So many faces, so many opportunities. I swear it is difficult to fail at getting a character shot, or a candid portrait, or a street shot that makes you smile in this sparkly Northern Empire. There is a specific kind of magic in the light up here—a grit mixed with a shimmer that you just don’t find anywhere else.

I love it, and I highly recommend anyone with a penchant for the odd, or indeed the quirky, to make an effort: grab your camera bag and head north for the weekend. On this particular afternoon, back on 17-Sep-2011, I found myself reaching for the Canon EOS 5D. There is something about that sensor that just understands the lines of a face. I had the Canon EF70-200mm f2.8 IS USM L Series dialed all the way in to 200mm, allowing me to compress the scene and really isolate the sparkle in a subject’s eye amidst the bustle of the street.

Even with the energy of the moment, I kept the settings disciplined: ISO 100 and a steady f/11 to ensure that every plume of a feather and detail of a corset remained tack sharp. At 1/100 second, I was able to freeze that fleeting, genuine smile without losing the atmosphere to the shadows.

I am really looking forward to editing the remaining portraits and images through Photoshop and Lightroom. I’ve found that this may finally be my “blogging season.” It usually happens in patches for me—normally where I grab an opportunity to enjoy my photography and literally go for it.

With other pressures day-to-day, these opportunities are often few and far between, but I love the rush of it when everything aligns. Of course, when I finally win the lottery, it will all change and the “season” will never have to end. Until then, I’ll keep chasing these fleeting moments of Northern spark.

• taken|17 september, 2011
• camera|Canon EOS 5D
• focal length|200mm
• aperture|f/11
• shutter speed|1/100s
• iso|100
• flash fired|no
• exposure bias|-0.33 ev