You have to move it, move it.

A rainbow over Dutch Lake near Clearwater, BC.
If you have ever watched the movie Madagascar, you would be familiar with the song, "I like to move it, move it."  In case you haven't, or want to refresh your memory, click here.  Although very repetitive and slightly annoying, I actually find myself getting energized by it.  In a way, it reminds me of the way I have to "move it, move it" sometimes when out shooting.  During those times I also find myself being energized, although under the circumstances it is usually out of desperation.

There are lots of examples of these occurrences, but they all have two things in common.  There is something seriously at stake and there is not much time to achieve what needs to be done.  For me, this usually involves photographing something both important and ephemeral.  You have one minute to get it right, and there are no do-overs.  An example would be shooting a wedding and saying, "I'm sorry, but I missed the groom kissing the bride; could you all just stop right there and take a moment to do it all again."

There are moments in sports where you only get one kick at something.  Classic images like Mohamad Ali standing above his opponent in the ring, or Bobby Ohr flying through the air after scoring an overtime playoff goal.  Can you imagine?  "Ah, Mr. Ali, that was a great thing you did there.  Could you please stand like that again, like you just did, and let me take a photo?"  Somehow I don't think that happens very much.  You have to have the equipment, have it set up correctly, and be in the right place at the right time.

I happened to bring my camera with me when I recently went out for a walk.  This isn't so strange, but we were going to a store and I didn't expect any great photo opportunities.  It was also raining mildly as well, which usually means keeping equipment at home.  In this case, I kept it tucked away under my jacket to keep it dry.  As we were returning back to the campground the sun came out behind us.  I knew there would be a rainbow somewhere.  Getting to the lake, I was thrilled to see it forming right in front of me.

Rainbows may be common, but they don't always form at convenient times or places.  I can tell you that because I have seen hundreds of rainbows, but have only a few photos of them.  And this was one in a million.  All the criteria came together at that moment.  Rainbows are short-lived.  It was there for the moment, and it was in a stunning location.  Camera present and ready, there was only one plan of action.  I had to move it.

So, I took something like 40 shots of it.  I had to move along a good portion of the lakefront.  I shot in front of docks, beside them, up on hills, and even did a series of photos that I used to produce a couple of panoramas (to see a previous blog on the same rainbow, click here).  Fortunately, I had just caught the beginning of the rainbow and it built in intensity as I captured it.  Click and run was the theme.  Chances were that I may end up with a couple of shots that I liked, and I knew it wasn't going to get a photographic mulligan.  I don' think the prayer, "Excuse me, God, that was really a wonderful opportunity and I would love to have another chance; would you mind resetting everything so I can try that again?" would work out in my favour.

No, there was only one solution.  I had to move it, move it.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen



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