One of the
things I love most about photography is the role played by serendipity in stumbling
upon images that are visually arresting and worthy of sharing with others. At
one point in my life, I would have called this pure, dumb luck. But then Prime
Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau (i.e., Trudeau One) changed my perceptions of ‘luck’
forever. He once famously observed, “Luck, that’s when preparation and
opportunity meet.” And that Jesuitical insight has become one of my touchstone
philosophies.
Whenever I’m
feeling photographically ‘dry’, I just remember Trudeau’s words and haul myself
outside in search of images. Those images don’t text me when they’re ready for
their close-ups – I have to go out in active search of them. And suddenly, they
appear. The wonderful ‘coincidences’ occur. The magical moments present
themselves. The planets line up, and the universe unfolds.
And so it
was that I was travelling along Spring Brook Road in central Hastings County between
Highways 62 and 14 on Sunday. Suddenly, on my left I saw the overgrown school
bus you see above. Like Rip Van Winkle, the bus looked like it had been asleep
for a veeeery long time.
So I pulled
the truck over and took several shots. And then I looked around me.
Within meters of where I was standing was a treasure trove of fascinating,
engaging images – and all of them wanted to be taken. Snap, snap, snap I happily
went for the next ten minutes. All of these images – the bus, the buildings,
the farm equipment, and the two-wheeled stump – were taken within a few steps
of the truck. No preparation + no opportunity = no photos. It’s as simple as
that. That’s Tayler’s Photographic Rule #1.
And my Photographic
Rule #2? Whenever you’re finished taking the photo you thought you wanted,
always check out what other images are nearby. That’s when Rule #3 clicks in:
There will always be other images nearby!
I hope you
enjoy these Spring Brook Road images. If you’re ever in central Hastings
County, please check them out for yourself!
Until next time.
Funny, we passed that overgrown school bus on the HCHS bus tour a week ago, and Bill Hunt drew our attention to it with a joke. I love your philosophy, Larry, and concur - especially true for me in the case of interesting built heritage!
ReplyDeleteAlas, it's sometimes best to travel solo on a photographic expedition - I don't like presuming on the patience of my supportive spouse!
DeleteArgh. That's what often inhibits me, too.
DeleteEye statements--and life lessons!
ReplyDeleteEye statements--and life lessons!
ReplyDelete