Pretty Close to What I Saw Last Night: Someone Was Going to Get Hugged (IF VIEWED LARGE)

The shot above was the first shot of a sequence that captured a potentially dicey situation:

http://photo.net/casual-conversations-forum/00bzSJ

The shot was made at 70mm on the zoom.  It is my hope that, with the picture viewed on large and with the use of the black border, what I saw last night in downtown Salisbury at the corner of Main St. and Fisher St. might approximate what the viewer sees on the screen.

To see what happened next, please click on the link.

--Lannie

The only thought in my mind at the time was, "Is it a hello or a goodbye?" I thought that it was probably a hello, a reunion of a soldier with his or her family

The situation required an almost instantaneous decision as to whether to shoot or not to shoot.  I did not have time to process all of the relevant variables that could affect my safety in that situation, or the perception by the subjects as to whether or not their own safety was being threatened by a dangerous person--stalker, sniper, who knows?

Next time I will know better.

My initial reaction, after the photo op failed, was to say to myself, "That macho bozo just spoiled any hope I had of getting a good renunion shot."  Later, in front of the monitor, the full file at 100% demonstrated instead a thoughtful and concerned man who was probably looking out for his family the only way he knew how.

You live and learn. . . you hope.  You hope not to hurt others in the process.

--Lannie

I can appreciate the spontaneity in this photo and why the gesture caught your attention and desire to get a photo.  And it's a good learning experience.

Thanks, Lex.

--Lannie

Hi Lannie,

Good natural light results my friend.

Over the years shooting street scenes , especially at night, I have found that I feel more at ease with using longer high speed lens. The obvious trade off is the size of such lens , but I have remained safe and non-imposing to others nearby.

Best Regards, Mike