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Recently, I was with a group photographing a location I’ve been to a few times. I was not inspired to photograph what we all came shoot which was fine, I was enjoying the company and just being there. And then, while waiting at the stop light to cross the street, I looked down and found todays blog image.

I’m enjoying Jay Maisel’s book, Light Gesture & Color, where he is confirming things I too have learned along the way.  Things like, always have a camera with you and its all about the light! There is not good or bad light, there is just light. Jay shows some wonderful examples of “bad noonday light.”  And then he speaks about a wall that he painted and how it transformed when the light hits it in a particular way. This is exactly what happened here. I was standing on the sidewalk on a cover of some sort. Probably access to wires underneath. I’ve stood on or driven over this type of thing many times, but this time because of the late day low angle of the sun, it took on a completely different possibility. I snapped three quick images and then the light changed. Yes, the sunlight and the street light!

Jay tells his students to just go out and shoot. Essentially asking them to put away their expectations and simply be aware, aware of what is calling them to be photographed. This is my gentle reminder to you as well. While it is wonderful to travel to exotic destinations and plan or even pre-visualize the great images we will make, great images are right before us. We just need to be open to seeing them. So, as you are out, have a camera with you, be observant and open to whatever gifts are presented and stop worrying about the light. It is what it is, its up to you to use it properly.

By the way and not that it matters, this is an iPhone 6+ image.

[Tweet “A Gently Reminder”]

 

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