Shoot from the hip

In 2024 I didn’t shoot because I didn’t have time. In 2025 I’ve been shooting all over the place using my digital camera. Most of them are getting deleted almost immediately. Masterpieces like these don’t need to live on….

This was a thoughtful deconstruction on the concept of the self portrait examining the point of view of the earth. It was not an accident.

This of course was an impressionistic take on a still life and a celebration of cinema not an accidental photo taken while playing with the controls on my digital camera. The motion blur on the photo was symbolic of the movies not a mistake.

I have however taken a few pics just as fun experiments. Here’s a pic I took while watching a movie.

I actually like how this one came out. I’m admitted just stealing Lucy Lumen’s style, but I like the way the flash emphasizes the greasy cheese.

But one night on my way to dinner, we got hit with a crazy snow storm I was coming straight from work and wished I was out in the snow taking photos.

The whole time I was driving I just wanted to pull over and make some images, but I knew I couldn’t. The reservation at the restaurant was coming up fast and I was running late.

When I got to the restaurant I had to find street parking and the closest spot was three blocks away. I got out of my car and started to walk. But I stopped. I wondered if I should grab my camera. Could I take anything worthwhile as I jog through a snow storm to get to dinner?

I grabbed the camera and started speed walking.

I loved these lights on this building I wish I had waited a second longer to frame this person walking a little better, but it’s not bad considering I’m practically jogging while taking this.

I settled down a little bit fir this one and managed to frame up the walker under the massive canopy of the “El” tracks I love the scale of machinery against people I wish the walker was a couple feet to the right and was a little more clear. I think they disappear into a fence a little bit too much. But I couldn’t ask them to back up and do it again. Overall I’m more with this than the last one.

I liked this one. sadly I only had a 50mm lens on my Nikon d800. I would have liked to zoom in on the sign and the reflection on the tracks above. Maybe I’ll crop it down. Although there’s something about the negative space on the bottom of the frame that I like. The repetition of the snowy bricks is kind of nice. Maybe I’m wrong.

Okay now I’m in my jogging photographer groove. I’m convincing myself that I could start a new type of street photography, the “I’m in a hurry let’s snap some pics” style. Literally running and gunning I love the lights and the reflections. I love the infrastructure splitting the image in half. I love the figures in the distance on the left. looking at this image my ego is blowing up like a thanksgiving parade balloon.

Then I look at this pic and think, “ damn I could’ve done better”. I love the curve of the road. I wanted to capture that, but I was running out of time. I took this and knew it wasn’t right. I knew if I wanted this image done right I’d have to stop and consider the composition and take my time. Time I did not have, so I snapped it and ran. And it remains disappointing.

This might be my favorite pic of the night. I caught this guy just right. I like the framing around the infrastructure. I like the repetition of the red; the light, the car, the graffiti. This one feels good.

It was right after this image that I got to the restaurant and had a lovely dinner. I felt so good for having taken the time to snap these pics. It got my creative energy flowing. What’s most important though is that it was fun. I had a lot of fun taking these. Photography is supposed to be fun. It doesn’t have to be serious art. Sometimes it’s just about capturing a few moments in a snowstorm, and making fun of yourself for the accidental shots you take along the way.

So bring a camera with you and have some fun.

Tim