(This is the story behind the photograph—a glimpse into the moment, the process, and the vision that brought it to life.)

Dotan Saguy is now organizing photography workshops alongside his colleague Gail Fisher (formerly of National Geographic and Los Angeles Times). For more information, visit their website.

Great street photography isn’t about luck—it’s about knowing where to stand and when to wait.

A photographer doesn’t just press the shutter at random. They study light, movement, and timing, always ready for that perfect second. The difference between an average picture and a great one often comes down to patience. If you want to capture unforgettable images, you have to stay in the moment, even when nothing seems to be happening. The best shots come to those who don’t walk away too soon.

Some scenes unfold in an instant, others take time to build. At Venice Beach, with the sun sinking behind the ocean, the pieces were coming together. A group gathered around a small grill, smoke drifting through the air, the rhythm of drums in the background. It wasn’t just about the fire or the light—it was about waiting for the right interaction, the right gesture, the right second. A street photographer knows that a great photo isn’t just seen, it’s anticipated. And when that moment arrives, you have to be ready.

Dotan Saguy is a seasoned photographer who knows exactly what to do. He has spent years perfecting the art of street photography, understanding that the best shots don’t come from chasing moments but from recognizing them before they happen. He doesn’t just point and shoot—he observes, adjusts, and waits.

In the fall of 2024, as the sun set at Venice Beach, the sound of drums filled the air. Dotan was there, working on a new color project about the drum circle and other iconic Venice Beach staples. That’s when he ran into Danielle, someone he had met years ago when photographing people living in their vehicles in Venice.

“I met Danielle a few years back when I was shooting a project in Venice, California about people living in vehicles. At the time Danielle was quite the party girl living out her bohemian dream out of an old RV parked near Venice Beach.

“She was a regular at the weekly drum circle on Sunday afternoons. I shot a few photographs of her back then that I never published because they didn't end-up fitting in my project of that time. But I did share them with her and she cherished them. I find that sharing images with my subjects is a great way to create long term trust relationships.”

“After that Danielle left LA to travel around. She stayed in Hawaii for a while. I didn't see her for years until one day she re-emerged... and of course it was at the Venice Beach drum circle! It was fall 2024. I was just starting a color project about the drum circle and other iconic Venice Beach staples.”

“You could argue this reunion of sorts was just a lucky coincidence, but my frequent Sunday shoots in Venice and her loyalty to the drum circle definitely helped the luck”

On this December afternoon, Danielle arrived at the drum circle with a small BBQ grill and a friend. Dotan saw an opportunity to capture the moment. But the busy background made it hard to make Danielle stand out, even with his 35mm lens at f/2.0. "It’s only 5:30 pm, but since it’s winter, the golden hour is already at its peak. I take a few shots of Danielle and her friend setting up. Part of the issue is that everything is evenly lit by the setting sun so the background is quite bright and saturated too. Detaching my subject from the background is essential to give the photograph a visual hierarchy The eye tends to first go to the brightest part of a picture. So if everything is bright it’s tough to establish visual hierarchy."

He decided to try a different angle. "In a situation like this one, it’s good to not get too attached to a single angle of view, especially if it doesn’t quite work yet. So I decide to turn my camera around: I can see that the silhouettes are getting more dramatic and with the simpler background of the beach and the sky, the opportunities to layer are much more compelling. I take a few more shots of the couple preparing their grill with the sun setting behind them. The light is stunning and their old fashioned bohemian attire creates some intrigue. But the action isn't that interesting yet."

As the grill heated up, smoke started to rise, adding an interesting element to the picture. "Whenever I see smoke or steam in a scene, whether that's from a grill, a cigarette, or a street vent, I always try to figure out how I could include it in my shot. Smoke and steam have a way of adding mystery, poetry and soul to photographs. In this case there's also smoke in the background so I'm trying hard to include both in my composition."

“I tend to look for 3 elements for a successful photograph: design, information and moment. Here the light and the composition make the design work but the information is a bit dull: it's just two people tending to a BBQ grill, and the moment also lacks intensity: It is taking place at sunset but the two people are not interacting, just tending to the grill. It's helpful to keep a cool head when evaluating this set of criteria during a shoot: Design, Information, Moment. It’s dangerous to fall in love with how WE feel shooting a scene because it can taint our perception of how the shoot is going and prevent us from making needed adjustments.“

Capturing a good street photo is like playing a game, he says.

"Just like in a game I need to juggle many different things at once in my composition and my timing.

People in the foreground move, change postures, vary their facial expressions

People in the background move around

The smoke quickly takes different intriguing shapes

The rule of the game is to capture moments when all these elements are at their peak, carefully detached and carefully placed in the frame. My camera is my game controller: I can only control where to position myself, where to point my lens, and when to press the shutter. This allows me to include or exclude visual elements from my frame when the shutter is pressed.”

“Also note that I am staying with the scene for a long time and keep shooting as it unfolds. I am not looking at the screen on the back of my camera to see what I already shot, I am not looking at my phone. Instead I am fully present, fully engaged with the scene, waiting for moments and constantly looking for new ideas, new ways to win the game: should I move slightly to separate elements in the frame? Do I need to change my f-stop to get more depth of field? Are there distracting elements on the edge of my frame?"

“Michelle’s friend picks up his drum and starts drumming. I move to properly layer him into the scene but doing so there are people I can’t detach from Danielle’s head. I try hiding them behind her and cropping them out of the frame. I also try framing vertically but it doesn’t work. I’m not surprised: Vertical shots have gained a lot of popularity with smartphones and instagram but they often don’t work as well as landscape shots. They’re fine for close up portraits because we have vertical faces and bodies but for wide layered shots like this scene, they tend to lack spacial context. They feel cropped and constrained.“

“So I decide to go back to a horizontal framing and I back up to get the broader scene. I shift my perspective to fully crop out the distracting background characters behind Danielle to the right and include more of the people in the background to the left with the upside down bikes and the smoke.“

Then, the scene took an exciting turn. "The BBQ was hard to light, and they were getting impatient. Danielle’s friend poured some lighter fluid from a paper cup. Suddenly, a big flame erupted—that was my chance! Fire makes a scene more dramatic, but it’s also tricky. It’s the brightest thing in the frame, much brighter than the evening sky. If I overexpose it, it turns white. But I also don’t want the faces to be too dark. When faces are close to the fire, it gives them a beautiful warm glow, so I wanted to use that."

Saguy stayed with the scene, waiting for the best possible shot. "Do you see how we just leveled up in our video game?! The fire has made it more exciting but also introduced a few more challenges on top of the old ones! Meanwhile notice that, 15 minutes in, I am still shooting the same scene. Most street photographers take a few shots and move on. Why? Do they get bored, are they afraid to impose, do they want to shoot a greater variety of scenes. The only way I know to do my best work is to pick a great scene like this one and work it: stick with it until it’s gone. After all a scene like this doesn’t come along very often so why move on as long as it’s still unfolding? My chances of finding anything better to shoot that evening are close to zero.“

“But why stay if I know I already got THE SHOT? Simple: there might be another shot, and another.”

“The next development happens when Danielle puts on her fire dance palm torches and lights them. Now the scene has evolved to a whole new level. Imagine if I had left a few minutes earlier thinking I had THE shot? Anyway you get the point. The rules of the game are not that complicated, just like playing a video game. Sure it’s challenging to get high scores but it would be boring if it was too easy, wouldn’t’ it?"

Finally, he got the shot he wanted. "The flame from the BBQ, the palm torches lighting Danielle’s face, her expression and body language, the lifeguard tower in the background—everything came together. The only small issue was that the hands of the drummer and the woman in the background weren’t as perfect as in an earlier shot… but I’m happy with it!"

As the flames died and the night settled in, he knew it was time to stop. Street photography is a lot like playing a game. It’s not always easy, but that’s what makes it fun. If it were too simple, it wouldn’t be interesting! The patience and staying present had once again led to a great shot. Patience is everything.

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