Photographer Jack Kurtz was in the Philippines reporting on an eruption on Mayon volcano. Mayon volcano with ZUMA Press this past month. However, the photograph which has received the most attention could have been more popular of his photos. It’s a random wedding picture spread all over the Web like wildfire. It’s a once or twice-in-a-lifetime photograph that demonstrates nature’s beauty as a backdrop for the human experience.
The motivation behind this image is all about getting in the correct spot in the right place at the right time with the proper attitude.
Kurtz says to DPReview that he came to the Philippines on the Saturday of January 20th and spent most of the week taking images for his agency, mostly “photographing people in evacuation centers and the volcano when it was erupting.” However, after five long days of shooting, he needed to take a break and decided to use Thursday as a “personal day.”
“I needed to run some errands and since the volcano was quiet it seemed a good day to do that,” Kurtz explains. Kurtz. “I finished my errands about 4:30 in the afternoon and decided to go to a church a few kilometers away to try to make a sunset photo of the volcano erupting.”
The volcano was quiet throughout the day on Thursday, which meant it was an opportunity but, as Kurtz stated: “nothing ventured nothing gained, and off to the church I went.”
When he arrived and walked into the church, there was no sign of a volcanic eruption, and clouds were covering the cone. However, the priest decided to sit and was grateful for his perseverance. According to terms of the church’s clergy:
As time drew on, the clouds dipped, and smoke began to puff through the cone, signaling that an eruption was likely. It was a great sign. I put up the tiny tabletop tripod on a flat rock and took some test photos using the Pen F and iPhone controlling the camera via an Olympus OI Share application. All was well, so I settled down and patiently waited.
While I was there in the midst of it, a couple who had just married in the church walked to a restaurant close to the parking area to take wedding pictures. As they were getting to the viewpoint, the volcano began its eruption. I grabbed my camera and rushed to the restaurant for a photo of the explosion.
Before I began taking pictures, I came up to the wedding photographer. I asked him if I could shoot some photos (I think it would’ve been unprofessional to slap on his work), and he was happy to accept. I began photographing the couple. After a break, I spoke to the couple. I told them who am and inquired if they could transfer the images onto the wire. They told me it was fine. After that, I continued taking pictures.
After a few minutes, they were done, and everyone thanked each other, and Kurtz returned to his place on the lot toto set up the exposure that would result in the photo below.
Photo by Jack Kurtz/ZUMA Press
In an interview with DPReview, he discussed the technical specifications behind the photos; he explained that the wedding photograph was taken using the Olympus Pen F and 17mm F1.8 lens at ISO 400, F4, and 1/30. The color balance was set to daylight, and the photograph was edited later in Lightroom 6 to straighten the horizontal horizon and to alter the color balance. (“Because because of the time of day and the light, the skin tones appeared slightly hot, which is why I cut the temperature down to a certain degree.”)
The photo of the eruption above was also captured using Pen F. Pen F, this time using the 25mm F1.8 lens. The settings were ISO 200. F4.5 as well as 85 secs. The camera was placed on a tiny tripod on a tabletop and operated via OI Share, the OI Share app on Kurtz’s iPhone. The image was edited using Lightroom 6.
Thank you to Mr. Kurtz for sharing his images and the story/technical information behind them with us at DPReview. For more information about his work, make assured visit his website. Check out his website and give him an Instagram account.
