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Chapter 11. Seeing and Using Light
Chapter 11. Seeing and Using Light
A lone horse grazes at sunset in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii.
ISO 200 f/6.3 1/320 16mm
On August 14, 2003, New York City experienced the largest blackout in U.S. history. I was on the beat that day, and all the traffic lights were out. It was pure gridlock within minutes.
I drove against traffic for a few minutes and gave up, because it was not only dangerous, but also kind of pointless. I called my editor.
“I need to get in a helicopter, and I’d really like to get a shot of the New York skyline silhouetted against the sunset.”
“Sorry, Vince,” he said. “We can’t put you up in a helicopter every time you want to go. It’s too expensive.”
So I kept trying to make images. At the time I had an early digital camera that didn’t do very well in low light, let alone no light. I kept calling the editor, trying to convince him to put me in a helicopter.
