Personal Cinema is a way for me to look back on the images and tell the story behind some of the ones that have moved me and that have some insight to offer into how it came to be. These images really have become my personal cinema, frames from my life living here in Poland, stories that move me. I hope you enjoy this series.
One of the images that is directly linked with my image “This Morning” is this one. This was actually an accident if you can believe it.
As described in the previous post, this actual morning was something of both inspiration and revelation. New to the city of Poznan and pretty new to Poland, I had never seen sunrises like this one or none that moved me particulary and to say that this one “moved” me would be a little soft. I was &*^%#@# heart racing floored. You can add whatever expletive that works for you.
When I stood in the middle of most Teatralny, mouth probably agape, I shot with my heart and lost the time in between. These are the colors that I would see in movies and in pictures from other people’s lives, certainly not mine…or so I thought. I did the daring thing to take a chance and stand in the middle of the street for the first time and captured the scene that moved me.
Making my way back to the curb and the things I had dropped otshoot, I took a second look back, seeing the figure begnning to cross the street and was going to take a last shot….when I tripped and fell. In so doing I took the last shot here as a reflex and although unhurt and the camera undamanged I was a little embarrased by those who had witnessed. I took several more as I sat by the curb, but none as good as this one. A perfect storm if you will..
At least I got the shot. It was some time before I shared this version as I wasnt sure about the angle, the look, the bokeh and thought it wasnt really “great”. Eventually I second guessed my second guessing and I changed my mind, falling in love with it and the fact that it holds everything that I really love in images. Mystery, intrigue, a story and of course hues of red (I tend to love red). And later, this style of low postion and tram tracks would become a staple in my streetphotography diet as a kind of homage to this very image. Mistakes are great when you can learn from them.
After the fall, I brushed myself off, gathered my things and headed to my newly opened coffee shop, Bigfoot to ingest a heavy dose of coffee and get on with the day.
Every day after this one, I looked for mornings that would match this one and discovered that they were rare, happening only a few times a year in early autumn and late winter with this kind of intensity. I would hunt for them though every chance I had and over the course of 6 years I managed ot catch a few and many sunrises that were of a completely different tone, but moving none the less. Although I never fell into one again.
I hope you enjoyed this “behind the scenes” look and will be going through some of my collection to offer insight into some of the images that have moved me over my time in Poland. I would love to hear your thoughts or share images of mine that you would like to know more about.
I am also pleased to announce that you can get your very own copy of this image from my newly opened store in partnership with Get Inspired Magazine here. I will be offering more soon and including some of my favorite and compelling images, so check back often.
Cheers!
Erik Witsoe 