Street 01 - The Holy Sepulcher

I chose a special spot in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem for my first session on street photography: the square before the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher. Usually crowded with groups of pilgrims and tourists, that day the place looked quite calm. People were walking in and out the sanctuary, moving quietly, their steps almost making no sound on the ancient stones. I took my time to look around, searching for interesting situations, and eventually a few did come up. From a technical point of view, I used again my 50mm lens, which I found convenient for selecting subjects in a limited space. In fact, the square is closed by walls on all sides. Sunlight was struggling against heavy clouds, with rays of light touching the ground here and warming up colors there before retreating where they came from. While not very convenient for setting exposure, such changing conditions made the the experience lively and challenging. After reviewing the pictures, I took notice of a couple of things: 1/160 turns out to be a low speed for freezing people walking slowly, assuming this is the goal. Aperture and ISO should be adjusted so as to allow at least 1/200, or faster. Throughout the session I kept shooting at 125-160 ISO, but afterwards I realized I could have gone higher without any noticeable loss of quality. Moreover, I found the metering system of the Canon 5D very accurate, without the need to slightly underexpose like I used to with my Minolta. These notes show how much I am still working to get comfortable with my equipment. Well, as the great Charlie Parker used to say: “You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.” I guess I am in between the first and second step... with some occasional wails!
Here I would like to comment on a few pictures which, in my view, have somehow managed to pull themselves out of the series.

I climbed up the external stairs next to the entrance of the Sepulcher, and I found there a very good position to observe the scene, out of the way. At a certain point, I felt like the "instant" happened. A crowd of tourists moved out of the frame and a young man entered the stage, well dressed, with a stick by his side, as if he was entering an Opera house. What I like in this picture is his posture and movement, which express dignity and confidence. The paved floor provides a nice pattern, while the columns on the right provide a solemn close the image. It is a pity, though, that from this point of view he could be entering any historical place, since there is no recognizable feature of the Sepulcher.

I remained in the same spot for quite a while. And then, a black man entered the scene. He must have been some religious preacher, since he stopped in a corner before entering the Sepulcher and started wearing a white robe over his clothes. Interesting. I took a series of pictures while he was getting dressed, honestly hoping to have a longer lens. The more so I felt when I looked back at the picture and realized that I had included in the lower right corner of the frame the hand of a bystander, oddly enough, again holding a stick. My first reaction was of disappointment, since I thought I should have paid more attention in composing and making sure it was out. But my second look gave me a different feeling. Somehow, I found that little hand an interesting detail, especially because the eyesight of the man was pointing exactly towards it. I don't think he was actually looking at it, but the result in the picture was quite working. There was a connection. In the end, I think that if the hand had not been there, the picture would have been weaker. Moreover, there is something mysterious about a man changing his clothes before entering a place, and the hand with the stick further adds to the sense of mystery.

Lowering my sight, I finally looked at the people closer to me. A man reading a newspaper was sitting on the first step. Then, and old woman entered the frame, lost in her thoughts. There is nothing particularly exciting about this image, except for two quiet people minding their own business, so close, but so far away from each other.
And then... I made my encounter with a local man, Issa, who was enjoying the morning sun in the square.



Chatting with him was brilliant, as I admire very much old people who make it through their age showing love for life and knowing how to make a day out of everyday. At some point he showed me a little photo of himself, when he was young. It's there in the corner of the steps, in the second frame. I took many shots, and could have worked much more. But this time I really felt the constraint of a prime lens. In any case, it gave me a good feeling being able to approach him, talk with him in my "handmade" Arabic, make him express different emotions and capture them. I like sharing moments like these with positive people.

Suddenly, a door behind me opened, and another man came out. He looked around for a second, and then sat on a stone, looking very tired. Given his robe, he must have belonged to some congregation. As I got closer, I noticed an interesting composition: the man himself, with a hand on his head, was filling the right side of the frame, while the open door was filling the other side and providing a sense of depth. Also, the door had a great texture. Sunlight was coming from the right, behind the man's back, but his face was still visible. He did not remain there for long, and I felt like I had captured a moment worth of being seen.

Last, I wish to include a picture showing the entrance of the Sepulcher. The clouds opened the way to a slice of light in the background, marking a sharp contrast with the shadows of the surrounding walls. The man in the foreground is underexposed, but he is important to add depth to the scene. Metering was quite difficult here, as the different elements stand in a very different light.

All in all, this day out was a positive little piece of experience... as I tried to work to improve my awareness.