When preparation meets opportunity
Although I was never a Boy Scout, I’ve always been a firm believer in being prepared. When I was actively ( until the last dinosaur disappeared) shooting advertising campaigns, corporate annual reports, brochures, or magazine assignments I made sure I had everything with me; I called it my Bag of Solutions.
Besides scouting every photo ahead of time, or at least most of the time and certainly whenever possible, I knew that during the actual shoot some extracurricular event, or in other words outside the normal routine, could possibly come up. When this opportunity crossed my path, I wanted to be prepared for it…on many levels.
This would usually be some small window when time was of the essence, whether it be a sudden change in the light, something new either entering or leaving the frame, or even needed to be added at the last minute…when I had the wrong piece of equipment on or not on and missed it by seconds, that really sucked!!!
When I’m talking to a student in my online classes with the BPSOP, I will often be asked what they should be taking when they go out to shoot for one of the lessons they’re assigned each of the four weeks. For them it’s easy, I tell then to put as much gear in the trunk of their car as they can. That way they will have a fighting chance to change something when the time is right.
When I conducting my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around the planet, I’m asked the day before what lens should they be taking. Being prepared is problematic at that point because so much of the time we’re walking around.
And so my fellow photographers that are reading this blog, when in doubt take as much as you can. To win the argument you have with yourselves, I would, as my go-to lens, start out with a medium zoom that might address a lot of the things that will be coming your way. I keep a 17-40mm lens on most of the time, and I have quick access to equipment when the time is right.
Keep your equipment clean, make sure you have a fresh card in your camera (never delete images off your camera, it could corrupt the card), and take an extra one just in case. for those of you that have a second body, be sure to bring it. Putting a tripod in your trunk couldn’t hurt in case you wind up shooting during the Blue Hour.
As Eddie Adams once said, When you get lucky, be ready.
Visit my website as www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
