That Magic Moment

One of the freedoms of digital photography is in the sheer number of photos you can take. Memory cards have become cheaper, so now instead of a 1GB card, I have a 16 or 32GB card in my camera. So it was no surprise, when I was asked to photograph a networking event last week, that I took 501!

I brought two cameras to the On Board networking event, a unique and hopefully annual “speed-dating” gathering designed to introduce young women to non-profit organizations who are looking for board members. As often happens, I found that - even though I wasn’t using a flash - people at first tended to shy away from the camera. Then they just got used to me being around and that’s when the magic really happened.

As I moved around the room, enjoying the friendly vibe, I took notice of particular moments I wanted to catch in order to tell the story of the gathering. I had already captured photos of the speakers. I wanted an image of the whistle being blown to start each new round of “speed-dating”.

And I wanted to catch that fleeting moment when people first met. I loved watching the way they smiled and leaned forward to shake hands. But I found it difficult at first to judge the exact moment to snap the shutter…

too soon

too late

And then I got it, that magic moment - at least that’s how it felt to me!