Random Excellence: Steph Chambers and the Peak Moment

When I happen across a picture I like in a news source, I sometimes look up the photographer. Most recently it was a picture of the new world record holder in the women's 400 meter hurdles, the amazing Sydney McLaughlin, in this article. (The video of the race is worth watching, although the cameraperson keeps letting the leader leave the frame) The stills photographer, Steph Chambers, catches Sydney at the finish line, body flying, her facial expression a mixture of the pain of effort and supreme self-control. Sydney set the world record with a time that would have been impressive in a race over the same distance without hurdles.

Granted, we have ways now of helping us get the moment—AF tracking and high-speed frame rates. But you still have to know what you're after and where you'll find it, where you need to be to get it, and which frame got it. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

A visit to the website of Steph Chambers, a Getty photographer from Seattle, shows a photographer with a real knack for capturing just the right moment, whether it's a high school football player crossing the goal line airborne and upside down, a little kid doing a Michael Jordan impression in a basketball game on the street, or an overexcited Penguins fan losing his eyeglasses. They say shooters are in control of three things: where you stand, where you point the camera, and when you press the button. Getting the exact peak moment is a skill verging on a gift, not common at all in my experience (even with today's tools), and that's what I see in Steph Chambers' portfolio. She makes it look easy, and it's thrilling stuff. (I love the one of the parachute dude.) An up-and-comer to watch.

Mike

Book o' the Week

Grit and Grace: Women at Work in the Emerging World. Unfortunately, this will be the posthumous swan song of the indefatigable documentarian Alison Wright, whose untimely death at 60 in the Azores this year meant she never got to see it published. Wright's photography was inextricably entwined with her life's dedication to social justice, a sense of acceptance of humanity, and a roving search for beauty and color.

Our link to B&H Photo

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[Dave Karp]

Thanks Mike. She is exceptional.

[xf mj]

And a "Pittsburgher" to boot! Great hometown. I agree with you about her action stuff, her ability to get the drama of a sports moment. Always happy with these Random Excellences especially with your evaluation of why they are excellent.

[Thomas Mc Cann]

I'm no fan of Instagram. Currently I follow only one person but I just had to follow Steph Chambers. Her ability to capture the moment is sublime. Thank you