Greetings and salutations!
“You don't take a photograph, you make it.” -Ansel Adams
In this week’s installment I will be introducing one of my favorite photographers, Joe McNally and taking a critical look at one of his best works.
In this week’s installment I will be introducing one of my favorite photographers, Joe McNally and taking a critical look at one of his best works.
Joe McNally (born 27 July 1952) is an American photographer who made his bones shooting for the National Geographic Society since 1987. From 1994 until 1998 he was LIFE magazine's staff photographer, the first one in 23 years. Joe McNally has a long list of clients that have used his work including Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, Geo, Fortune, New York and Business Week, just to name a few. In regards to his style, he is known for his mastery of both natural light and flash. He has published three books on the subject that I regard as must reads for any aspiring photographer.
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The photo consists primarily of a
single subject, a fireman, driving a fire truck through the streets of
Manhattan. The image is captured from a unique perspective that was enabled by
rigging the camera on a boom and dangling it a few feet from the windshield of
the truck. A wide angle lens was used, as evident from the subtle distortions
in perspective. McNally remotely triggered the camera while the driver was live
on the streets, driving to a call. Compositionally, we find our eye drawn
immediately to the center of the photograph, with leading lines from the
windshield drawing your eye inwards. The driver is caught during a candid
moment, while navigating the streets of Manhattan. A calm and confident
countenance is seen surrounded by the chaos of the city. McNally’s use of a
slow shutter speed impresses the dynamic of motion. The warm balancing of color
reinforces the tone of the streets being alive.
Being that the photo was shot at night, with a massive amount of ambient light from the surroundings, this picture is intrinsically problematic. In McNally’s book, The Hot Shoe Diaries, he explains how this photograph would never have been this way without the addition of a simple wireless flash inside the cab of the truck to add some fill light to the faces of the inhabitants. McNally states, “Once you have the angle, the logic of the light flows naturally. Where are the dead spots? Where can I hide a light? It’s kinda like reading a treasure map or looking for Jimmy Hoffa’s body. Forensic lighting!”
I hope that you enjoyed McNally’s work. If you would like to see more of his work feel free to visit his website at http://portfolio.joemcnally.com/.
Thanks
for reading! -Tim
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