Learning by Doing

Birthday Bash

Ruanthai, Grahamstown

I tend to be a planner. I like to have an idea in mind of exactly what an event is going to be like, what angles I am going to be able to take from and what photos I am going to be taking. I have lists. I like everything to be perfectly in order. And that, as a photographer, is a terrible idea.

There are times when things don't go according to plan. There are times when the light just isn't right, when your subjects just aren't co-operating and when your lists get blown away by the wind. Weather changes, things come up and there is nothing that you can do about it. You just have to be prepared to roll with whatever comes your way. Which I find difficult to do, but seem to be getting some practice with.

Take for example the birthday party that I was hired to photograph over the weekend. I was given weeks of notice. I had my gear packed and ready for whatever lighting I might have come across. I felt prepared. I arrived early. I got the prepping shots, the details down to a tee. And then things started heading a little south.

I had been hired for an hour to take photos at the start of the birthday dinner before the guests settled in to their meal, while they were still milling around and having starters and chatting. But it turns out that the one person who wanted photos of everyone, the birthday boy himself, had a family emergency and was going to be late. So I ended up being a photographer in a room filled with people who didn't particularly want to have their photos taken. Everyone was chatting, eating, mingling with each other and there I was, on the outskirts, snapping away wherever possible. People tended to hide their heads when the camera turned in their directions and duck out of my gaze. Which makes the job of documenting the party more than a little difficult.

I tend to like candid shots more than posed ones - shots that bring out the light in people without their even knowing about it. Which is difficult in a room with less than ten people when you are the one with the big camera. Everyone knows who you are photographing and when. And if they don't want to have their photograph taken, it makes it very difficult. But I managed nonetheless. It turns out that some of the best photos of the evening were the candid ones, the posed ones feeling, at times, a little too posed.

 

 I have learned my lesson. You'd have thought that I would have learned it way back at my first wedding shoot, but I consider it learned now. You can prepare for weeks, months, maybe even years. But in the end, when you are photographing people, nothing can prepare you for how they will react and what will happen. You've just got to be ready for whatever comes your way. 


I never ended up getting a single photograph of the birthday boy - he arrived an hour after I had to leave. But I consider this to be a learning experience. I consider this to be a test of what I can make of a difficult situation. I consider myself ready.

Day Ninety-Three

Sunday was what my friend Amy refers to as her Australia Day. It was our celebration of the day that Amy was adopted and brought to Australia, and back home she usually celebrates it by going out with her family for Korean food. Since she is in Korea, she decided that a reverse effect would be appropriate, and on Sunday night she invited some of her close friends to share a dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Of course, the dinner had to include wine, and this Australian bottle was the one that ended up being shared by the table.

Shutter speed: 1/30

Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 1600

Day Fifty-Three

Yesterday Jess and I decided to go out for some dinner. We weren't looking to have a big meal, just something small and filling. Unfortunately, we chose to go to a restaurant where the smallest meal was giant. We got some delicious lean pork, all different kinds of side dishes including kimchi, fish, tofu and, of course, doenjang jjigae, or "smelly foot soup" as I like to call it. It is a really healthy, really spicy, really smelly soup that usually tastes delicious. I didn't try any of it last night after Jess warned me that it was pretty spicy, but I did take this photo of it.

Shutter speed: 1/40
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200

Day Forty-Three

Saturday night was the latest in a month of celebrations for Jessica's birthday and four of us (Jessica, Adriana, Ross and myself) went out for a nice dinner at VIPS to celebrate properly. While the other celebration dinners have revolved around Asian food, we decided that Western food was needed. And what goes better with Western food than Western wine? Picture number 43 is of the wine being poured.

Shutter speed: 1/25
Aperture: f/4.5
ISO: 3200

Day Thirty-Four

Because today was Jess's birthday, we decided to meet up for dinner, just the two of us, before Taekwondo. It wasn't a particularly special dinner - we needed somewhere nearby and quick so that we could eat and go to get to class within an hour, so we ended up heading to a sushi restaurant that I had never been to. After catching up on news and our various bad weeks, we quickly chose something to eat and ordered away. It took longer than usual because the kitchen was busy with a big takeaway order, but the meal was definitely worth the wait. I can't remember the last time that I had sushi that good or that cheap (only 5,000 won) and I will definitely be going back there very very VERY soon (possibly on Monday). So tonight's photo is of our meals - mine being sushi and maki? soup and Jess's being some form of noodle soup with side-sushi and rice.

Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO: 320

Day Thirty-Two

I was sitting at work this afternoon just before hometime and was contemplating what on earth I was going to do for dinner when Grant suggested a salad. Although I shrugged the suggestion off at first, it stuck with me and I decided that it wasn't such a bad plan after all. And so I made my way to the store and started chucking things into a basket. Anything that I could picture in a salad was bought until I had a ginormous, ridiculous salad planned out in my head of lettuce, tomato, chicken, ham, tteok (rice cakes) in soy sauce and dried noodles (think the two-minute variety). I came home and carefully put the meal together, and today's picture is of the resulting monstrosity, which actually didn't taste too bad once the tomatoes were removed (why I bothered with tomatoes when I hate them I will never know, but I thought they would go nicely. They didn't.)

Shutter speed: 1/50
Aperture: f/4.5
ISO: 1000

Day Eighteen

Inspired by my diet, my taekwondo classes and Jess's cooking skills, I decided to invite Jess around for a healthy dinner before tonight's lesson. I walked to the shops after school (a feat in itself) and got all of the ingredients for a chicken stir fry and a fruit salad. I spent a good while cleaning my apartment and the rest of the time cutting and chopping away and by the time the preparations were done, I had five minutes to rest before the cooking had to start. It was a very busy evening and not one that I am likely to repeat anytime soon unless Jess wants more food and I have more energy which, after tonight, is not looking all that likely. Anywho, today's photo is of some of the ingredients waiting to be cooked. Taken at 1/100 shutter speed, which I realise in hindsight to be a bit too high but it worked regardless, an aperture of 5.6 and an ISO of 2000. It isn't a perfect photo, there is no denying that, but I like it anyway.

Day Six

It has almost been a full week since I started taking these pictures, and it hasn't been an easy one. I have already found myself pondering indoor photos and not wanting to venture outside. I blame the rain and my incessant sickness that has started once again. But despite that, I have managed to venture out every night thus far and have not yet resorted to pictures of my apartment.


Tonight I went out for a late dinner with David, Jenna, Gary, Amanda, Blake, Rebekah and Robyn in celebration of Blake's birthday. We had some Shabu Shabu, one of my favourites, and it was delicious (though not as good as the restaurant that my co-teacher takes me to.) This photo was taken shortly into the meal, prompted by Blake's admiring the chopsticks. As he was the birthday boy, I obliged and the pic actually ended up coming out really nicely. So here it is! Taken at 1/100 shutter speed with an aperture of 3.5 and an ISO of 1600. Hope you like it!

Day Two

After a very late night (or early morning), I woke up around noon and headed with Jess to Starbucks for some much needed food and hydration. This is a photo of the free caramel latte sample that they gave me, taken with at a shutter speed of 1/25, with a 5.0 aperture and 640 ISO.