It wasn’t too long ago that I had bought my first DSLR; I don’t know why I really held out so long, as I had always enjoyed taking photos using my point and shoot – I had a blast using the Canon S90, and to this day I still do. Maybe it was the fact that I was worried about the expense involved with owning a DSLR, where lenses could cost more than the body itself! But I took the plunge and bought one.
The first thing that I did was purchase a macro lens. I’m a big fan of macro photography, or more correctly in my case, up close photography. I like being close to subjects, and blowing them up so they have more presence in the photo. Anyhow, after I decided on my first combo, I decided to take it out for a spin to see what I could do.
A work colleague of mine was quite excited about my recent acquisition, and asked if I wanted to come for a walk, so he could look at a new camera for himself. I was more than happy to oblige, because it was the perfect opportunity to take the camera out, and put it through its paces.
So there I was, in the city, walking around with my camera hanging around my neck. It felt weird at first, walking around with this hunk of equipment around my neck, but after a while, I got used to it – now it feels weird when I don’t have it around my neck. Funny how that happens huh?
On the way to the camera store, I walked past Becasse Bakery, which had recently opened up on the second top floor in the newish Westfield building on Pitt Street Mall in the city. If you’re not too sure about it, here in Sydney, Becasse is consider a poshy restaurant, a place for fine dining – they decided to branch out slightly buy opening a café styled restaurant, maybe to play down the posh factor by having a cafe, while ensuring the elegance by retaining it’s name.
I was mesmerised by the pastries; the danishes, the croissants, and the tarts, all on display with mouth watering results. You could even see through the glass pane, where the magic was occurring, on looking at the bakers kneading and rolling the dough. But as I continued along, I couldn’t help notice this coffee display out on the counter.
There it was, roasted coffee beans splayed out on the counter, isolated from everything else. It was a visual masterpiece, probably because the lightly coloured timber bench top contrasted strikingly well against the rich, dark coffee beans. Now I would have normally walked by, but what really caught my eye were the three coffee cups staked into the pool of coffee beans.
To be honest, it was the angle at which the cups were embedded into the bed of coffee beans that really made me take note. Now an ordinary display would have the three cups staked upright in the coffee beans; a nice image, but not a striking image. This display had the coffee cup off kilter by a few degrees; it might not sound like a lot, but a few degrees can make the difference between a good display, and a great display.
I always joke around about the fact that you can improve some of your photos just by using a simple technique. I’ll probably get flamed for this, but I find that if you tilt your camera slightly and compose your shot, the image becomes much more dynamic; it’s a crude technique that should only be used for certain shots, but it works quite well and gives a dull photo, a little bit of life. That’s what the coffee cups were doing, striking a pose.
I knew when I saw this display I had to get a shot. So there I was, about a half a metre away from the counter, where the coffee bean display was perched on, readying my camera. I took a few shots, but I wasn’t too happy with them. The kelvin was far too low; the first few photos that I took were far too cold for my liking.
I don’t know what it was that made me think that. Maybe it’s the fact that whenever I see coffee, I’m reminded of cold winters in doors, with your hands wrapped tightly around a freshly brewed mug of coffee; maybe it’s just because I just like warmer photos, but what ever the reason, I cranked up the kelvin and then snapped a few away.
In the corner of my eye I could see someone behind the counter walk over. I didn’t take much notice of it, thinking that it was just the cashier moving over to grab something. But that was until I heard the words, “What do you think you’re doing? What are you going to do with those photos?” To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.
In all of the years of taking photos, I had never been asked that, not even once. I managed to mutter out, “These are just for my personal collection”, with a quiver in my voice. The lady replied, “You should ask first you know”.
And that’s when I stopped and thought at the absurdity of it. I suppose that’s how I came to that situation, because it didn’t even occur to me that I had to ask for permission. I just assumed that given it was a public display, that it wouldn’t be an issue if I took a photo. Apparently this was not the case – I guess the saying of assumptions held true…
I ended up asking her, reluctantly of course, if I could take a photo. She gave me a steely look, but said yes. I quickly took one more photo, before I scurried away like a puppy with its tail between its legs.
This was that last shot.
