Win Some, Lose Some
Barefoot group photo on a cold day - Cesar Chavez & Lamar, Austin
More than a thousand gorilla’s ran the streets of Austin on Saturday morning and I failed to get a single decent image out of the spectacle. I was in the wrong place with the wrong lens but, most of all, I lacked the craft to take advantage of what was by any standard a golden photographic opportunity. I am just not practiced at action photography and ended up with dozens of motion blurred or misfocused images for my trouble. Lessons learned: 1) reconfigure your camera settings for action before you start even though the camera has not been used that way in the nearly five years since it was bought; 2) don’t try to mix quality father-daughter time with photography; 3) listen to your instincts about location, ignore the more convenient parking option and take candids at the start or finish line.
The day was not a complete wash however. Some quality one-on-one time was achieved with my daughter and serendipity presented the scene above as we headed back to find a café. Quite why a troop of teenage girls would change out of jeans and coats into summer dresses to assemble, barefoot, for a group photograph on a blustery, 45°F morning is mystery but they made for an interesting photograph. There will have been a logical reason, at least from the perspective of a High School “spirit” dance team (if that’s what they were), but it had a bizarre appearance to sensible coat wearing onlookers.
