Off the Beaten Path

I work at carrying my camera with me. One might not think of interesting subject matter presenting itself on the routine daily trek to work each day, and for me that theory holds true 99% of the time. However, when that 1% crops up…and I don’t have my camera, I am disappointed in myself. There was a day a few months back where on my walk into work in the morning a white egret stood in the water not 30 feet away from the Walnut Street Bridge I cross on foot; then in the evening in that same spot a blue heron. That is two separate shots I missed in one day. Another thought to keep in mind -- one I knew, but an actuality reinforced the last few days -- is that natural lighting conditions rarely present themselves in the same manner with any regularity. In general terms with regard to bright and sunny, perhaps. But with regard to specific subject material in a given location, taking into account all surrounding conditions, not so much. Yesterday, I tried to recreate the shots of the mums out front of my house, with little success. The quality of light was inconsistent, fluctuating moment to moment with the rolling clouds. Also, the rain -- even though relatively light -- the night before weathered, damaged, and displaced positioning of the mums. Even if the light had cooperated, the flowers themselves had lost integrity. I can try again next year. The point is do not give up. The image above is from an antique shop back a side street in Bangor, Maine.