour and I fall into the arms of Morpheus.
5:30 – the alarm rings. This is April and the sun begins to rise relatively early. It’s a rude awakening, but it’s really worth it. I head for Paris metro line 13 and a few (long) minutes later, firmly holding my camera in my hand, here I am. This is the Bourse metro station located just at the intersection of Réaumur St. / Léon Cladel St. and its skatepark...
I’ve discovered and learned to appreciate mornings in Paris. The moment when Parisian life is getting no longer the same. “Paris s'éveille”, as the French say – some people are jogging; others are already late; dogs are being walked around; and sidewalk cafes are gradually being filled with voices crying out "Un café, s’il vous plaît !".
I get on the scene; the morning spot is perfect – lighting, sun position, foreground, depth and, no parasitic elements. The time for me to soak up the atmosphere and find the right angle and before I know it, I have already taken fifty photos. I test angles, zoom lenses, situations... With my being so eternally dissatisfied, none of these fifty photos gives me a thrill. So my patience and I are keeping on shooting...
Here we go, I finally found the right lens, the right shot, the right spot, and the right angle. Looking through the lens with one eye for shooting, keeping the other one relatively open for anticipating, waiting for photo ops... Red lights, green lights... I find myself analyzing peak hours, counting seconds.
Then she crossed the street in front of me, as though she was in a hurry, moving so fast that I don’t even remember her face, nor do I remember how old she may have been. Here she is in the middle of the street, her hair blowing in the wind, walking at a brisk pace... That’s it, my shoot is done.
Camera : Canon 70D
Lens : Canon 10-18mm
Settings : 16mm | f/5,6 | 1/125s | ISO 100