Complications of Photography

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Man walks out of  the Andrew. W. Mellon building

As an amateur behind the camera one skill I’m learning to practice is patience - to wait for the moment. On several occasions I have rushed to press the shutter in excitement, then just as I turn off the camera the most glorious moment occurs. It happens so fast I don’t have enough time to power up the box and snap. Soon it’s all over, the moment walks away gracefully like a pretty lady leaving her suitors wide eyed. I want to scream and pump my fist, throw a tantrum, but it’s too late.

This time I was alert, fascinated by the gold coating on these lamp posts, I thought the juxtaposition against the cream background made for a great scene. Then I thought, it would be perfect if someone walked by - that way I would have some activity in the picture. No one came. I waited. No one came. Undeterred, I decided to count so as to stay in the moment. 1, 2.. 21, at 37, a man walk by but he was too fast. As I waited for the next person with the hope that I would catch them in the cream space, I heard a deep male voice. 
“Excuse me mom! Excuse me! What are you doing?” I nearly jumped. My heart raced. The man was dressed in blue uniform, with a black bullet proof vest and those "gadgets" that make belts heavy. I didn’t even see him coming.
In a shaky soft voice I said “I’m taking pictures”.
“Well, I notice you have been standing there for a long time”, he turned and walked back to his vehicle. I wanted to explain to him this photo thing and how one needs to wait for the perfect shot but something told me he would not be interested. So I tucked my heart back in its cage, hushed it to settle while I walked away, trying not to quicken my footsteps.

This is the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. I couldn’t quite figure out why there would be heavy security in the area. But as it turns out it houses several government offices including the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and right round the corner is Trump International Hotel.

So two things: Be aware of your surroundings and secondly, the rules of photography remain – be patient, wait for the moment to unfold not quite like they did in this case but you get the point.


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