American Baptism in Paris

It was a busy week-end with photo tours around Paris. And thankfully the weather held up perfectly albeit a little cold. The Latin quarter and Montmartre really are a photographers delight and the time always goes all too fast.


Then on Sunday I had the privilege of witnessing and recording the baptism of Richard and Dominic sons of Edward and Karen-Anne in the American church here in Paris (http://www.acparis.org).
It was the first time I've shot a baptism here in the American church and as a so called "lapsed catholic" I enjoyed and appreciated the upbeat and fun atmosphere created by the preachers.



However the highlight was the choir and bell ringers. The music (bell ringers) really was of a high standard and the choir was equally enchanting.
And I imagined that I'd be bored stiff!
The sermon was a mix of bible and google talk, never thought that could be possible but these guys are keeping up with the times I guess.
Now to get to the point of this blog, photography!
I was banished to the wings of the church which created a serious problem of how to get a picture, and then came the second blow, no flash. In a dark church I had no choice but to use dangerously high ISO which creates digital noise   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_noise) and colour pixelation. Luckily I have great cameras, and I'm glad I bought 2 of them with me with some great L series lenses that have wide apertures like F1.4 and F2.8
without these lenses I may as well stay at home.






When it came to the baptism I discovered I was on the wrong side of the church and had to risk receiving the ire of the reverend but hell I had a job to do and a client to please and so I went for a run across the altar steps to the other side of the church. It happened all so fast, between the bowl of water being produced and the boys being baptised I'm glad I had my cameras set up to ISO 1250 otherwise I'd have missed the "big" shots. The reverend never said a word.
In sensitive or difficult situations my mantra is, "I'm a photographer and this is what I do".  And that is the difference between amateur and professional photographers. The amateur would still be standing there wondering...


 Kevin Hayden photography Paris and elsewhere.