irony and icons (as in polaroid and lady gaga)

 

I spent much of last week at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas (CES 2011). I have a whole list of noteworthy highlights from my very first trip to this institution of an event of leading edge technology. Ironcily, many of which have not much to do with technology at all (except maybe my new love affair with my new Nokia N8).

I attended, courtesy of Nokia, with no agenda but to experience the show as a whole and share my perspective. Of course, for me, my thoughts consist of both words and images. Such is life as a photographer. Before I left, I got a number of tweets nudging me to hit the Polaroid booth in time for the big reveal of goodies that they have been cooking up with Lady Gaga over the last year.  You know, messages like, "take pictures" and "I can't wait to see your pictures". Gulp. The pressure was on.

To my surprise, out of 140,00 people, I actually ran into a few friends whilst heading over to the booth. This of course, worked out to my grand advantage because truthfully, I may have bagged the whole thing had I not had someone to keep me company. Thanks HBM for hanging in with me and for keeping it real!

Under the circumstances I knew capturing any photos that would be of any artistic interest at all would be near impossible. The combination of bad light, tons of people, no special access, the wrong equipment and a press confrence atmosphere only add up to uninteresting photographs. And yet, an opportunity like this doesn't come every day. To see (and shoot pictures of) an icon like Lady Gaga in the flesh, no matter how uninteresting, is pretty interesting. And so I did make a point to see her and shoot pictures.

I came away from the experience being not only intrigued with the new Polaroid GL30 (love those "deliciously retro-futuristic lines") but with how the muse of chance often comes out to play at the most perfect moments. 99% of what I captured was as I had suspected, shots of a a modern day icon that were far from iconic.  But, all was not lost. In fact, thanks to a snap of the shutter that was perfectly (yet unknowingly) in sync with other flashes from the crowd, I was able to capture my favorite shot of the event.

Taking a great picture is a lot easier when you've plotted, planned and have the ideal equipment. When you're able to hand pick your perspective, have light on your side, and focus on something photo worthy in every way. It's a whole other story when the circumstances are stacked against you. I could have very well walked away before I captured this shot. And believe me, I nearly did. But sometimes, sticking with it and giving it your best shot, can pay off.

Have you captured an unlikely moment lately? Share a shot where chance (or many tenacity) was on your side.

For more on the latest from Polaroid, visit them online.

Comments

[Marcie]

Love the larger-than-life shadows you capture here.
And - yes - I know the feeling of thinking there's nothing..and wanting to walk away. On this particularly grey winter day - I almost didn't bring my camera. Good thing I did:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1420

[Jennifée]

What an awesome shot that did turn out to be! Thank you for sharing this - it's interesting stuff, and I'm never usually up to date on what's the newest of the new out there.

I have a recent shot like that myself, taken from a train which was inexplicably but fortunately standing still in the middle of a stunning landscape. I wanted to run outside with my dSLR, but of course had to settle for using my cellphone through the window, thinking that could never turn out well. But it did.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85057042@N00/5289610161/

[CDScott]

I absolutely LOVE your image!!!! What fun when something unexpected plays so much in favor.

I have a few and a favorite to share....

http://cdscottphoto.blogspot.com/2011/01/action-all-around.html

[meredith winn]

oh my god tracey! this image is brilliant. i love it.

[tammie]

tracey, your photo is unbelievable!

i just had a great photo moment yesterday when the snow and the light and my son's flip all came together in a perfect moment that captured exactly what i didn't even know i wanted to capture
. here is the sooc shot ::
http://everydaytammie.com/2011/01/project-365-12-snow-flip/

[humbird]

VERY cool!

The shadows appear to contrast a different story altogether. LOVE it!!!

[rawqueen]

I love the shot you shared here. I think it says a lot about the event you attended. The shadows are superific! I need to add some shots to flickr. I am waaaay behind in that aspect. The good news is I have picked my word for the year and a photo to convey and posted them today! http://somethingblu.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/word-up-affirmationsfrom-the-rock/

[Stephanie Meckfessel]

Sometimes getting photobombed by the cat makes for a better shot.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58066769@N05/5352307494/in/pool-shuttersisters

[Deirdre]

Wow, Tracey! This is the kind of photo I jump up and down about when I upload it to my computer. This is fantastic!
I've taken a peek at your other photos from the Nokia, and it seems to do a good job (of course your skill adds a lot).
My most recent photo where everything kind of came together in a surprising way is one that you were kind enough to feature on the Picture Winter page. I was despairing of coming up with something for the day's prompt, the sun was almost down, I saw this stone, looked for some light to shoot it in, and ended up with a "moment." A moment later and the sun was gone, any earlier, and I wouldn't have gotten this effect. It all came together in less than two minutes and is one of my favorites: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superdewa/5325892594/

[Line]

wow that's so cool!!!

[Angela]

Your photo is very arty. Love it.

As for shooting things in unexpected places, my shot was totally unplanned. I happened to look up and see this gorgeous owl staring down at me:

http://angela-hemming.blogspot.com/2011/01/heres-looking-at-you.html

[Texan Mama]

I snapped this photo in a rush as my daughter walked down the street on her way to her first day of school after Christmas Break. It was SO dark outside, I have no idea how I got the focus. I did lighten it up just a little in LR but I wanted to keep it dark for the effect of a very early morning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/texanmama/5325419589/

[Lisa]

This is such an amazing photograph! I love it, it turned out so perfectly.

[Jess]

I do have a one chance moment that I wanted to share. Unfortunately, it came out way smaller than I wanted, however, you can get the idea. Mabel (the pug) passed in 2010 and I had a rough time with it. You can see the roll she played in our family from this shot.

http://jessicavescera.blogspot.com/2011/01/chance-moment.html

[shelley]

You totally captured an AMAZING GAGA MOMENT!
You must send it to the Lady Gaga camp...
They will "Go Gaga!!

[Nancy]

Tracey, this is brilliant!

[Chelsea C]

Wow for being worried about the conditions, this photo is so amazing I love it! You just captured such a story and a feeling in this photo. All the press photographers. What Lada Gaga is thinking at the time as well as her pose, and the guy next to her, oh! And those shadows! I love everything about it!!

Read about how I got some beautiful beach and sunset photos despite shattering my brand new iphone, while trying to take a photo FOR the Picture Winter class. AHHH!!!
http://heartsandscars.blogspot.com/2011/01/cracked.html

[Rachel]

Love the shot. I have a soft spot for Lady Gaga.