FULL VIEW PLEASE!!!
^{:: for full view, click on the picture again ::}

Quando Quando Quando . . .

Reminiscent of a lens shattering in your face, I found this as my second favorite photo of this year in my career as a photojournalist - to my own standards, like it or not...

I was on a shootout at Petaling Street getting to know each corners and lanes when I stumbled upon an empty parking lot with a hundred or so pigeons fluttering about. I was with another friend/assistant and thought of just chillin' out and look at the misdemeanor of these lovely creatures, a symbol of peace and harmony... a feeling we felt while staring at them mingling about.

After a while, this old man came by with a bag of beansprouts, cigarette in his mouth, squats at a corner, cupped two handfulls of beans, threw some to the ground, and sat still... Lo and behold, the birds flew up to him wildly, trying to grab as much as they could off his hands and ground.

Having experienced photographing flocks of birds before this, I took off my Speedlite and asked my assistant to fire it from a corner - downwards. Getting the cue from me, she fired (manually), and I took this shot. Yes, just one shot.

No words can describe how I felt when I got this shot back from the lab......

<sup>[ Note: To use this technique to the fullest, watch your composition and frame them mentally before pressing the shutter. Think also where you will fire the flash as a direct one can momentarily blind these birds and you wouldn't want some angry and distraught birds flying into walls or windows, even if you're using a tiltable flash. If there's no flash, find ways to shock them for abit, even slapping your hands can do. Ask permission for the shot, (no.. not to the birds!) although the fella may know very well you would as you're already lugging your equipments with you. This depends on the country as some wouldn't mind but here in Malaysia, oh hell they do mind if you don't ask!

For photojournalism, never set up your scene. Just take it when the moment is right - and tell the world your story thenafter. Don't worry about your equipments (if you do, you're letting the camera control you, and not the other way around - which you're supposed to do) as it's all about the the scene you're going to capture. Know your aperture and shutterspeed. ]</sup>

Comments Comments Comments!!!!!!!!

<sup>Technicalities:

Camera: Canon EOS 50 (Film)
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm F/4
Flash: Canon Speedlite 220EX - Fired by assistant
Aperture Priority: 1/11
Shutter Speed: 1/120
Film: Fuji Provia 100
Photo-editing: Macromedia Fireworks MX - Minimal edits.

[ Brutal honesty rules. Comments appreciated. Share it with the world... ]</sup>