For sports, wildlife and photojournalists, the moment is what the picture is often about. When I travel, I'm like a photojournalist, looking for the moments of daily life, those slices of action or activity that tell a story of the people, the place.
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When traveling in Venice in late May, my final day there found me walking the northeastern promenade, near the optional station for the ferry to Burano. It's a quieter neighborhood, with far few tourists to crowd the wide walk along the water. There are restaurants, and certainly the area caters to tourists (where in Venice doesn't?!) but here, it's the quieter side and I like to wander and watch. On this particular early evening, though, not much was happening, and I was very hungry, so I decided to look for a restaurant on the water and enjoy my last meal there in the waning sun. But less than a minute later, I spotted this couple - saying goodbye - for a few days? weeks? - who knows, but they were passionate, touching, caring, and very sweet. The light was just as sweet, sweeping down the promenade and lighting them well, along with the church door behind them. I began to photograph, and my finger pressed the shutter release every time I saw one of them begin to shift position. The whole time I watched them, voyeuristically through my lens, I was thinking about the passion of Italians, and the single-focusedness that love can create. I tried to capture that - with people walking by while they embraced, and got one here that's OK. But the REAL picture came as a total surprise, when the older couple went walking past arm in arm, while the young couple was in a strong embrace - the final one in fact, before she ran off to the ferry boat. This picture made the waiting and watching all worth it. I used my 70-200mm lens because I didn't want them to see me at all. It was, after all, a private moment.
Working a scene while waiting for the right moment can yield several good pictures, and if you're lucky, and watchful, you can end up with one great storytelling picture in the bunch. I love the final image, of the two couples. To me it says so much about the power of love, and how sweet it is when it's lasting.
Have a great day, everyone!
Brenda
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