A photographic moment

We walked into the cafe at Salts Mill and immediately I spotted this gentleman reading his paper. It felt like an electric current had been switched on in my blood. Light, colour and gesture, the three key elements of a good image, all resonated together. When these elements come together they are a serendipitous gift to the alert photographer.

Man reading paper

With a tingling feeling running from the back of my neck to the tips of my fingers I carefully chose a seat at an adjoining table, hoping that he would continue to read his paper and not change his body position. I quickly composed the shot and pressed the shutter. If I had approached him before taking the shot I am sure this unselfconscious moment would have been lost.

See how the colours of his pocket handkerchief, his shirt, t-shirt and hat are echoed in the environment around him. The light is lovely, etching him out of the background. His relaxed natural pose fills the frame with dynamic angles. A man reading his paper.

Salts Mill houses one of the largest collections of David Hockney paintings in the world and a series of his portraits hang in the cafeteria. One of them is of a man sitting in a chair, different pose but a similar dynamic. I'd like to think that if Mr Hockney saw this image it would make him smile too.

Till soon,
Paul
www.indigo2photography.co.uk

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