Our dining room tends to be my “staging area” for my many gear-oriented activities, and, because we had guests coming over for dinner last weekend, I decided that I should clear my multiple cameras and bags off the dining room table and get my backpack and related outdoor equipment off the dining room floor.
I’d done a professional shoot one day last week, come home from that job late that night, then left on a hike early the next morning. When the day came that Leah and I would be entertaining our friends, gear from both trips was strewn about the dining room. Had you seen the chaos of clutter I had amassed in that room, you’d understand that my cleanup project was going to take some time.
The clock was ticking on me.
Very early in my work, however, I got distracted. I glanced out the dining room window and saw that our witch hazel plant was blooming just outside in the blue-toned, early morning light. I noticed too that the dining room lights were reflected in the window glass, and those lights were very warm in color. The “PHOTO OPPORTUNITY” light glowed brightly in my brain. There were visual elements here that I could work with.
“How convenient,” I thought. “All the gear I might need to make this image is right here -- somewhere -- on the dining room table.” I felt like a surgeon in an operating room must feel, the various tools of his craft spread out before him. I put up my tripod, hunted around for and found the right lens, and had my image made, all before the chef for that night’s meal caught me goofing off.
And yes, the dining room was House-Beautiful-perfect by the time the guests arrived.
