The story of Noah’s Ark has survived for thousands of years, but one detail has always stood out to me.
The voyage began long before the ark touched the water.
Before there was a journey, there was planning. Materials had to be gathered, the vessel built and everything needed for the voyage put in place. Large commercial photography and video assignments are much the same.
Clients usually judge a project by the finished images. That’s exactly as it should be, but they’re only seeing the final stage of a much longer journey.
Long before the camera comes out, locations have been scouted, logistics organised, permits arranged, equipment prepared and schedules worked through. Some assignments unfold over weeks or months. Others have to come together in a single day.
Then the unexpected happens. The weather changes. Access is delayed. Equipment develops a fault. Sometimes the schedule has to change. You can’t stop the wind changing. You can only decide how you’ll respond.
After many years photographing commercial assignments, I’ve learnt that every project has its own weather. Some days the sea is calm. Other days it isn’t. Either way, the destination doesn’t change.
That’s where experience comes in. Clients understand that things don’t always go to plan. They simply expect me to deal with whatever comes along. Most of the time they never know there was a problem. Nor should they.
If I’ve done my job well, they receive the images they were expecting, not a list of the obstacles that had to be worked around to make them happen. Every voyage has a moment when you know you’re getting close. Photographers recognise it immediately.
It’s the first frame that captures exactly what the client had in mind. It’s watching the light come together just as you’d hoped. It’s hearing someone behind you quietly say, “That’s the one.”
The dove returns with an olive branch. I’ve always liked what it represents. A sign that the voyage is nearly over and the destination is within reach.
There are moments like that on every assignment. They’re the quiet reminders that all the planning, the early starts, the travel and the problem-solving were worth the effort.
Clients see the finished images.
The voyage is everything that made them possible.