Learning the hard way

Another week another blog - and I thought I was going to be a bit smart today :) Instead of walking the streets, my eyes wide open, constantly on the lookout for a good shot, I decided to ride by bike. It took a bit of planning though : Once my choice of two lenses (70-200 f2,8L and 17-35 2.8L) was made, I put them and the 5D in my rucksack. I wanted to explore a certain area in Wandsworth and I imagined that I could just put my gear in the rucksack, cycle there, meander around for a while and get what I was after.

Little did I know that my first photo opportunity was already waiting for me at the bottom of my road. The traffic on Trinity Road was bumper to bumper and in front of my very eyes (and the eyes of other onlooker) a guy jumped out of his van. Shouting abuse at the driver of the car behind his van he proceeded to approach the car swinging a heavy tool around. To my amazement he violently smashed the front windscreen of the car! I heard a voice on my head say "That would have made an amazing shot! What good is it to have your camera neatly tucked in a rucksack on your back?!"

Anyway, it turned out that the van was actually towing that car and that the guys were fooling around .. so one hopes! As you were not present it's probably best I leave it to your imagination. As for me, I could only reflect that I missed my chance to capture a split second of an extraordinary scene...

No point crying over spilled milk, onwards and upwards was the motto.

However, things didn't get much better - being on a bicycle when you want to take photos really doesn't work. Specially not if ones most favoured lens is a fairly long and heavy telephoto lens. Balancing that while keeping an eye on the traffic and potential photos is simply impossible :)

I cycled down Magdalen Road and on to Garrett Lane. Now I needed to stop, get off my bike and look around for real inspiration. Not a lot to be seen - 3 people wearing T.shirts that said "Street Pastor" on the back caught my eye ... I didn't feel like chatting ... I was still a bit disoriented and not really in a chatty nor receptive mode.

On I went. Soon it was time to park my bike at the Arndale Shopping Centre and observe. I managed to get one or two fairly interesting shots in the Sainsbury car park but nothing I felt truly happy with.

I decided to move on again. This time pushing my bike. Up a soft hill, cutting through the back so to avoid having to stay on the main road and the Wandsworth one way system.

Holding the handle bar with one hand and the camera with the other feels so awkward - needless to say that this arrangement didn't make taking photos much easier either :) "Just don't give up" I thought... "something will still materialise. It has to!"

Of course I saw some "things" - no point telling you about them as I was consistently too late capturing any of them!

By now I was concentrating. I sensed that something would change. I pushed the bike through the back of a little churchyard, clutching my camera best I could but far from being ready for action. However, as I made it out the other end I saw two boys approaching, head on. I quickly got the camera sort of in position and mustered the shot I'm sharing with you today.

Although it could be better framed I still find the image quite dynamic and feel that it sums up my day. At least it does for me :)