This past weekend was the “photography” weekend I have been waiting for all year.
April 7 was the spring Vancouver Camera Swap-Meet and Used Camera Sale and my photo pal Jo McAvany and I made the drive the day before to stay two nights at the Inn at Quay in New Westminster. Our reserved, fourth floor room had a great view of the boardwalk with its food, shops, moored tugboats and the wonderfully scenic Fraser River.
I saw other guests arrive and go to their room to relax after their journey, but as tired as I was after that four-hour-plus drive the last thing I wanted to do was lounge in my room.
I was throwing my suitcase on the bed, looking out from the balcony, picking up my camera, letting Jo know we can look for some snacks, then we left the hotel to start pointing my camera at everything.
“The camera makes you forget you’re there. It’s not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much,” said Annie Leibovitz
There was so much to photograph; pigeons outside a restaurant, seagulls along the pier, two big yellow tugboats, a bright red 32-foot-tall tin soldier, the cable Skytrain Metro railway and the Pattullo bridge going high across the Fraser River, and so much more.
We also browsed the many craft shops, chose an eatery that had takeout, and wandered along the waterfront. I kept making Jo pose beside and on everything, but she is used to me always wanting that. Hmm… who said “Once photography enters your bloodstream, it is like a disease?”
A note here: For my wandering opportunity type of photographs I usually choose aperture priority. I want the aperture to be small enough so I can have lots of depth-of-field and even thought the day was bright I had my camera set at ISO 800. That high ISO means the camera will always be choosing a fast shutter speed that stops subject movement and reduces the chance of camera shake.
I enjoyed that location and absolutely intend to go back there again. This time most of my photos included lots of background and space around my central subject. I think that’s because I wanted to see everything in that new place. Next time I will be able to be more specific with my image’s frame.
Influential American teacher, editor, and photographer Aaron Siskind wrote, “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film (or memory card) is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
Stay safe and be creative. These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.