This time last year, I was preparing for a trip to Ireland with my only child, who moved there to go to university. It was exciting – and the trip was amazing! I hope very much that I’ll be able to go over and visit her again before she graduates.
I took a load of photographic gear with me, including a ton of film (too much, as it turned out, but better to have too much than too little!). It didn’t take me long to get it all developed and scanned, but then I seem to have solidly ignored the results for the most part. A few days ago, I finally went back through the negatives.
We didn’t rent a car while we were there: once upon a time I drove on the left side of the road just fine, but that was a couple of decades ago now. We either walked, took the bus, or took the train, unless we were transporting our many-pounded luggage in which case we would splurge on a taxi. This meant I spent a fair amount of time eagerly looking out the window, and also photographing out the window.
Sometimes, the results included interesting artifacts from the reflection on the glass. Sometimes, I just went for it and included elements of the bus as well.
My first favorite and most personally influential photograph was on a bus, so I figured this tactic could serve me well again. It might be unconventional, but I’m really happy with the results! Frame-within-a-frame is a thing, after all.
Often, we sat on the upper deck of the bus, and even though I lived and worked in England and rode the bus on a daily basis to the point of never wanting to get on a bus again, the upper deck is still a little bit of a nostalgic thrill. And you get a great view!
It was impossible for me to just sit there and look. I HAD to photograph. And I’m glad I did! I used my crow’s nest seat to catch people down below, also, and apparently sometimes they spotted me.
I don’t know that there’s any moral to this story, other than don’t be afraid to make photographs even if the situation is less than ideal. The memories will flood back when you look at them! I used my Nikon FG20 with a 35mm lens for this. I tried to use a little digital camera I had with me, but the autofocus couldn’t handle shooting through the glass and focusing the zoom lens manually was too difficult. Go with what you know! My 35mm Nikons are always winners; I’m glad I had it with me.
Thank you for taking a look! Until next time . . . . . please remember to sign up for blog updates!
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