Powerful Still Photography

The Power of Still Photography

This is Infinite Stills. I created it to explore the infinite depth of powerful still photography. I have been moved all my life by powerful photographs. A still image captures a moment in time. It is a fraction smaller than we can see with our own eyes as we watch life unfold before us. The still image is so powerful, much more than a video and more than a movie.

Think of a Ken Burns documentary, in particular, his monumental work, The Civil War. It was first shown on PBS in 1990. The motion picture camera was decades away and the science of still photography had just come on the scene. Yet this incredible film weaves the images of Matthew Brady, and others, into a wonderful tapestry that tells the story and gives the viewer so much. We have the chance to stop and look at these images to see all they present.

While researching Ken Burns and his work, I came upon a wonderful quote by Garr Reynolds as he was describing Ken Burns’ work:

“When you think about it, often the photo really is more powerful than video at telling the story. The photo captures a moment in time allowing the viewer to slow down and think and wonder and reflect. Photos allow for greater emphasis and may have less distracting elements . . .”

The Draw of Powerful Photography

When I was a child, many of the images of the day came to us through magazines such as Life, Look and National Geographic. Sure, we had television, and were able to witness history as it happened. But I have often felt that with film, video or live television, they are by their very nature a series of moving images. We see what is happening, but we miss so much.

Movies, video and television all move us. Film is powerful when it is well done. When we are moved by a video or movie, it is often through context, dialog, images and even music. All those elements combine to create the intended mood. The same is true when we see the news on TV. We see events pass before us, and quite often, we have a narrator telling us what is going on.

Time Stops – Then We Can See

A still photograph moves us, too, but in a different way. When we view a powerful still photograph, we see an instant in time. We become lost in our thoughts. One frozen moment in time is shown, apart from all others. Motion pictures, like film, passes too quickly and moves on.

When we look at a still photograph, we step into that moment. Time is stopped which allows us to stop, study and see what is happening. We are able to study the look on a persons face, read their emotion as contained in their position, frozen in time. All that is around them is there for us to see and decide whether the surrounding elements are a part of the moment or not. An entire story comes to life before our eyes. All in a powerful still photograph

I thought about this when I photographed a funeral procession held in Des Moines, Iowa for a slain officer. This is the procession for Des Moines Police Sargent Anthony Beminio. Sgt. Bemino was ambushed and killed in the early morning hours of November 2, 2016. Another officer was also killed moments before, Urbandale Officer Justin Martin. You can read more about this dreadful incident here.

A Study in Powerful Still Photography

I took a series of photos as the funeral procession exited the freeway on the way to the cemetery. As a photographer, you walk a very fine line, especially when you are photographing a solemn occasion. You want to capture moving images while at the same time be as unobtrusive as possible.

It was quiet among the gathering as we all waited. The procession would exit the freeway and make a left turn to the north crossing the freeway bridge and proceed to the cemetery. Waiting on the bridge was a brigade from a suburban fire department with their equipment, lights on and engines off. Quiet.

Everyone there was in quiet reflection. The woman standing alone holding a flagpole with an American Flag draping down around the pole. Still. A mom and her adolescent children holding large blue homemade hearts. Not moving or talking. An elderly gentleman, most likely former military, stooped of shoulder, struggling to raise his arm in salute. Alone in his thoughts yet standing rock still. Officers, present for traffic control or simply present because this was where they needed to be, stood at attention and saluted, holding back tears. Professional and stoic.

Had this been a two minute video, it surely would have been a moving scene. Added music would have touch the soul, but would have conveyed the sentiment of the video’s creator who chose the music. With the still photograph, we are the interpreters of the scene.

What do you see?

With still images, we can stop, reflect and wonder. What is behind that stern officer’s face? What are in the eyes behind the dark sun glasses? The elderly man salutes. Can we feel his emotion? A father holds an infant child as police cars roll past. Notice how the cars traveling in the other direction on the Freeway have stopped in observance. What is happening? So much to see. Seeing more the longer you look.

Still Photography . . .

. . . Powerful and Deep . . .

. . . Infinite Stills