My Image Heavens and Nuns is one that I get questioned about the most when I exhibit it.

People really seem to be intrigued by what is happening in this image and mostly stunned that it was in fact taken in Paris.

This image is from one of the photowalks I used to organize, I wanted to explore the city with other eager photographers so I started a weekly photo walk. It was fun for one summer and some of my best images in my portfolio were taken during those walks.

When I captured this image the walk was focused in the Bercy area of Paris,  it was midday with harsh sunlight, which meant all the shadows would have sharp edges and any white areas could be blown out or lack detail when photographed. The photowalks would meet in an area and just walk wherever inspiration led us. It was a small group and I prefered it that way because it was a small dedicated group and the other members were like me, not very chatty and focused on being in the moment.

On this particular walk we had planned to walk around the Bercy area of Paris, one that I did not know very well, and wanted to go explore. It was very different from what you found in your everyday parisian landscape. The buildings were tall, modern and built around a deck motif. All wooden planked walkways that opened into a big geometric square, full of lines and reflections.

A perfect place to practice strong and creative compositions, a photographer's playground filled with all of the elements one can want for: leading lines, triangles, squares, curves, repetition, shadow and light, movement and stillness, you name it and it was there at your beckon call.

We continued from the Bibliotheque Francois Mitterrand and walked over a curved, wooden bi-level bridge that connected with the near by park. Once you entered, you were at the foot of a water fountain leading down further into the park, on either side were stairs.

We went down the stairs and all silently decided to play with the movement of the water as it came running down the slope of the fountaine. So we unpacked our gear and started playing without tripods, ND filters and shutter remotes.

It was a fun experiment as those things always tend to be, and we stayed for quite awhile as we were playing with long exposures of 10, 20 and 30 second shutter speeds. As I mentioned it was midday and the light was quite strong; I was the first to give up on the water series, I wasn't getting anything that pleased me and began to get bored with it all. As the other two members continued their water trials I started to look else where and explored the near by surroundings.

There were people picnicking on the grass in front of us, teens skateboarding in the far back, groups working out, dogs running for various objects thrown by their human companions; A plethora of things to photograph.

We had been walking in the sun for nearly two hours and I think fatigue was creeping in on all of us and it would soon be time to end this walk. So i never ventured away from the group and into the possibilities in front of me. Not wanting to rush or intrude on the creativity of the group, I just rested and watched as the others tried to create an interesting image.

But I kept my eyes open and looked up at the top of the fountain where I could see people who just entered the park do as we did when we first arrived. Stand on the ledge and survey the area around them. I started taking interest in the comings and goings of these people and picked my camera back up and started documenting the visitors.

As I did three nuns had unexpectedly appeared and spent some time just on the edge of the fountain, I honestly can't tell you why they were there or even how they were sitting from my angle, as there was no public seating situated in that area. I took a few shoots and finally they fell into this pattern, together but separated by their own thoughts.

At that second I had a choice, to either jump back onto my tripod and try to capture the moment with a slow shutter speed to make the water smooth and soft or to catch the harsh moment of it. I decided for the later because of the clouds overhead. they looked a bit ragged and uneven and I liked the juxtaposition of the unruly elements surrounding these still and reflective nuns.

At the angle I was in I was shooting up into the raging sun, luckily the clouds had paused overhead just in time to give me a little covering and allowing me to get this semi-silhouette effect.

Even though I created this image, it still intrigues me. There’s so much about it I don't know, why were they there, where were they from, what were they thinking, and what were they sitting on?

I like not knowing these answers, it keeps the me and viewer interacting with the image, trying to fill in the blanks of this unfinished story.

Shoot Setting:
ISO; 400
Focal Length: 75mm
Aperture: F/8.0
Time: 1/100 sec

How I shot it series is a detailed description of my images, where I was, why I shot it, how I saw it and the settings I used.

When I am walking around the streets with my camera I rarely worry about my camera settings. I do a general adjustment and mostly just focus on the time speed as I capture images because I really like a bit of blur and movement. I really like the creative part of photography, I don't care much about gear or the technical aspect of photography. Not to say it isn't important, it's just not what drives me. I care more about connecting to the moment and seeing interactions play out. I can often see a scene and know that with a little patience everything in that moment will play out like a beautifully choreographed dance to reveal a perfectly fleeting moment in time. And my job is to wait, camera in hand ready to capture and preserve its beauty forever. 

The first image is one that I took in Paris, France along the banks of the Seine River. It was a warm summer day, and I had my camera on hand as usual. I was early for a meeting and decided to kill some time exploring. It was a lively afternoon and I was in the heart of the tourist center just behind the Notre Dame on the bridge of Ile St. Louis. The street was busy with people eating the famous Berthillon ice cream found in that particular area.

People were leisurely walking enjoying the Paris backdrop, small crowds gathered as they enjoyed various street performances and the banks were lined with people lazily lingering along the quai. I walked through the unfolding event, carefully observing all of the people as I tend to do with street photography.

I didn't really see anything that caught my eye or very interesting until I got to the end on the bridge where I decided to stop and look out onto the water and see if anything of interest was happening there.

In a small nook where the quai merged with the river there was a small group, two women talking and a child that had taken interest with a flock of pigeons sun bathing all along the short path, just far enough away so that the ebb and flow of the river wouldn't disturb them.

The adults were paying her no mind but her fascination intrigued me. So I continued to watch as she sheepishly approached the flock and I knew that something was about to emerge in front of me. I didn't exactly know what was going to happen but I knew it was going to lead to a wonderful cloud of birds flying away. So I lifted my camera to my eye, braced my elbows on the ledge in front of me and slowed down my shutter speed to capture the sudden burst of movement and I waited.

I took a few images of her timid attempts at making the pigeons fly away and nothing. One, maybe two took notice of her and left; as they did she would run back and hug the wall behind her.

I waited for maybe 10 minutes watching patiently through my lense and she slowly built up enough courage to reach her final goal.

But then the child did something I did not expect, she took her scarf, draped it over her head and shoulders and ran into the flock of pigeons. And as I expected, an incredible moment unfolded; though not the one I originally anticipated.

The girl with her makeshift covering suddenly stopped in mid-attack; her scarf took on a bird-like shape and the birds all flew away in annoyance from the troublesome child that had ruined their peaceful afternoon sunbathing. As it all came together I captured the image below and I instantly knew that I had captured the image I felt was waiting for me in that moment.

Whenever I get an image like this one I tend to feel very grateful to the universe for allowing me to be there at that perfect moment, and it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes “Luck, is when preparation and opportunity meet”

When I got home and uploaded my images I started editing in Lightroom, I turned it black and white, high contrast, with a soft deep vignette to pull the viewer into the scene and closer to the moment.

Shoot Setting:
ISO; 160
Focal Length: 76mm
Aperture: F/20
Time: 1/25 sec

So what do you think of this image?