One random Thursday, a little while ago, I got a little tipsy. And when I get tipsy, I tend to become very inspired and creative…
I was browsing through photos on Flickr and was amazed at how different a location I knew so well, such as the main intersection in Venice, looked in these pictures. I found myself becoming frustrated at myself for not taking the initiative to go out on a night-time shoot around Venice, despite having lived in the West Side for nearly 2 years! I began having an inner dialogue, contemplating whether I should do this tonight… right now… this very moment.
After finishing the glass of wine that I probably shouldn’t have had, my inner self won the battle. I told my roommate that “I’M FEELING INSPIRED! I’M GOING ON A PHOTOSHOOT!” and that she should send the search and rescue team if I’m not back in 2 hours.
I hopped on my bike, and paddled to the intersection with my camera bag hanging off one shoulder, and a tripod in the other hand. When I arrived at my destination nearly out of breath, just to my luck, there was a film crew shooting at that particular location and had a large section of it blocked off. I was told to “Miss, step aside” but I wasn’t going to give up. I set up my tripod as I was being told to “MOVE!”, and fought off the crew that “I NEED THIS SHOT!” After arguing with the crew and pissing them off, I was only able to take 8 shots at my location. But now that I see the photo, I’m satisfied with what I was able to get, given the circumstances.
To counter my disappointment, I felt a strong desire to take more photos at at least one more location before heading home. I decided to stop by the Venice Canals for an experimental, nighttime shoot. What I mean by experimental is that I had no plan on where or how I was going to shoot. I aimlessly crossed bridges until I found a lit-enough location, giving me some lighting to work with. The more I experimented with the settings, the more excited (and somewhat relieved) I got for capturing interesting shots.
This image required very little editing; just some color balancing but I feel the lighting captured the stillness really accurately.
I think my spur of the moment nighttime photoshoot was fairly successful. Perhaps I should act upon instinct more often…
xoxo,
Janice
