I almost always have my camera with me and on those rare occasions when I don’t, I still have my phone which still takes a pretty decent image. I frequently will see something that I think would make an interesting photo but don’t always take a moment to get the shot. Usually, I’m in a hurry and think I’ll come back for it another time. However, I’ve come to realize, that rarely happens and sometimes when I do, the opportunity to capture what caught my eye, doesn’t always recreate itself.

For example, for many years, there was an old, and very elaborate, carriage house full of old cars, that I frequently passed by. The property was overgrown and the building was in really bad shape. I always thought it would make for some great photos and put it on my mental list of places to go back to. Unfortunately, I never did and one day discovered the building and cars were all gone. An empty dirt lot was all that remained. Another photographer, that I am familiar with, had a handful of images of it, but I missed the opportunity to shoot it myself .

Photo by Marc Fitzsimmons via Flickr. This was just one end of the building, it went back about another 80 feet with bays on both sides, each with an old car parked within. I could have spent days shooting there.

Another time, I was walking around the city with my camera, shooting some street photography. I walked around a corner onto a side street and immediately notice about half a block up, a collage age girl sitting on the sidewalk, leaning up against the wall, looking down at her cell phone like many kids do these days. What really caught my eye was a sliver of sunlight coming between the buildings, fell directly on her and she was dressed in what appeared to be a light gray plaid, school girl type uniform partially covering a large, vibrantly colored tattoo on her leg. It would have been a great Street Photography shot, not up close but back from the corner. The girl with the vibrantly colored tattoo sitting on the sidewalk of what was a dull, low contrast and somewhat empty street.  Background Note: there turned out to be a Harry Potter themed Pub Crawl event occurring and there were hundreds of college aged participants wandering around downtown, in costumes.  This time, I was uncomfortable approaching her to ask for permission to take her photo so I didn’t get the shot when the opportunity presented itself. Come on, an older guy approaching her with a camera asking to take her picture just seems creepy.  I’ve often thought back and wished I had stopped and asked. I’ve since starting carrying business cards with my various online profiles listed (Website, Instagram, Flickr, etc. ) I’ll introduce myself with a card, show them my IG feed, explain what I’m doing, and politely ask if I can take their photo, offering to send them a copy. I’ve gotten a number of Instagram followers this way. A simple technique I learned during PhotoWalk with New York Photographer, Charles Chessler. He has a great photo series called “Agreeable Strangers” where he does brief, impromptu portrait photos of random people he met on the street. Many people will be open to having their photo taken if you just sincerely ask. If they say no, no harm, thank them and move on, but at least try.

The point here is to always take the shot, when you discover it. A photo missed is just a memory. Photographs are proof that just once, even for a heartbeat, everything was perfect.