At the Moment I’m Just Risking Limbs and Cameras

This picture was really frightening for me to take; my tripod legs were all different lengths and I had to squeeze them onto different stairs and they were kind of all waiting to step off, I could see it. So I had to move fast; it was an uncomfortable photography experience. Hanging from my stairs was not too comfortable either, for that matter. Anyway, the photo:

Positioning my camera at the top of the stairs is a scary thing. But, a photography tip: take risks. First, on a little side note, take risks with yourself – where you’re standing, what rules you’re breaking and what fears you’re facing by going there. For example, I broke my arm hanging off the stairs just like this 10 years ago, and look at me now. I’m flying. No big deal.

And second, take risks not only with your pictures, as I’ll write about in the future, or with yourself, but also with your camera. I know, I know, that sounds really dumb, but really, you have to scare yourself and you can’t fully be scared if you know your camera is safe. See, fully scaring yourself forces you to fully concentrate on one moment: for example, the moment where your camera is okay and where you have to take the picture before something bad happens. If you’re always taking photographs on solid ground, you’ll get too comfortable waiting for the perfect picture. You’ll be trying and retrying and setting your timer over and over again until you forget that each picture, each little click, is a moment. Taken. I’m telling you, sometimes the best photo is the one you take just before the camera falls.

RJ

P.S. Don’t go too crazy. I mean, cameras are expensive. Just crazy enough to have to focus on one moment and move on.