One of the BEST Photographs I have ever taken
There are snapshots and then there are photographs, this in my opinion is a photograph. (more on that below)
Before the Popes visit on Saturday I walked around the city looking to capture images of whatever presented itself. While walking back down the Ben Franklin bridge which was closed to cars, I see Jaleel King rolling his way towards me.
I snap off a few frames of him with his classic smiling face before he comes to a stop and I take two more. Little did I know one of those frames would turn out to be one of the all time favorite photos I have taken.
The funny thing is, during my first go through I saw three images of Jaleel that I thought were good and told a nice story. But when I came upon this image unedited I thought something could be there.
As I started to process the RAW file and converted it to black and white I simply had to stop. You know how people say you get “the feels”, this gave me the feels. The edited image simply stopped me in my tracks. It came to life, it spoke to me, it felt like I captured the essence of Jaleel.
This is what I mean when I say there are snapshots and then there are photographs. A photograph stops you in your tracks and illicit’s some type of emotion. You know them when you see them.
Jaleel is one of the nicest persons I have ever met. He always has a warm smile on his face and a BIG ASS hug waiting for whoever wants one. He has a sense of humor about his situation and doesn’t let very much get him down. Honestly I have never heard him complain about his situation. Think about that the next time you want to complain about something.
Now let’s me breakdown this image. I love how Jaleel is the entire focus of the image yet he is not looking at me at all. It makes you wonder what is he looking at, what’s there. It’s such a natural and relaxed look. His hands are on his wheels, a cameras is around his neck and there’s a smile on his face.
I love where he’s at in the frame, I love how the background is blown out enough to keep the focus on Jaleel but not be distracting. The shadow on the ground is a nice subtle detail and the metal separation of the bridge seems to work.
What gets me the most is the way the Black and White feels. It just feels right, the tones and contrast fit my style and the image. I did flip back and forth with the color a few times but color didn’t seem to give me the same feeling.
I consider this to be one of the best photos I have ever taken. It’s personal to me which probably gives it more meaning.
Nikon D4s Nikon 24-70 2.8 at 66mm
1/800th at F3.2 ISO 100
Shot RAW, Not Cropped, Edited in Adobe Lightroom CC
