Luck (or Timing) in Photography vers 5
This is one of my favorite analog (film) pre-digital infrared images.
During the late 1980s, in addition to continuing my photography career, I was building a round, two-story adobe in the small village of Cañones in Northern New Mexico. I was also making custom furniture and had made a delivery of some chairs to a surgeon living in Tucson, Arizona.
After the furniture delivery, I was taking a short detour to Mexico before returning home. I was about 10 miles south of Tucson, when I came to the Tohono O’odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation and the Mission San Xavier del Bac.
I was taking photos of the famous mission where normally a lot of visitors are in attendance. This was an unusual day where very few people were around. I had just about finished photographing and preparing to leave when these three dogs seeming to appear out of nowhere and were passing by in front of the Mission creating a surreal-looking tableau.
I had time to take one photo before the dogs ran off.
It was one of those situations I consider really successful but also attribute its success to a quick finger on the shutter, instinctively knowing the aperture and shutter settings (remember, this was before I had access to auto focus and automatic camera settings) and a dollop of luck.
But a lot of times luck can translate into timing, or be synonymous with timing. If I had decided to leave five minutes earlier than I did, I wouldn’t have taken this photo, those mysterious dogs would have already departed.
Quick reflexes, knowledge of my camera, advantageous timing and that dollop of luck make a nice recipe for that occasional strong photo that works.
During the late 1980s, in addition to continuing my photography career, I was building a round, two-story adobe in the small village of Cañones in Northern New Mexico. I was also making custom furniture and had made a delivery of some chairs to a surgeon living in Tucson, Arizona.
After the furniture delivery, I was taking a short detour to Mexico before returning home. I was about 10 miles south of Tucson, when I came to the Tohono O’odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation and the Mission San Xavier del Bac.
I was taking photos of the famous mission where normally a lot of visitors are in attendance. This was an unusual day where very few people were around. I had just about finished photographing and preparing to leave when these three dogs seeming to appear out of nowhere and were passing by in front of the Mission creating a surreal-looking tableau.
I had time to take one photo before the dogs ran off.
It was one of those situations I consider really successful but also attribute its success to a quick finger on the shutter, instinctively knowing the aperture and shutter settings (remember, this was before I had access to auto focus and automatic camera settings) and a dollop of luck.
But a lot of times luck can translate into timing, or be synonymous with timing. If I had decided to leave five minutes earlier than I did, I wouldn’t have taken this photo, those mysterious dogs would have already departed.
Quick reflexes, knowledge of my camera, advantageous timing and that dollop of luck make a nice recipe for that occasional strong photo that works.
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