I’ve been pretty focused today on finishing my preparation for the next two photography workshops I’m giving at the Deutsch-Amerikanishes Institut (d.a.i.) in Tübingen. The first of the two sessions starts tomorrow. (Click here for the full description.)
It’s Part Two of the 2-session workshop I did back in February, and tomorrow’s topic is all about capturing “motion”. Motion can be captured in a variety of ways; one striking way is to “freeze” moment of the motion in progress. Famously, the French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson called a photo he snapped of a man leaping a puddle the “decisive moment”, as it captured the perfect moment of the man in motion.
However, the examples I’m using to illustrate this idea in my workshop tomorrow is this work by the American photographer Imogen Cunningham, of 3 dancers at Mills College in California, in 1929:
Imogen Cunningham, Three Dancers, Mills College, 1929
Chris and I had the good fortune to see a huge retrospective exhibit of Imogen Cunningham’s work last weekend in Munich. A wall-sized enlargement of this photo greeted us as we walked into the exhibit. Now, I’ll have more about my thoughts about Imogen Cunningham and her photography next week when I have more time to write them up. Let me just say that the photo above struck me as absolutely stunning. It leapt into position as the lead-off photo for my workshop tomorrow about capturing moments in motion.
OK, well, pun intended. But still, it was/is an amazing photo – and is really my first example to show in the workshop. 😉
Wow, you sure they aren’t real gals dancing. When was this taken, she must have known all about FStops? or is it something else that captured the motion.
A great way to begin. Will you play some background music?
Good luck with the workshop tomorrow.
Thanks, Mom. I’m not sure I understand your question. The woman are real dancers, photographed dancing outside. Imogen Cunningham was a professional photographer, and she definitely would have know all about fStops and how to take photos like this. The key idea here to freeze those dancers in mid-air is more about controlling the shutter speed. As I’ll be explaining to the workshop folks tomorrow… 😉
Can’t wait to hear how the workshop goes. Enjoy the moment.
I meant shutter speed (Fstops have to do with light/lens opening?) and I can’t believe this is i a photo, but rather it looks as if the dancers were there in person and stopped in midair.
I know this what the photo captured but it’s just so lifelike.
I’m sure all will be agog at the workshop when they see this.