My Favorite Photo

I’ve taken a lot of photos.

With varying degrees of success, mind you. At least according to my own opinion. What does success even look like when taking a photo? It’s an interesting question given how a person could take a picture of a radiator and be considered a professional photographer. Is success ensuring the photo looks exactly like how it looked when you were standing there? Or is creative license required to make it look, dope? I’m pretty sure that is what the kids are saying these days. I’m hopeful that is a compliment and not me suggesting photos need to look like drugs to be successful.

Either way, there is one photo I took that I would deem to be my most successful photo. Though people have seen several photos of mine and have indicated their favorites, what I would call my favorite often comes as a complete surprise. It isn’t flashy or special and the story behind it is even less so.

The story?

I walked out my front door to go to work. I saw flowers. I grabbed my camera and stood awkwardly for about 30 seconds. Pressed the shutter button, got in my car, and went to work. This was the result. You’re welcome.

It is simple, perfectly in focus, the colors are on point, and the composition is satisfying. It turned out exactly how I wanted it. People accuse me of over-editing this photo, stealing it from a Home and Gardens magazine, etc. It’s rude, but that only makes me like the picture more.

Given how uninspiring the story of this photo is, I’m guessing there needs to be some deep inspirational meaning I conjure up like, “Always remember to stop and smell the roses?” It is possible in the midst of this inspiring photo I didn’t actually stop to smell them. I only stopped long enough to take a photo.

That can be a blog post later.

It’s funny to me that I’m often inspired to take photos at the most random times. A popular photography YouTuber used to always comment on how you should bring your camera with you everywhere you go. He wasn’t wrong. The idea being that if you are going to spend that much coin on camera equipment you might as well use it. 

Then there's the alternative. You bring your camera with you to a distinct location only to find it being a strangely heavy burden. Not just heavy as in a camera body and glass from a lens can weigh several pounds, but you are also carrying half your net worth around your neck. The added stress of damaging said equipment keeps you from fully interacting with your surroundings. You’ll gladly sacrifice your face for the incoming frisbee over potentially dropping your gear.

I walked around a park the other day with some family. We walked a loop like we typically do, I brought my camera like I typically do. We stopped to look at flowers. We saw many people fishing. And one of the party members mentioned that the night earlier there was this perfect scenario that needed to be captured in a photo.

It had to do with a child … going to the bathroom. Standing next to his father, who was busy luring in tonight's dinner, he apparently dropped his pants and began peeing into the water. Not sure I’d eat anything that came out of that water before his excrements were dispersed, let alone after. And as the story goes, the sunlight hit this steady stream in such a way that it was worthy of a Kodak moment. I’m sure it was cuter than I’m making it sound.

They kept saying that they had wished either I was there with a camera to capture it or that they had brought their own. Ironic, since moments after our walk they noticed that I hadn’t taken any photos that evening. Enough so to comment on it.

At least I had a camera with me.

But the argument remains, if a moment like the one mentioned above were to repeat itself, I would be ready to lock it in as a memory for years to come. That moment did not repeat itself (thankfully) and nothing noteworthy caught my attention. Frankly, just walking around a lake in 80 degree temperatures was pleasant enough to keep me from feeling obligated to capture anything. I was able to enjoy the moment while being prepared for anything. That is one way I have landed some interesting photos.

It’s just a flower.

Well technically, it’s multiple flowers on a bush. And yes, it is a bush in a front yard at a non-distinct location. However, the point is the same. You don’t need to take trips out to the Grand Canyon for a camera to be useful. You could be driving to the grocery store and spot a fox in an open field pouncing on some unsuspecting mice. Maybe just avoid taking pictures of people relieving themselves.

My point is not to diminish the stunning beauty of traveling to remote places to capture awe-inspiring landscapes. There are obvious examples of trips I’ve taken that were photography focused. The camera gear is packed and locations are explored at specific times of the day with the sole intention of capturing something beautiful. That is part of what makes this hobby/profession so appealing. You do it because you enjoy doing it. Profound, I know.

There are times where I’ve prepared for days to go out and take photos only to have conditions and inspiration completely fail me. And the opposite is true. There are also times I’ve been to random places only to kick myself for not bringing a camera. You never know what you will see, you never know when you will be most inspired. All that to say, bring your camera, your family will thank you.

And if you don’t, they will make fun of you.