Photographing Unexpected Events
Photographing unexpected events is by definition something you don’t ever get a chance to plan for. If I had been planning to take photos of a fire in downtown Kurume in the evening twilight yesterday, I would have been carrying a proper SLR with a sturdy tripod and a good telephoto lens. As it was I had just parked my car and stepped out onto the street when I saw smoke billowing in the sky down the street. I abandoned my plans to check out a department store sale, and walked down the street to see what was burning, and whether the fire fighters had arrived.
All I had with me was my Casio Exilim 7.2 megapixel pocket camera. I hadn’t left home to start photographing unexpected events, but there was one of those unexpected events happening right in front of me. The street was quickly filling with onlookers, and I had no choice but to simply point and shoot. Fires in Japan are serious affairs, as the traditional architecture uses mainly paper and thin dry wood for building materials. One simple fire can quickly spread to consume whole sections of a city. Consequently, the fire department is very large and well financed. Studies have shown there are more than three times as many full time fire fighters in Japan than in the US. By the time I arrived there were at least a dozen fire trucks, with more arriving all the time, and the area was buzzing with fire fighters.
The evening twilight was getting darker by the second, and I only had a small window of time to take pictures. Also, there was so much going on, I wasn’t sure what to focus on, I had to stop a minute and ask myself what it was that I was trying to capture.
Tips for photographing unexpected events:
- Take pictures. It’s easy to forget about your camera and just stand there in horror. Sometimes it’s not easy to get out a camera because of the crowds, or you may not want to look like you don’t care what’s happening. Find a way to take pictures anyway. I noticed it looked more natural for people who had bigger cameras to be taking photos. With a camera that big, people assumed they were reporters, and stepped out of the way.
- Once you get a few basic shots of what’s happening, start focusing on details. This photo of the tangle of fire hoses is an example. Everyone else was looking up at the smoke, but there were interesting details in every direction. Sometimes the onlookers are more interesting than the event itself. I got great shot of a rustic looking homeless man staring at the fire.
- Don’t forget to try various lighting and framing techniques. The conditions won’t be optimum. In my case it was after sunset, and the evening twilight was a major challenge. You’ll have to be innovative to get a great shot.