When I got back from this particular assignment, working for Costa del Mar and the IndiFly Foundation in French Polynesia, I sat down to review the images with a friend. We came across this shot and he commented, “How’d you get them to pose so nicely?” I laughed. No posing involved. In fact, unless it’s absolutely unavoidable, I don’t pose folks I’m shooting with… it changes the energy of the shot. What were real grins become fixed grimaces. A natural movement becomes awkward and self-conscious. Moments are missed.
For this shot, while wading the flats of the remote atoll we were working on, it was a challenge to shoot in front of the anglers without spooking potential bonefish and bluefin trevally in front of us. I was constantly pushing through the water, looking for angles that wouldn’t interfere with fishing but would make for strong images. On this particular flat the footing was terrible — thick, oozing mud that threatened to suck the boots from our feet. Everyone save Raphael, our local guide, took falls as our feet stuck but our bodies kept moving forward. I kept the camera raised above my head, saving it from deep water and the inevitable falls. We’d paused to reconnoiter when Raphael spotted a group of bones moving some hundred yards ahead. All three anglers stopped talking and immediately looked to the fish… I raised the camera, and the shot was made. The reflection in Raphael’s sunglasses tells a story within a story; we were on the hunt and movie with a purpose.
Fight the urge to pose your subjects. Let them interact naturally and wait for the moment to come. It will be all the more authentic when you do.
Keeping gear functional and ready to work in saltwater situations – especially wading situations — is challenging. Here, a Canon 5D Mark III teamed with a 17-40 lens, keeps things open and to the point. Wide-angle lenses make you move your feet (thick mud nonetheless) and frame the shot from close quarters. A quality photograph should pick up your subjects and transport them to that place — to that flat, that atoll, that saltwater.
Tags: Travel
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This is an awesome picture. I love the story behind it. I didn’t even notice the reflection in Raphael’s glasses until you mentioned it. Great detail and clarity in the photo. You really have a gift.
Thanks, Kevin. We called Raphael “Poseidon” — he truly was the god of the sea on Anaa. Great guide and an even better guy.