One of the convenient things of modern life is the almost omnipresent cellular telephone. One of the curses of modern life is the almost omnipresent cellular telephone – but that’s a subject for my other blog, perhaps. The cell phone’s being at hand allows one opportunities that would otherwise be missed. This year I’ve been concentrating on learning to use my DSLR cameras off Auto Mode. BUT, they are still large, bulky, heavy and one doesn’t have a DSLR to hand all the time, unlike the ubiquitous cell phone which goes almost everywhere anymore and is easy to grab and use. Especially when with a simple gesture one can open the camera and be ready to capture an image.
This morning while walking the dogs on their “morning constitutional”, I was walking down the sidewalk and saw a fallen flower. I’ve captured images of similar flowers many times, up in the tree. They are a lovely spot of color in the midst of the foliage. But today I was struck by the beauty of the flower and the shadows cast by the early morning sun. Yes, I was just a few yards from the house and I could have run inside, grabbed a camera and lens and returned, but who knows what would happen to the image in the meantime? A wind could come up and blow away the flower, a passerby could step on it, the shadows might shift, a cloud might cover the sun… but I had my cell phone in my pocket and it was the work of a moment to pull it out, grasp tightly and quickly twist my wrist twice to activate the camera. Then find a position where my own shadow would not cover the image I saw. Use what you have. Photography isn’t just about equipment and the “latest and greatest” equipment, it’s about capturing the light from a moment in time. Here’s what I saw this morning, as I was out walking the dogs.
Yes, there is a lot that could be improved in this picture if another camera had been used, but I like it – and that’s what my photography is about anyway: capturing images I like and sharing with folks who find them interesting.
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