A warm, exited welcome
Recently, my husband took a photo just seconds before one of our sheep headbutted our son, causing him to tumble down a slope. It was a snapshot – art by accident, capturing the very essence of the moment.
My husband is quite good at taking situational photos. Natural, not stiff or staged. However, he has no real interest in photo, he only uses his cellphone, and he says he has to take a hundred to get one good. But what about those photographers who manage to capture such moments almost every time? Those who instinctively know exactly when to press the shutter, so they only take a few. You almost didn’t notice they were there.
Title: “Moments before disaster”. Photo: Chartian Aune Falch
Over the years, we have encountered many skilled photographers in the international world of documentary filmmaking. The best once possesses an innate understanding of when to start filming, when to just let the camera roll, and when to turn it off. They grasp the influence of the camera’s mere presence. Its power, its strength, its weakness. The influence of image, and the weight that media carries. Different genres require different skills, like nature documentaries who require a great deal of effort, patience, and technical expertise. Filming nature can involve hours of waiting, an in-depth understanding of the environment, and perfect timing. In contrast, documentary photography can also be captured on a mobile phone or on a hidden camera. The audio might be poor. No matter the quality of the photo, the credibility of the footage is rooted in the moving images: the situations, the rawness of the un-staged, the authenticity. Like with staged and stiff photos, you can usually tell when someone has directed the characters in a documentary, when they feel rehearsed or coached.
But then, there are photographers who possess the ability to capture that elusive something - the moment, and the mood of that moment, the air, the smell and sound. For them, the camera becomes an extension of their own vision. In addition, they are so technically proficient that they can shoot excellent photos in any lighting conditions, even without pausing to change to an expensive, custom lens. And then they capture the essence, the feeling that makes you experience the photo as if you were there in that moment.
I know one such photographer, her name is Violetta Ellisdottir. We’ve had the pleasure of getting to know her over the past couple of years, and in a few weeks, she’ll be coming to work with us, alongside us. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I’m eager to see what we’ll create together, what she’ll observe, how she’ll see, and what she’ll choose to capture—whether it’s a candid moment or something else entirely.
In the header photo she captured the essense of someone wery special to me. How she shines, plays and unfolds, surrendering to the music, in the moment. Cofident in her self and her skills. Safe enough to just be. Moving in flow, riding the dynamic feedbackloop between herself and the spectator.
The picture is taken at the Midgardsblot festival in Norway during Marias DJ-set in the Gildehall. The AI-based DJ software crashed, leaving her only with a playlist and the skill of winging it. She did.
