Pro photographer Daniel Linnet explains how an unplanned meeting allowed him to capture this striking image.
It would be fair to say that to a certain extent, photography can be a game of chance. I guess that’s what makes it even more exciting!
As a commercial photographer I find it essential to continually produce personal work, and this work, in turn, fuels the inspiration for any commercial/advertising imagery. Rarely do I leave the studio without some form of an image capture device because you never know when a great shot will present itself.
This image, which was selected for the Fuji ACMP Photographers Collection 9, was partly spontaneous and partly careful planning.
My personal work regime sometimes consists of grabbing the camera and with no apparent destination in mind setting off by public transport on a carefree photographic expedition.
On this particular day in Sydney I boarded the ferry to Manly from Circular Quay and I was inspired by the interaction of these two guys. I acknowledged them with a friendly nod and as I began to shoot candidly their interaction became more theatrical. At the end of the trip we had a brief chat and parted ways.
Twenty minutes later and several hundred metres down the promenade, I spotted this bike chained to a pole. Suddenly the two individual elements formed a concept. I had to get that shot! As luck had it, I spotted their bright shirts glistening in the sun, about 100 metres back and as I had hoped, they were eager to participate. They were loving it and I knew I had the shot after shooting six frames! We went on to spend the afternoon wandering around, chatting and shooting which resulted in two other folio-worthy images.
In this shot I had to compose around the fact that I couldn’t reposition the bike or unchain it and therefore the pole had to remain. By cropping the image short I effectively reduced the impact of the sign post. If you look closely you can actually see a short length of it under the seat. It was tempting to remove it in post-production, but I chose to leave the integrity of the image intact by not altering its elements. Post-production did however, consist of some colour work.
As a “people” photographer I find some of the best shots I get are spontaneous, but that doesn’t mean that, at times, careful thought and planning don’t play a significant part in portraying the character of a subject. Incorporating your insight and skill are essential to be able to convey an intended result.
Daniel Linnet runs a commercial and advertising studio based in Sydney, specialising in photographing people. To view Linnet’s online folio go to www.linnetfoto.com.
Image by Daniel Linnet. (Film: Fuji Press ISO 800 (shot at ISO 400), F Stop: f4, Camera: Canon 1V, Lens: Canon 28-70mm L f2.8.)
Article first published in Australian Photography.