A Grab-Shot from Thailand

[Ken Alexander]

I spent three weeks in Thailand last November, and of the six-hundred-and-something photos I took the ones that pleased me the most were the grab shots, taken with no time for setup and that were gone a split second later.

This one's my favourite.  I was diddling around taking some pictures of some crabs skittering around in the mud at low tide.  Then I turned around and found my guide/interpreter chatting with this interesting woman.  I grabbed the shot and moved on...I'm still self-conscious about photographing people I don't know when they're not expecting it.

Anyway, I offer it for your consideration and comments.  It's a severe crop of the original image, which contained a lot of clutter (I didn't take the time to zoom in).

Regards,

Ken

[Andy M]

I'll be honest, it doesn't do a huge amount for me, as I don't feel the picture tells its story.

I should be asking; Who is she, where is she, what's she doing?

[russell a]

In the realm of grab shots, the "Laws of Large Numbers" applies.  How many times one gets lucky has to do with a certain amount of preparedness coupled with persistence.  The reason why Winogrand's legacy includes two or three handfuls of great shots, is that he averaged 100 shots per day for 30 years.  Do the math.  Because the hit ratio is so low for grab shots, we tend to lower our threshold of what we regard as passing the test.  Winogrand had this problem too, but his persistence won out over the long run.  Keep shooting.