This gentleman is actually a very good guitarist. He enjoyed my taking a picture of him and I enjoyed listening to him play.
You might think that after 40-odd years of practicing photography I'd have it all down. I'd never screw up. My camera would bend to my will. All I'd have to do is spy the faintest glimmer of a photo opportunity and I would capture it in less time than it would take lessor mortals to blink.
The fact is that photography for me is often a struggle, the most constant of which is finding the time to practice it. I'm paid to write, you see, not to take pictures. During my "free" time I'm expected to be a good husband and father, not wandering the streets of Philadelphia taking pictures of perfect strangers for no reason other than my own personal gratification. The occasions when my wife and kids are doing something together that doesn't require my presence and participation don't necessarily coincide with good light and sufficient time.
Don't ask me why I like this composition; I just do.
This Saturday I simply set all that aside and made it happen. Despite a heavy overcast and consistent drizzel of rain, I met up with a fellow street photographer who was visiting for the weekend and went searching for a few photos that might justify the effort. I wasn't optimistic. It was a rainy Saturday morning and few people were outside walking around. The heavy overcast meant I wouldn't see of the dramatic shadow patterns I love so much. Worse, it meant I would have to use larger apertures, slower shutter speeds, and higher ISOs than I prefer. "Gordon," I thought to myself, "this morning is going to be a challenge."
To matters even more interesting, the camera I was using, a Nikon D7000 with a 35mm f/2.0 AF Nikkor, decided to be recalcitrant. It refused to reformat the SD card I was using. It took five times longer than normal to flush some shots through the buffer while others passed through in an instant. I took advantage of the fact that the D7000 has two SD card slots and switched cards. Problem solved. Only later, after I removed the original card and thoroughly cleaned the contacts, did it return to normal.
Although I wish this shot had been sharper I'm not sure more sharpness would make any real difference either way.
There were other annoyances as well. For example, the AF system would occasionally balk. I don't mean it would misfocus, it simply wouldn't focus at all. I still remember how to focus manually, but that's not much help when you've already missed the shot. My neckstrap was also pain-in-the-ass. It has a bulk black rubber strip that keeps it from slipping of my shoulder should I decide to use it as a shoulder strap (my preferred carry), but then it gets in the way and prevents me from raising the camera to my eye in a fraction of a second. More missed shots. Oh, and did I mention the less-than-perfect exposures? The shots with less-than-perfect focus? Or image blur caused by camera and/or subject motion?
Sometimes everything works out just right: subject, timing, exposure, composition... Times like this make it all worthwhile.
Fortunately, I've been at this long enough to know that this is just a normal day of street photography. Nothing ever goes exactly as you had hoped or planned. When you've literally got only a second or two to focus, frame, and release the shutter, you're going to miss shots. On the other hand, there will be times when the gods are smiling down on you, the fates align in your favor, and you capture a once-in-a-lifetime shot you would never have imagined and could never have planned. That's the fun of it all, you see. And that's why I keep at. Because one of these days I'll get it right.
