Photo
Sep, 2012Views
61
Likes
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 2Top 30 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken near Sacre Cuor, Montmartre, Paris while exploring the streets nearby. I usually travel on foot and each photo is something that caught my eye along the way.Time
I remember walking for a couple of hours and arrived on top of the hill around noon, just in time for this performer to start. Once he started, I was amazed by the agility of the movements and how a small crowd started gathering around the pillar he was performing on. What is also of note is that below that pillar there is a huge drop, one mistake and it can end really badly.Lighting
Just make sure that the lights compliment the subject is such a way as to accentuate it. This is why I went on top of a tire to elevate myself from the crowd without loosing time to search for a spot which would have been further. That is the thing with prime lenses, you have to zoom with your feet, whenever possible.Equipment
I used my everyday companion camera; a Fuji X-Pro 1 with 35mm lens. I was not using a tripod when I took it but climbed on top of a parked car's front tire to take the shotsInspiration
The performer and the setting. With Paris suburbs underneath and the performer high up doing his act with a football was just something not to be missed. I personally come from a small island in Malta and such opportunities do not exist. The combination of both made it a rare occasion to combine both human risk taking and the environment underneath it.Editing
Yes, post processing was done to put more drama on the event and detaching the performer from the background city. This was achieved through black and white to have a better effect considering the tones and the contrasts were complimenting to each other.In my camera bag
I carry a standard tripod which folds to 40cm in length, my X-Pro1 with 35mm attached and an 18mm in the bag together with a 200mm attached to a Pentax K-10D camera. 2 spare batteries for each and 3 SD cards matching the lifetime of the batteries. I also have two cable shutter release for long exposures together with the lens cleaning kit.Feedback
My advice is to hold your breath and not get too excited before pressing the shutter. Timing the subject's movement and anticipating what will happen also helps to capture a scene like this without bursts. Try and find a complementing frame that goes well with the subject and it's foreground and picture it before. These type of images do not allow for retries and that one shot will be missed. Some luck is also in order :)
