I saw some light that was in desperate need of being chased.
I walked up one of the streets in Orvieto that dumps into the Piazza Duomo and pressed my back up against the wall to frame up on this wonderful light-play. Too close. Too Tight.
There was an entry to a small courtyard. I backed up into it and framed up and committed art. I was not satisfied because my frame was a bit off with the horizon drooping to the left. So, I framed up again and this time…
A baby enters the frame. Not to take a chance of waiting for it to get better, I banged off a frame. What came next was fortuitous. Or was it?
Ansel Adams was quoted, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”*
That has always been a challenge for me, because though I might have a huge heart, I certainly do not have a mind. So, I have shortened the phrase to, “Chance favors the prepared.”
I stayed framed up on the baby and thought its parent must be nearby. Sure enough.
Dad walks in from frame right, picks up his baby (not yet, not yet), turns (not yet, not yet) and lifts his child heavenward. Bang! One frame. Who needs more frames?
Chance favors the prepared. I was never a Boy Scout (by any stretch of the imagination), but living a visual life has taught me, “If you wait for it, it will come.”
I leave you with (tilted horizon) “Chasing Light,” Almost Into The Light,” and “Into The Light.”
