Exercise : Standing Back
This was always going to be an interesting exercise as picking the locations for the shots and capturing the images would take some planning.
I decided that I would go to a couple of train stations and try to capture people arriving and leaving through the main doors.
At both Leatherhead and Dorking stations I could sit across from the stations and take the images from approx. 75m meters away.
I would have to contend with the traffic and other problems.
I set off with a 70-200mm lens to see what I could find.
I wanted to try to take the images without the subjects looking at me, as this would make for better images. I wanted natural shots, showing the commuters as they arrived and left.
The weather wasn’t too good as there was a little rain.
Here are the images that I have taken firstly at Leatherhead.
This was the view from my vantage point as the buses drove to the station. I was going to have to be lucky and on the ball.
This guy didn’t see me, he was enjoying a beer after a hard days work.
It was a hard long walk up the hill to the station for this lady as she carried her kids toy. THe kid has an interesting look on his face.
The buses were coming thick and fast now so it was time for a change of plan.
I would go onto the platforms and shoot over the tracks.
I liked the fact that there were three buckets in front of the kids.
Its was a shame that they did not all have crossed legs. I waited for a bit to see if she would but then the trains came……
It was now getting close to rush hour and the trains were coming through every few minutes.
Time for a change of plan and off to another station.
This was the view from my seat on the roundabout across from the station. The parking spaces in from of me were empty so I thought I had a chance of getting some images of the passengers as they left the station.
This lady really did have her hands full. Shot at 200mm on a 70-200mm lens.
This was an interesting moment. The two young ladies were waiting for a lift, it wasn’t till later when I viewed the images that I saw the lad in the background.
Then as ever, things got in the way.
After chatting to the driver for a shot time he moved off and I was able to carry on.
I liked the look of this guy as he set off, he looked as though he had a few miles to go until he got home.
This guy was just waiting for a lift, I got the picture as he scratched his face.
Well they were the images that I chose. What were the main problems that I had, well for the most part it was traffic and other people getting in the way.
In a way the exercise did prove one thing to me, taking out a 200mm lens and standing some distance away from the subjects can lead to some interesting images.
I like Mobile Office the best, the lady really stands out from the background.