Behind the Lens: Happy Accidents

Sometimes in photography it’s the shots we never intended or “happy accidents” that sometimes are the most compelling. An image that comes to mind when I think of term is this famous double exposure photograph of Baryshnikov by renowned photographer Mark Seliger. If you google “Baryshnikov & Mark Seliger” you’ll see the photo I speak of. One of the most amazing photographs I’ve seen and it was an accident in how it was created.

This week’s photo of Venus Dance Company from their Fringe performance is a “Happy Accident”. My original intent was setting my camera’s focus on the center of the dancers but due to the dark conditions my camera (since I need to use autofocus while shooting action) grabbed focus on the dancer’s hands in the far right making the rest of the photo soft (not in sharp focus, this was also due to the low aperature set at 2.8).

Not my original intent to capture this moment in this way but of the photos I took at this performance this moment really stands out and it’s because for me my eyes see the faces of the dancers looking at each other and their expressions and then there are those hands that then grab your focus. Just something very compelling about this moment this “Happy Accident”.

Be sure to look out for more from Venus Dance Company and its Director Carrie Brzezinski Walsh and of course any feedback on this image or my column in general are greatly appreciated.

Enjoy!

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Bill Hebert

Photographer & Contributor at The Dance Journal

Bill Hebert (pronounced AY-BEAR), has been photographing performances in Philadelphia and New York for almost 8 years now primarily capturing dance.He has worked such local artists as Montazh, Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM), Headlong Dance Theater, BalletX, Winged Woman Dance/Tina Heuges, Nichole Canuso Dance Company and Group Motion among many others in Philadelphia.NY based and touring companies Bill has had the pleasure of working with include: Paul Taylor, Limon Dance, Parsons Dance, Doug Varone and Dancers, Merce Cunningham, RubberbandDance Group, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, River North Chicago Dance and Pilobolus. Bill has also had the pleasure of participating in three photography workshops with renowned dance photographer Lois Greenfield. Bill’s philosophy and mission is to “Capture the Essence of the Moment” and give the work a life beyond the stage. Bill Hebert is currently a photographer for The University of Pennsylvania’s Dance Celebration series, was one of the photographers for both the 2008 & 2009 Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival, Choreographic Sketches in NY, 2010 IABD Conference and proud to be a part of the team for the “By Local” series in Philadelphia which will give local artists a chance to tell their story while doing what they love which is to entertain and enlighten others.

Latest posts by Bill Hebert (see all)

• The Dancing Monks of Assam - April 18, 2018
• In the studio with Darrell Grand Moultrie - February 4, 2018
• Bill Hebert’s Philly Holiday Sampler - December 17, 2017