On Friday afternoon I attended the funeral of Melanie Hall at Bath Abbey.
Melanie went missing from a Bath nightclub 14 years ago. Her remains were found a few weeks ago dumped next to the M5 slip road in Bristol. As I was part of the press pack I wasn't allowed inside the Abbey and so was herded like a sheep with the rest of press into a small area to the side of the main doors.
I really wanted a different perspective of the situation. I wanted to show the attention that the case has received and the media glare that follows such a sad story. With this in mind I walked away from the press area and took a place on the far side so that the press would be in the background when the coffin and family made their way into the Abbey. Taking a decision to move away from the main bunch of photographers isn't easy as you feel you may miss a great shot. It's a catch 22 situation, either you snap almost identical pictures as everyone else or you take a risk and try something different. Seeing as I didn't have a prime position my mind was made up.
Funerals are very sensitive photographic assignments and require careful judgement when deciding how close to get to the subject, whether to use flash etc. On the one hand you need to get a shot and on the other you have to respect the situation and relatives. I waited outside in the freezing cold for over an hour for the service to finish in which time the light had faded making exposure tricky. I ended up having to raise the ISO so as to obtain a fast enough shutter speed to hand hold a 200mm lens. I found this testing seeing as my VR reduction was playing up! Also when you raise the ISO you run the risk of too much grain which could affect the quality of the print.
I like this shot as you can see the parents emotions and the coffin clearly. It would have been better if the person in white robes from the Abbey had not been there as it's slightly distracting. Shame.
All in all a very sad ( and cold! ) occasion.
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