Thursday, May 26, 2005

Serendipity


I was taking one of my usual sky pictures (kinda mediocre, IMO) when this pigeon flew into the frame just as I clicked the shutter. Kinda cool, although it would've been even cooler if I had my aperture cranked down a bit for more depth of field.

And immediately after taking this picture, I was accosted by a strange but friendly man who spat a lot, and had lots of things to say about local history and wind resistance and stonecutting and money and ninja fighting techniques. A photographer had an impact on his life and helped him make some money, and my camera and I triggered an association with that. He also marveled at how photographers see angles and shapes that others don't, which is precisely what fascinates me about photography - that challenge to capture the unseen beauty that hides within the seen.

It was one of those conversations where one part of you keeps telling you to escape, while the other part just has to stay through to the end, to find out where it's all heading... Posted by Hello

4 comments:

ntodd said...

Did he mention anything about coconut-laden pigeons?

Eli said...

No, just about everything but. It was surreal, truly. I *think* the conversation ended with him suggesting that he could do something to improve my building's facade, I could take pictures of it, and I'd make $25,000 just for taking the pictures (and he'd make even more because the demonstration of his skills would put him In Demand).

We may in fact have shaken on it, but we didn't exchange contact info or anything. I imagine he'll just ambush me when the time comes or something...

ntodd said...

My favorite strange/drunk guy was a dude outside Goteborg, Sweden (Molnlycke, actually) accosting me and my friend Vendell, talking about being South African (he was black) and how nobody fucking cared, and other stuff. Then we got on a bus.

oldwhitelady said...

Great photo - great story, too.