Behind the Image...

One of the photographs I’m particularly proud of came from photographing my friend KAATWALK performing at Metronome Brewery, an intimate music venue in downtown St. Paul.

I knew I would be photographing from the back of the room, handheld, so I brought my 85mm f/1.4 lens. I wanted the extra reach, but more importantly, I needed a fast lens that would let me work in the available light.

When I got there, the light on her was actually much brighter than I expected. I ended up shooting at 1/3200 of a second at ISO 8000.

KAATWALK was wearing a black evening gown and holding the microphone, looking off to the side. For just a moment, everything came together—the expression, the pose, the light, and the atmosphere of the performance.

The resulting photograph felt timeless to me, so I converted it to black and white.

That is what I enjoy most about photography: being ready when a moment happens.