Fashion Week- Chapter 1

"Angelina" Bryant Park, New York City
©2009 Chris Ragazzo (click to enlarge)
(15 mm Canon L-Series lens)

From a photographer's standpoint, shooting Fashion Week at Bryant Park in New York City is a fight from the minute you enter the arena in the early morning, to the moment when security pushes you out the door at midnight. It is physically exhausting, mentally challenging, technically difficult and I would love to do it every single day. Add to that the fact that you are surrounded by the most beautiful women in the world, and it turns out to be gig worth fighting for.

In my four days backstage and beyond, I befriended a luminescent angel, appropriately named Angelina. Her English was far from perfect, so we did a lot of nodding and smiling, but also a lot of shooting. She and I made that instant connection, that only lasts a few moments...more if you should be so lucky.

Thus begins the dance at Angelina's invitation. She is agreeing to take your lens in as a friend. She will look deep into your soul, and your camera will capture these single moments in time long after the Main Tent at Bryant has been packed away for the next season.

This photograph was not by accident. I had noticed that when the models came off the runway, they passed in front of a very bright light that was used to light the backdrop of the runway. It was so bright that it made it hard for the models to adjust to the relative darkness backstage. This also happened to be where they had to take a step down from the stage. In that moment of adjustment to the light, they slowed down their pace for just a second, and then leapt backstage.

I could see that their faces were over-exposed, as the rest of their bodies fell into shadow. It had a ghostly quality that I really liked so I started bracketing exposures at first and shooting at a very high ISO. I think I was up at 1600 without a flash. But then I got the idea that maybe I shouldn't try to overcompensate with "film speed", but rather shoot at a slower speed and let that really hot light do all the work of spilling light into the corners of the frame. My favorite photographs use one light and since I had a mono-pod, I wasn't that worried about sharpness. Luckily, I had a lot of time to experiment because the rehearsals meant that 25 models would make the rounds 2 or 3 times.

Finally, the moment arrived. Angelina noticed me before she took the stage. She smiled. I smiled back, pointing to my camera to signal that I would be shooting her exit. With my eye to the viewfinder, I watched as three or four models passed by. I shot them for practice, but as soon as Angelina appeared, I considered her my actual model. I squeezed off this frame and hoped for the best.

In the camera's LCD it all looked too dark, but when I took the cross-town bus home, exhausted from standing for 14 hours carrying a 45 pound backpack, I knew I had the shot I was hoping for.

The entire time at Fashion Week, my mantra was, "What is new for me to shoot here?" For me, this was just one example of Beginner's Mind when on location.

DEFINITIONS: Bracketing is the general technique of taking several shots of the same subject using different or the same camera settings. Bracketing is useful and often recommended in situations that make it difficult to obtain a satisfactory image with a single shot, especially when a small variation in exposure parameters has a comparatively large effect on the resulting image. (Source:Wikipedia)

ISO / ASA :All film has a speed rating, whether digital or traditional. You may see this number called ASA or ISO (both indicate the film's rated speed). The ISO / ASA rating describes how quickly the film reacts to light. (Source: PhotonHead.com)

Editor's Note: A higher number, like 1600, means that the film or digital capture system is much more sensitive to light. In very dark situations, a higher ISO is often the only solution, unless you choose a flash or strobe.