As mentioned in the previously, I used the Egton Agricutural Show as this exercise.
When photographing a public event it’s essential to plan the shoot. Reading ‘Behind the image’ by Anna Fox / Natasha Caruana, many aspects of the planning are described. Of relevance to this exercise, the following topics need to be addressed:
· Topic or theme – in this case, people and what they are doing.
· Approach and methods – I’ll try to blend in with the crowds and use the cameras hand held (tripods wouldn’t work for this close contact / candid photography)
· Timetable – I downloaded the show schedule to determine the opening times of the grounds and tents to the public. Arriving when the tents were still closed for judging would restrict the possible situations, also there would be less people attending the show until the opening of these areas. Arriving too late would make parking difficult.
· Having a local knowledge of the event (I’ve shown livestock at previous shows, many years ago) means that I have a fairly good idea what’s going to be available to me, so research with the downloaded schedule should suffice.
· Reviewing / editing the images in an opportune moment on the camera will reduce the number of images to wade through when they’ve been downloaded, but will also give an indication of the viability of the ones that have been captured. The majority of the editing will be done at home.
· For this project I will require sharp images of the subject’s faces, so fairly fast shutter speeds are needed. I’ll use a relatively wide aperture with potentially increased ISO to attain this for the majority of images, but this will remain flexible as the day continues. I’ll be using the Nikon D300s in aperture priority, with the Nikkor 18-200 mm VR lens. The lens will be set in Active VR to allow hand held use with a long telephoto if required. Operating with this set up will help me merge into the crowd more easily and enable quicker response to candid images.
The final images are as follows:
Starting in the Arts and Crafts tent I came across this lady working with her silk flowers, oblivious to the people around her.
ISO 200, 170 mm (255 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/125 sec.
I liked the way she was surrounded by her wares, with lots of colour. The wide aperture has caused her surroundings to be out of focus, while the subject herself is sharp. If she’d looked up it could have been a good portrait image, but the object was to have her unaware of being photographed.
This stall holder obviously knew one of the spectators.
ISO 200, 170 mm (255 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/250 sec.
Again, the wide aperture has worked to separate the subject from her surroundings. It looks to be really happy to see this person. It’s a shame that there are items intruding into the image (the written page and the elbow) but not a lot could be done about it in these circumstances.
ISO 400, 200 mm (300 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/160 sec.
Moving into a darker area within the tent, I increased the ISO, to allow better shutter speeds for the hand held camera. This image epitomizes the potter for me – no makeup, no hairstylist and clothes that could only be worn by a craft artisan!
ISO 200, 65 mm (97 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5, 1/500 sec.
Moving outside I passed some of the trade stands – this one selling walking canes. This young lady looks somewhat perplexed by the array available. I used the canes to provide a sense of place – They’re out of focus, but the subject is still reasonably clear. It’s a shame about her second head, but it’s difficult to get the perfect ‘clean’ image under these circumstances. I could clone the head out of the image if required.
ISO 200, 105 mm (157 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.3, 1/400 sec.
Here’s a girl who’s happy in her work, selling wonderful looking baking. I still find it surprising that I can capture this type of image without being noticed, or without the subject objecting.
ISO 400, 200 mm (300 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/320 sec.
I increased the ISO again to photograph in the Handicrafts tent. This lady was incredulous that the rosette was given to a fruitcake of that quality! There are so many experts at these events.
ISO 400, 112 mm (168 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.3, 1/400 sec.
We have consternation again as the merits of the carved crooks are discussed. I like the way the older gentleman is so engrossed. The way he’s holding his hands accentuates his concentration as the younger man directs his gaze. By shooting with some crooks in the foreground it’s given some sense of place.
ISO 400, 65 mm (97 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5, 1/640 sec.
Moving into the ‘Small Livestock’ tent, judging is still taking place for some rabbit breeds. I took this image to show the judge working in his field, surrounded by the cages of the animals he is assessing. I should have been more careful with the framing and not cut off the top of his head – I was more interested in keeping him in context with his surroundings.
ISO 400, 200 mm (300 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/640 sec.
I’m not sure of this man’s position in the show. He’s in the judging area, so he may be a judge, an official of the show, or an exhibitor. Whatever his position, he was holding forth with people in the public concourse and he seemed quite at home resting on the top of the cages.
ISO 400, 200 mm (300 mm equivalent 35 mm), f/5.6, 1/1250 sec.
I happened across this man on my way back to the car. He was competing in the ‘agricultural horses’ section in the main ring. I still had a high ISO selected from the handicrafts tent, but time was of the essence and it really was just a grab shot. I think this image captures the character of this showman and puts him in context with his horses.
It’s been an interesting day out and I’ve favoured long lens settings to get ‘close up’ images of the subjects. I’ve really surprised myself with the ease of capturing these portraits and gained lots of confidence in taking them.
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