Coastside History Museum Grand Opening

Mixed natural light and wall-bounced flash. Nice, but where is her right thumb?

While walking in Half Moon Bay I noticed a sign announcing the Grand Opening of the Coastside History Museum behind the historic Half Moon Bay Jail. Since it's in the Journal's service area, I decided to attend. When I arrived at 10:00 am, I found out that the actual ribbon cutting would not be until 12:00 noon. I had plenty of time to take in both the jail and the new museum, a completely refurbished grain shed just behind the jail. I noticed is that event planners and publicists are always on the lookout for members of the media, and my press pass and conspicuous camera made me easy to identify. After some polite inquiries, I was able to locate those members of the Half Moon Bay Historical Association who were actually in charge of the ribbon cutting, as I wanted to know the details on how the event was to unfold. They were grateful for the suggestions I offered, and present them to you now, should you ever be asked to make a ribbon cutting photo of your own.

After some discussion, I guided / we decided on the following:

• Location: I was lucky that the main entrance faced a cloudy western sky. The "cutters" would be placed at the entrance with the exhibits to their backs. Don't laugh, as I remember one ribbon cutting where the presenters were facing into the building, which made no sense at all. I wasn't able to get to them before the ribbon was cut, and with the subjects facing the wrong way, made it a visual non-starter.

• Doorway Arrangement: I decided in advance that they would hold their "Grand Opening" banner across the opened front doors, and that we'd re-arrange the furniture for maximum width. This required the movement of a snack table and some chairs out of the frame. I then enlisted two members of the cast to hold the banner across the door, eliminating the need for tape.

• Two Shots: There would be two shots. The first would be a more formal, more carefully arranged shot. After placing the Historical Association's Board President and the HMB Mayor in the center, I did a standard arrangement of tall people in the rear, less tall people in the front. Next, sun glasses were removed, and hats tipped back for better visibility. Finally, when all was in place, I stepped back and told the crowd that they had two minutes to use their phones to make their own keepsake shot. After two minutes, I called time, and reminded the audience that since this was the record shot, to please NOT distract the group by making additional photos. Most of the attendees appreciated having the opportunity to make their images first and follow my instructions, but one must be prepared for an occasionally outlier.

The Money Shot: For the group shot, I used a shoe-mounted flash to add a tiny bit of light into my subject's eyes. I  made about three exposures, checking each one for "blinkers". When satisfied that we had the shot, I had them replace the Grand Opening banner with a thinner, albeit more traditional, cutting ribbon. I removed the flash and set the camera to High Speed Continuous mode, had them count to three, and cut loose.

This was the best of the dozen shots taken with that single burst. One thing I noticed is that some of my subjects had wandered out of alignment, hiding many of the background subjects behind those in the foreground. For me, it was a choice between the contrived posed shot, and the more spontaneous, true-to-the-moment second arrangement, complete with the falling ribbon. It was closer in spirit to a "spot news" photo, albeit a heavily managed one.

To Flash Or Not To Flash: If we compare closeups of the two images, you might ask if the flash was really necessary. The flash did provide a nice catchlight. For this hatless subject, the answer might be "no".

However, when you see the effect the flash has on a subject wearing a hat, the answer is obviously "yes". It's a subtle improvement, probably the sort of thing only another photographer might notice, but I know that I gave the shot everything I had. And it the shot is made into a 20" x 30" framed print hanging in some office, the detail will be there.

In some regards, I would have been better off submitting the curated shot instead of the spontaneous ribbon cutting, as truth be told, both tell the story to the same degree.