An unexpected car fire, captured only because i was ready

A few days ago, i mentioned how a photographer must always be watchful of their surroundings. Without practicing this simple technique, one can never find compelling and new things to photograph. The truth is somewhat deeper than that though. To be a great photographer (something i am not!) you must always be ready.

It is impossible to know when a photography idea strikes you. It is even more impossible to know (if it’s possible to be more impossible than impossible, that is a possibility i would like to know more about) when something that is worthy of being photographed is going to pop up. Allow me to give you an example:

I was driving home from a family members house out in the suburbs of Chicago, where i live. I happen to have my camera in my bag (more on that in a moment) when i noticed a lot of thick smoke bellowing into the air.

“That’s odd”, i thought to myself. Yet i continued to drive. It wasn’t until a couple of seconds later that i realized that an apartment building was on fire.

Lets pause for a moment. Some of us aspire to be photojournalists, some do not. I should do a write up on the different types of photography. For me, i enjoy seeing my work published in the hands of thousands of readers. That’s me. Continue…

I realized that this is news worthy but weighed whether or not it was worth my time to go photograph it. Typically fires are roped off and the staff photographers will have an edge as they usually have scanners and are on top of these sorts of things. Only then did i see the police car racing towards me. Then it struck me, i could be the first person on the scene if i hurried.

So i did. I screamed back towards the fire and sure enough i got there just as the fire department was pulling up. At the end of the day it was merely a car fire. An apartment fire, now that’s news. A car fire, well, that isn’t. No one picked up my photo. But there is a lesson to be learned here.

When i saw that fire i thought “Wow, i should photograph that”. Because i had my camera, i was able to. I honestly don’t’ usually drive around with $2,000 of camera gear in my car, for obvious reasons. But at the end of the day, i really should. It isn’t just breaking news that pops up. Sometimes its a sunset so amazing that words wouldn’t be able to describe it. Perhaps it’s a group of police officers at Dunk’n Donuts. Perhaps it’s a controlled burning of a prairie. Perhaps it’s an eccentric blues musician on the corner. It doesn’t matter. If you see it, you should be ready and willing to photograph it.

Some of my favorite photographs have come under these circumstances. Just some food for thought.

A controlled fire set in a local prarie, first seen miles away, captured only because i was ready.