Luck in Photography vers 4.0
I often wonder about the vagaries of life and how they affect the outcome of photographs.
These vagaries might be referred to as “luck.”
If you had left your house five minutes earlier would you have seen the large herd of elk crossing the river? Perhaps you looked left instead of right when passing Cabezon peak and missed the dramatic storm brewing above? Or maybe it was just seeing something interesting and passing it up because you had something else on your mind and then realizing later that you might have passed up a strong image due to that distraction?
Whatever the reason might be, there are always these vagaries in our lives and one has to admit, at least occasionally, that they do affect photographic outcomes.
The photo above, which is one of my favorites, is a perfect example.
I was heading home one afternoon and decided to take the road through Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. This road connects the highway from Española to Taos with the highway that goes through Abiquiú and up to Chama and beyond. I had experienced some distressing things that week and was distracted so when I passed by these three basketball players (left to right: Garion Tapia, Walter Stroop and Isaiah Viareal) I glanced briefly to my left but decided to simply head home and contemplate distressing things one experiences in life.
But about 100 yards down the road my photographer’s instinct kicked in and I did a quick U-turn and headed back. I knew there was something there that would eat at me if I didn’t check out these young b-ball guys.
I pulled to the side of the road near the players and parked near a “No Parking At Any Time” sign, hoping I wouldn’t see an Ohkay Owingeh police care pull up.
The three players were more than happy to talk and have their photograph taken while they were playing but I knew I only had about ten minutes before I lost the sun that was nearing the horizon.
The low sun was one of the reasons my photographer’s instinct had kicked in. I’m a real fan of light that time of day. The other thing that attracted me to the situation and prompted me to turn around was the setting; a portable basketball hoop sitting on dirt amid some old adobes.
The scene spoke of rural Northern New Mexico.
As the three teens played, I waited for the one photograph I was anticipating, the time when the ball had left Viareal’s hands and was suspended between the player and the hoop.
After a few shots I knew I had the ball in the sky backlit by the setting sun and the follow-through of the shooter's hand after the ball was released. I spoke some more with the boys as the sun set and then got in my car and continued home, thankfully sans a ticket for parking in the no parking area.
I realized that if I had waited a short while longer before heading home, or taking my time to turn around after realizing the potential of the scene I had passed, I would have missed one of my favorite photos.
Luck, combined with my anticipation of the photo I wanted to capture, was on my side that day.
These vagaries might be referred to as “luck.”
If you had left your house five minutes earlier would you have seen the large herd of elk crossing the river? Perhaps you looked left instead of right when passing Cabezon peak and missed the dramatic storm brewing above? Or maybe it was just seeing something interesting and passing it up because you had something else on your mind and then realizing later that you might have passed up a strong image due to that distraction?
Whatever the reason might be, there are always these vagaries in our lives and one has to admit, at least occasionally, that they do affect photographic outcomes.
The photo above, which is one of my favorites, is a perfect example.
I was heading home one afternoon and decided to take the road through Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. This road connects the highway from Española to Taos with the highway that goes through Abiquiú and up to Chama and beyond. I had experienced some distressing things that week and was distracted so when I passed by these three basketball players (left to right: Garion Tapia, Walter Stroop and Isaiah Viareal) I glanced briefly to my left but decided to simply head home and contemplate distressing things one experiences in life.
But about 100 yards down the road my photographer’s instinct kicked in and I did a quick U-turn and headed back. I knew there was something there that would eat at me if I didn’t check out these young b-ball guys.
I pulled to the side of the road near the players and parked near a “No Parking At Any Time” sign, hoping I wouldn’t see an Ohkay Owingeh police care pull up.
The three players were more than happy to talk and have their photograph taken while they were playing but I knew I only had about ten minutes before I lost the sun that was nearing the horizon.
The low sun was one of the reasons my photographer’s instinct had kicked in. I’m a real fan of light that time of day. The other thing that attracted me to the situation and prompted me to turn around was the setting; a portable basketball hoop sitting on dirt amid some old adobes.
The scene spoke of rural Northern New Mexico.
As the three teens played, I waited for the one photograph I was anticipating, the time when the ball had left Viareal’s hands and was suspended between the player and the hoop.
After a few shots I knew I had the ball in the sky backlit by the setting sun and the follow-through of the shooter's hand after the ball was released. I spoke some more with the boys as the sun set and then got in my car and continued home, thankfully sans a ticket for parking in the no parking area.
I realized that if I had waited a short while longer before heading home, or taking my time to turn around after realizing the potential of the scene I had passed, I would have missed one of my favorite photos.
Luck, combined with my anticipation of the photo I wanted to capture, was on my side that day.
To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email [email protected]
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or use the contact form on the About page