Yesterday, as I pulled into the driveway, my daughter pointed to the roof of the garage. “Look!” she said. “A squirrel!” I looked up and there was a squirrel, sitting absolutely still on the peak of the roof, perfectly backlit, posing. I reached for my camera.
I happened to have a Panasonic ZR1, which I’m testing (look for the review in a week or two), in my pocket. I zoomed it to its 200mm setting and grabbed two shots before the little guy scampered away.
I got the shot because I was there, and I had a camera. And I had the camera because it was small and I just threw it in my pocket before I left to pick up my daughter from school (something I expect to do around 180 times between now and next June) because You Never Know.
No matter where I am, when I have a camera with me, that device turns whatever I’m doing or wherever I’m going into an adventure in seeing. While vacations are the most obvious time to have a camera along, finding visually exciting everyday moments can be even more rewarding.
Every day can be like that for you if you bring your camera.
Having a camera within reach heightens my visual senses. Scenes I might pass by suddenly become interesting, such as the above image of rays of sunlight streaming through the leaves of a tree.
Walking around the construction site (where a local synagogue is expanding) I saw two congregants looking up at the day's progress, selected high-contrast black-and-white mode, and grabbed this shot, taking advantage of the ZR1's 25mm wide-angle lens.
That’s three shots within about an hour, because I was there, and had a camera. Having a camera helped me to not take the world around me for granted.
What I did on my summer vacation
Of course, any photographer worth his or her salt will bring a camera and a lens or two on a family vacation. Last week I took my family to Williamsburg, VA, where I shot around 1,000 images with my Canon EOS-40D, a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens and a recently-purchased, refurbished 55-250mm f/4-5.6 EFS Canon tele zoom.
Also read: "Considering buying refurbished Canon from Adorama Camera?" by Helen Oster
Here’s an example of being there:
Tuesday was a big day in Colonial Williamsburg. At 5:00 PM, the Fife and Drum Corps would do a presentation, and I wanted to get there early. My family, exhausted from walking around in the dust and heat all day, parked themselves under a shady tree to watch the presentation while I went off in search of Redcoats.
I saw the Fife and Drum corps starting to assemble in front of the Governor’s Mansion but was about 100 yards away. Sensing something unscripted and interesting developing, I broke into a sprint while switching to an 80-250mm lens and got there just in time to see the band taking a final swig of water while sitting on a bench off to the side. I grabbed three shots before they stood up and got into formation.
Of course, I also took the standard shots of the presentation, but the first one is different and fun.
Another example: In Busch Gardens, near Williamsburg, there’s a small zoo with, among other creatures, rescued Bald Eagles whose wings are injured and therefore can no longer fly. A presenter was showing off one of the birds, and I was able to stand six feet away and shoot some dramatic head shots.
I was very conscious of where the edges of the frame were, and wanted to capture the intensity of this glorious bird’s eye. While I didn’t expect to get so close to a Bald Eagle at an amusement park, this was a photo opportunity that I couldn’t possibly pass up.
Vacations are full of planned and, if you’re paying attention, unplanned photo opportunities. But as we return to work or school, let’s not forget that everyday life is full of photo opportunities, too.
All you have to do is be there with a camera, and be open to the possibilities.
