Foo Photo - Left Right Center

October School Day, originally uploaded by KDavidClark.

Sometimes photo shoots are orchestrated with well-placed lighting, dramatic backgrounds, multiple takes, head tilting, etc. Creating a photo like this takes time, patience, a little bit of atmospheric fortune, and a whole bunch of experience.

Or, a person can just break out a cellphone and start shooting.

A number of years ago I read a story about the Israeli 1967 War. Outgunned and lacking the advanced targeting technology of their foe, the Israelis used a relatively low tech solution during their tank battles; they would shoot to the left, shoot to the right, and then in between. It proved to be accurate and effective for them, and only cost three artillery shells versus millions of dollars in technology. Taking pictures with a 1.3 megapixel camera phone, frankly, isn't much different. Sure there's a big difference in equipment and technique, comparing planned and spur-of-the-moment, but there isn't always a difference in the resulting impact a photo can have on someone.

I saw a wedding photo this morning that was obviously well-planned. The bride was leaning her head against a long wall that disappeared behind her, while turning her eyes towards the camera. I thought to myself how beautiful it was, and how well it used technique to create the soft feeling in the photo. Not long after that I opened my Phone Pix download folder to see this shot taken yesterday while David and I were walking to the bus stop in the fog. While admitting some bias towards my son, this shot had the same impact on me as the wedding photo did. It was one of three shots taken. Actually the middle one. Wild, considering the analogy I made earlier.

The point I'm making here is that all the planning in the world may not be needed in all situations. It's okay to plan; Sherry is the queen of it. It keeps the day from becoming a catastrophe, filled with conflicting appointments. But doing something without thinking sometimes works out okay too. If I had taken the time to say, "I want to get a picture of David in the fog," he would have lost his focus and moved on to chasing the cute little girl at the bus stop. Sometimes you just have to take the shot. No questions.

Left...Right...Center. Done!