Over all the years I have been actively and intentionally photographing the world around me, as opposed to casual snapshots without much thought behind them (which should not be misconstrued as an implication that such pictures are inherently devoid of meaning and purpose) there are two things I keep coming back to that need to be in place for me to take a good picture:
- I need to have my camera with me. Preferably one of my DSLRs, but any camera will do.
- I need to actively seek out photo opportunities.
Other things help, for sure, but without those two things in place it’s not likely I’ll get much in the way of a good photograph. Or any photograph at all, if I don’t have a camera.
That, then, offers a bit of background, or perhaps context, for today’s photo. When I left for work on the morning I saw this scene I saw my camera sitting on the table and thought to myself “Do I really want to take the camera today?” A few reasons to answer with “No” included the usual slate of excuses:
- The camera is too big and heavy
- I might drop it
- I don’t really want to today. Maybe tomorrow.
None of these, obviously, have much in the way of substance. And while it’s possible that I won’t get a good photo if I have my camera, it is not possible to get a good photo, or any photo, if I do not have my camera. So, being fresh out of excuses, I grabbed my D750 and 105mm f/2.8 macro lens, stuffed it into my bag, and headed out the door.
The sun was already up, but not by much, by the time I parked the car and walked a few blocks through campus to get to my building. Since I had my camera with me, I was actively looking for photo and not 30 seconds after leaving my vehicle I saw this scene:
Nothing special, right? Just a tree in front of the Business School building. Not so! It was actually an chance to take an interesting picture: the sunlight behind me, the green and brown leaf in front of me, and the lights on the building in the background, all combined to create an interesting, and quite fleeting, opportunity of which I was able to take advantage because I had my camera with me and was looking for interesting scenes to photograph.
A few clicks of the shutter later and I was back on my way down the sidewalk heading to my building, but with a fun image that I was glad to be able to capture.
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