What do you see when you look at a photograph? Same image, so many ways to perceive it.
We open a section where the author of the image tells us a bit about his work.
"From head" by Ivan Stojanovic
Is the reflection in the mirror real?
Does the photo reflect reality?
Or does a broken mirror bring bad luck?
The photo "From head" was created during a theater performance in Kragujevac, my hometown.
I've photographed a lot of theater productions and I consider myself well-versed in theater photography, so I was expecting something similar again. However, when the curtains went up, there were nine mirrors hanging on thin cables on stage. And nothing more, just those nine mirrors. I thought about how to make photographing a play with such a scene fun and I prepared for a lot of reflections, I even thought about double or triple reflections, but alas... When the author of the play, and at the same time the only actor, came on stage, the mirrors started to sway, because there was nothing to hold them, they simply hung in the air on thin cables. Whenever I thought of pressing the shutter button, the mirror would move and the shot would be ruined for me, which was starting to make me a little nervous because all the plans I had were falling apart. The actor was constantly walking, the mirrors were swaying, and I was following the actor through the lens, but not a single moment was good.
Then came the next shock: The actor takes a hammer and starts breaking mirrors! At that moment the cracked mirrors started swaying even more!
I realized that I had to think quickly and react quickly. I decided to focus on one mirror and wait for the actor to come to that spot.
The position of my body was unnatural and it was starting to bother me, I even felt some pain. Just when I started considering giving up, the actor appeared in the frame, the mirror come into the ideal position, and BINGO! Although I rarely do this, I looked at the picture on the device's display and realized that I had it!
The light was weak, that's why the ISO and the noise in the picture are high, which I don't mind at all, I even think it gives the picture some special charm.
Post-production was simple: crop, slightly brighten the actor's face in the mirror, slight correction of contrast and lighting and I had the image I wanted.
The camera was a Nikon D7100, and the lens was an old Nikkor 70-300 AF.