A small yacht with a bright red sail is manoeuvred along the waterways at Thurne. The light on that cold mid-November day is fading fast, as are the opportunities to capture this tranquil scene on the Norfolk Broads. The tripod is hastily erected, the camera fixed, and the image captured. However, when viewed on the computer back home the image proves to be disappointing. The shutter speed, of 1/12th second at f/9, is too long to avoid the depiction of a little movement in the boat itself. Consequently the photograph is “archived”, filed away and forgotten.

Two years later, the image is revisited and reviewed with a different pair of eyes. The movement in the craft is still visible, of course, but now it seems to be tolerable and doesn’t appear to undermine the depiction of calm tranquility. Perhaps this is due to a more objective understanding, gained over time, that a technical failure, while undeniable, need not inevitably consign the resulting image to the archives. Perhaps my decision to file the image away, and not to delete it, was a sub-conscious act of recognition that in time it might have potential after all!

Canon EOS 5D and EF 16-35mm lens.

Exposure of 1/12 second at f/9.

Date: 18/11/06

Location: Thurne, Norfolk

Photographer: Ian Flindt

Buy this print online: