What’s in an image?
Something catches your eye. You position yourself to try to get the best angle, and then you take the picture.
Sometimes you see the makings of a story in the image you are composing. There is something unique and distinctive at that moment in time that appeals to your creative senses.
The start of my day was not unlike the character, James, in the short story, “Who Was The Girl On The Bridge.” It was a lazy boat ride down the river.
That day at that moment in time there was something that triggered a spark of creativity as I passed under the bridge. A short story was born. The picture served as the foundation for the story concept.
So, in this case, the answer to “What’s in an image?” is, a new short story.
Connecting words with images has become a passion. Just creating images doesn’t seem to be enough these days. I see stories in these images, some quite real and some fictional, that are all begging to be told.
Interestingly, this photograph has actually triggered a second short story. A follow-up piece is in the works and is titled, “I Was The Girl On The Bridge”.
As a photographer, you sometimes react instinctively when a scene presents itself. Your instincts tell you to take the shot. It’s a hard lesson to learn when you hesitate. Unique scenes can evaporate in a second.
What I learned way back is to “take the picture” and never hesitate.
I am now learning to pay attention to story concepts when they surface.
Sometimes they happen simultaneously when the picture is taken and sometimes after the fact. Either way, the simple process of jotting the idea down gets the story started.
I use this example to encourage paying attention when something; an image or story idea; comes into your mind’s view. Both can appear and dissolve in a very short period of time.
Hesitation can forever erase the image or the idea before either is captured.
