Most of my pictures were planned. Careful composition, waiting for the perfect moment, even scheduling. I'd lie in wait for a bird to land at the feeder, camera already set on tripod, stalking the perfect shot. And I'd often came away with some very good photographs.
But like the song that rises from a dream, I now know the perfect photograph can just materialize unaware, when various events coalesce, moving scenes converge, lighting mellows and events step together into something special.
That happened Wednesday evening when I attended the Ricky Skaggs concert at Miamisburg's Bicentennial celebration. Tom and I were sitting at a picnic table under a tent, enjoying the passing crowd, watching the sky for rain.
Above me and to the west, the levee blocked our view of the Great Miami River but I intended to climb it later and have a look. I was playing with my camera, zooming in one various attractions when I began watching people strolling along the top of the levee.
I aimed at them, zoomed in to crop the scene in my view finder. It was nothing special but I kept the camera there, perhaps anticipating something unintentional. And then, three individuals stopped, seemed to talk briefly and I saw a miracle develop before my eyes.
I pushed the shutter release ...
What is the man pointing toward? The woman behind him, ponytail streaming down, watches, too. Another man looks south, also.
I am shooting in color but the silhouette is mostly black and white. The sky glows with muted light. It is late in the day and it is about to rain. A clear blue sky in the background would not have worked, This shot required clouds.
How often am I below groups of people when I am taking pictures? I almost shot this one into the sky.
Of my many thousands of photos, this is my favorite.
These three walked into my viewfinder unaware, stopped and gave me the picture of a lifetime.
This reminds me of something. What?
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