28 Nov At The Ready
I couldn’t tell you how many of my favorite captures fall into the ‘at the right place at the right time’ category. By that, I mean the pictures that I just happened to have my camera either in my bag, in my hands, or in my hands and on. Absolutely nothing about the pictures are planned, at least for the most part. Just a moment that sneaks up on you and you go “oh, that’s cool” – proceeded by a ‘click.’ Always having a camera on you during the majority of your leisure time is a fantastic idea.
Take exhibit A – the photo above. I was out to shoot pictures that day, on a hike out to the Narrows Bridge, my primary objective for the shoot. The bridge is a great place to shoot, however, it’s about a 2 mile hike through some wooded trails and train tracks to get there. The train tracks here just so happen to be very highly trafficked by it’s regular commuters about every 30 minutes or so. As I was walking, on the dead track that is, I looked back at this annoyingly loud machine making it’s way towards me.
Now, I wish that I could tell you that I had been camping there, planning, waiting at this perfect spot where the train rounds this bend, the sun rays where breaking through the tree line, the walking bridge above (where you can only see it’s support on the left) to help better frame the shot, and for the train lights to put out a perfect shine towards my camera. Nope… just walking along, granted camera in hand and on, as I was shooting scenery along my walk, but it was just one of those simple “oh look… cool…. click” moments. I turned, took about 5 seconds to get my framing, and hit the button.
It’s nice to have the satisfaction of planning a day of photos and having all the planning and work pay off with some great captures, however, like the pic above, it was completely unplanned, shot from the hip, and a close tie for my fav pic of the day.
I always try to have a camera on me whenever I’m out and about, and really… anytime I’m not at my job or working out I usually have it on my side. Cause you never know when that train will come sneaking up on you, giving you a great shot.