Images à la Sauvette - "Images on the Run."

"Photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression." - Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Thinking about shutter speed, aperture, and color temperature was never an issue once I learned it in school. But running from the dim kitchen to the bright main hall and back to the crowded dance floor was giving me a headache. The shutter clicked too late, and I missed another toast. There were too many different scenarios, and I was screwing things up in all of them. It was my first wedding, and I couldn't wait to be over.

So I wrote notes with cheat codes for the next one on my arm. It works well most of the time, but I quickly realize that I now have a composition problem. A well-exposed photograph meant nothing if what it was inside my frame looked like pure chaos.

It all came together after 18 months, and around 30 weddings under my belt. Finally, I could be completely present in the moment. I didn't have to think about the camera or the room I was in. I was fully focused on anticipating and capturing the moment I was waiting for. It became an enjoyable game to wait, read the room, and instinctively seize the instant when everything falls into place.

Mauricio.