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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 180 - It's Your Call >> C180 It's Your Call - Eligible > The Blind Shot #1
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28-FEB-2009 Charlie Beck

The Blind Shot #1

Vancouver, BC

These shots were taken "blindly,"
meaning without looking at the viewfinder,
holding the camera at chest level or lower,
and just hoping the camera was pointed well.
I wanted as candid a shot as possible.

Canon EOS 20D ,Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
1/40s f/4.5 at 17.0mm iso200 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time28-Feb-2009 14:47:27
MakeCanon
ModelCanon EOS 20D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length17 mm
Exposure Time1/40 sec
Aperturef/4.5
ISO Equivalent200
Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Mode (-1)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programshutter priority (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Charlie Beck04-Mar-2009 04:00
Many thanks to all for the comments. It was a fun day, an unexpectedly fun day. I must admit that part of the fun was coming up with a topic that I could shoot, and that I thought nobody else would use. I particularly like how this one came out. I had the least amount of time to do this one, and I only took one shot. The camera was down by my hip, I fired once, and I think I got lucky with the outcome.
ctfchallenge03-Mar-2009 18:00
Seems like a day well spent - Debi
ctfchallenge03-Mar-2009 16:25
This sort of reminds me of lomography Charlie, although you have a different kind of camera and the colors are more subtle. Fun experiment with interesting results! :-) CJ
aam1234 03-Mar-2009 05:49
Good work. This and the last are my favorites.
ctfchallenge03-Mar-2009 04:45
I like these - this one is admittedly my favorite of the three - the colors and the perspective of the stairs makes a nice composition. Penny STreet
ctfchallenge03-Mar-2009 04:32
Nicely executed idea Charlie. It has an offhand, spontaneous quality that set it apart. -tv
Charlie Beck03-Mar-2009 01:07
Many thanks, Lydia.

Just FYI, at the suggestion of a co-worker and fellow photographer, I edited this to remove some of the distracting white ceiling at the bottom of the stairs.
ctfchallenge02-Mar-2009 23:23
I like the blur... like motion. Good job, Charlie. And the day seems like it was fun! ~Lydia
Charlie Beck02-Mar-2009 17:17
Thanks, Mary Anne. I kept the camera on “P” (automatic) mode, and never changed lenses. I used ISO 200 early on, but raised it to 400 as the afternoon wore on (it was generally a cloudy day). I varied the zoom level as appropriate for the distance to subject. I just walked around (or waited outside a store while my wife was shopping), and kept my eyes open. I could see a potential subject coming my way from a block or more distant. I just held the camera by my side and pretended to be looking somewhere else, as they walked by. In this specific case, I walked by the staircase, saw this woman walking down the stairs, and stopped just long enough to take a quick picture without raising the camera to my eye. I really didn’t want to alert her to my intent, and she seemed to ignore me when she got to the bottom of the steps.
ctfchallenge02-Mar-2009 16:48
Charlie, I like the idea you're working with in these three shots--just shooting without use of the viewfinder--as I think it can really free us to "capture the moment." This one and #3 are especially nice. Did you try different ISOs and settings? I'd like to hear more about how you went about getting the shots.
--Mary Anne