Tuesday, October 25, 2016

100% Pure Luck


Photo: © S. Banos

Good photographs result from: inspiration, preparation, and infinite toil, sweat and tears. Right? Hell, yeah- no doubt! Well... kinda, pretty much, most of the time- huh? What about the luck thing? Luck? You mean, where you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and make your own? That kinda "luck?" No, l-u-c-k: chance, happenstance, serendipity- pure unadulterated, accidental... l-u-c-k. The stuff that happens as if it seemingly fell outta the sky! What role does that play? 

A lotta people will say you just weren't trying enough, concentrating enough, paying attention and working it like ya should have. And sometimes, that is most definitely the case. Other times... You can work it all ya want, and if the fish ain't biting, they ain't biting!

I was originally drawn to the landscape above because of its wide open space; born and raised in NYC, one learns to crave the great wide open (yes, even parking lots). But instinct said the composition was a tad too minimal without some extra added something, and the initial exposure confirmed exactly that- nice background, but... And then, straight outta the clear blue sky- pure unadulterated l-u-c-k comes sweeping on down in a frantic surge of energy just released from the adjacent high school!

One minute sooner, five minutes later- a parking lot full of nothing, nada, zip... 

4 comments:

  1. good luck or hard work, that's a nice picture!

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  2. "Luck is a good part of photography. Talk to my friend Helen Levitt. She’s 94 years old and knows all about it. Luck means you have to be there when it happens. She says, ‘Be there with a camera.’

    When I look through my book I see a lot of luck.. It’s funny but there is not only luck but collaboration with circumstances."

    http://www.shutterbug.com/content/quiet-images-photography-philip-perkis-page-2

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  3. Luck has nothing to do with it, because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come. - Serena Williams

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  4. In a controlled circumstance/environment such as that- agreed. This was not, and I have experienced many, many similar moments and situations where luck simply did not come forth to add and create exactly what was needed, exactly when it was needed. Usually, it ends with me shaking my head and walking away saying, "If only..." In fact, I had already started to do just that- when I heard the sounds of youthful yells and skateboard wheels!

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