The Challenge.

Last night a friend who reads “Snap. Shot.” asked if I thought I could take a picture and write about it the same day. I said, “Of course I could.” So today I am up for the challenge…I will take a picture I think is good enough for the blog and will write about it all in the same day.

This morning I was attending the grand opening of the new “Recreational Center” in our town; I was there to photograph it. As a photographer you take pictures of some very exciting events and sometimes the "not so exciting ones." When I sense this is happening, I usually look for ways to create something interesting for myself and anyone who will be looking at the pictures.

To sum up what I was told to do, you will quickly understand why I went to search for more interesting topics to shoot. The first set of photos to be taken were of the head of the park district making comments about those responsible for the building---then I was to take pictures of the ribbon cutting. Okay, I have never taken pictures of a ribbon cutting, but it is pretty much what you would expect.

So I am thinking, “How am I going to live up to this challenge from last night?”

As I headed downstairs from the opening comments, I knew the next photos were probably going to require something truly interesting to fulfill the challenge. After looking at the ribbon cutting photos I knew this was not going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be.

Turns out the ribbon cutting took place by the rock-climbing wall---a very tall rock-climbing wall. I started to take some photos of the wall and one of the directors came up and said, “Would you like to take pictures from the top of the wall?” I looked up and said, “And how would I get up there?” I was told there was a ladder inside and if I was not too concerned about climbing it, it was very narrow, I could take pictures from up top. I said, “Sure.” It was narrow, and although the ladder was not hard to climb, there were steps that had obstructions in the way. Not a big deal, unless you have a camera with you.

But I made it, and sure enough I knew at that point I was going to be able to live up to this challenge and get some very fun photos. I won’t discuss the trip down the wall, but one thing I forgot to do was put the camera around my neck---so I was holding it as I went down the steps. Not a big deal, but the stairs going down were just as challenging as going up---now I got to balance a camera too.

The photo above was taken of one of the board members climbing the wall---in a tie of all things! He knew I was taking pictures and looked up when he got to the top. I really appreciated his playing to the camera as it made for a much more interesting photo---you can see how high up we were. As it turned out, there were many photos to take after the opening comments---it just goes to show if you go out and believe you will find what you are looking for, it’s always worth the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.