I’m sorry that it’s been a while since my last newsletter but I’ve been out of town and wasn’t able to access my computer for some time, so here goes…

Every good photograph, whether the photographer admits it or not, has an element of luck. Being there at the right time, clouds in the right formations, etc. Even the controlled environment of a studio portrait involves luck in the relationship with the subject and bringing out the right responses for a truly great portrait. We like to think of ourselves as the sole creator of a great image but the fact is that luck is everywhere.

This is especially true with the image above. Backstory – many years ago, I was in New Orleans the night of the Super Bowl. Bourbon Street was particularly alive that night. I walked into the middle of a jazz performance and couldn’t believe that I had my camera and absolutely no control over this unbelievable scene. Almost. I had Ektachrome which would give me just enough latitude (as we called dynamic range in those days), and time. That is, I could control one element of the scene simply by waiting for it to be right. I chose a dominant element, the trombone player and just waited for him to be in the right position. I did a few more for safety but, as usual, the first was the best. These elements, and recognizing the scene for its potential, were all I had. That’s when the luck kicked in.

If I had to cast and direct this shot myself I couldn’t have done a better job. The two old men talking to each other, the gestures of the people in the shadows on the left, the interesting people visible through the window, even the crowd in sillouette framing the bottom of the scene. I consider this image a work of art and all I had were the vision and technical skills to capture it.  Most of it just fell into place.

Actually, I had to wait several years for the technology to be able to pull out all of the shadow detail that I wanted. This was taken in the early eighties and it’s still one of my favorite images. Sometimes it just all falls into place. All you have to do is recognize what’s happening.