The value of a single photo

[shadowfox]

A micro-blog, if you will:

Last Saturday I -- with the urging from my wife because she is the one with the better taste -- took the family to the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas downtown.

Featured that night is the best violin player in the world, Mr. Itzhak Perlman himself accompanied by the host, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

After finishing one long piece which name I can't recall (I am not a classical music connoisseur, my music taste is too eclectic), which ended up in standing ovation, of course, Mr. Perlman indicated for everyone to sit down and he proceeded to say that he'll play something special that was originally prepared for the encore.

Then he played the theme song for the movie "Schindler's List".

I found myself so mesmerized that I closed my eyes, lost in the beauty of the melodies produced by the master's fingers, and more importantly, his heart.

It is true what people said, there is only one violin player in the world which that song is meant to be played by.

By the time I opened my eyes, the song was completed. The symphony hall was so quiet for a long time. Then suddenly it erupted in applause and standing ovation that must have been lasted more than 5 minutes.

This is a single picture that I took right at that moment...

Now let me tie this back to photography.
The picture above was taken with my Canon P rangefinder + the lowly Jupiter 8 lens. A far cry from the M240 with Summilux or the A7 or the D800.

But did I wish that I took it with a better camera? Better lens?
Did I scrutinize the photo finding faults with exposure, flare, angle, etc?

No, no, and no.

That lone photo is enough for me to remember that moment by. That moment is a special one for me and my wife.

Would I be happy with more sharply focused, extremely detailed photos? I can honestly say: No.

The point? Don't overlook the value of a single but special photo *you* take.

Recognize that you won't take these special ones that often, they are few and far between, but it is the attitude of not giving up and to keep trying that will allow you to take them..

And when you do, it may not mean much for others, but a single B&W, imperfect photo can give you a life time worth of memory that outlast 3000 snaps taken with the latest camera technology.

 

[mfunnell]

The first thing I have to say here is that it is a good photo. Really. Don't think for a moment that the skills you have, and have learned, haven't fed into excellent execution, here.

But then, you're right. You were there, we weren't. We'll never have those memories, and you do. But isn't it worth having that photo to remind you? Of course it is! That is your point.

Yet not having been there, I'm glad you showed us the photo, and gave us the story of how it came to be. It is nothing like being there, because nothing can be. But I'm still glad you told us and showed us.

...Mike

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Nice shot and words, Will... Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Juan

 

[bwidjaja]

I found myself so mesmerized that I closed my eyes, lost in the beauty of the melodies produced by the master's fingers, and more importantly, his heart.

It is true what people said, there is only one violin player in the world which that song is meant to be played by.

By the time I opened my eyes, the song is completed. The symphony hall was so quiet for a long time. Then suddenly it erupted in applause and standing ovation that must have been lasted more than 5 minutes.

This sums it up and even your photo does not do justice for someone who was not there.

Though, I wholeheartedly agree that the photo is fine as it is and it does represent the moment with your excellent explanation.
I think I should keep my J8 😉

 

[V-12]

And when you do, it may not mean much for others, but a single B&W, imperfect photo can give you a life time worth of memory that outlast 3000 snaps taken with the latest camera technology.

I agree, without the explanation it would just be a picture of an orchestra getting applause, and all orchestras get some applause. I wonder if all the pictures of sunsets could benefit from an explanation of why it is special, given one happens every single day? Perhaps it would make photographers think more about their images if they had to explain them, to gauge if they understood what they are showing to people, and why?

Steve

 

[shadowfox]

Thank you Mike, Berhen, and Juan for the kind words.

Steve, I wonder about that myself. I often thought that an excellent photo should be able to stand on its own without narration. But that is certainly not true for the above photo. As you said, without narration, how can it explain itself?

 

[noisycheese]

I remember back in the days of Yore, a lost/damaged/destroyed E-6 chrome was considered by professional photographers to be billable to the responsible party at $1500 USD per lost/damaged/destroyed E-6 chrome. I doubt that that holds up in today's world.

 

[Swift1]

Very well written post and a superb photo. And a very good point.

 

[kbg32]

Bad photos, imperfect photos can be taken with any technology, old or new. What matters is that the image holds a meaning, an emotion, that brings back a memory, to a time, a place, that you hold in your heart.

 

[pete hogan]

Swell picture and moment, Will. We're glad we saw it.

 

[charjohncarter]

Sometimes, as in this case all your skills come together at one moment, even if though it is a tough shot. But you took a winner even with all the negatives handed to you. These faults you worried about add to the emotion and the feeling you captured. I like it.

 

[f16sunshine]

Hi Will

I love your photograph.
The story you tell and this photograph that accompanies are both very much worth sharing.
You demonstrate an important point for all of us RFFers
Thank you 🙂

 

[shadowfox]

Colton, Keith, Pete, John and Andy.
Thank you for the encouragement.

Will I agree with everyone --- but can't help asking, any idea why the photo seems to be reticulated?

Fred,

No particular post processing was done. Just a little crop and contrast adjustment.

Is this better?
I applied the denoise in darktable just a tad.
I didn't bother doing a high resolution scan for this one because I'm planning to print this frame in the darkroom, now that would be a challenge in itself 🙂

 

[lynnb]

thanks for sharing that special story, which makes the photo special, too. It's always good to be reminded that the moment, and emotion, are always more important than the equipment.

It got me thinking that it's a good idea to go through our photo archives and both caption and write the story that goes with the pictures that are special to us. Particularly the family photos. Otherwise, how is one to know that the picture of the baby standing is actually their very first steps?

Much appreciate that you've prompted me to think of this.