The Ninety Second Shoot

Luck happens. But also luck comes to you if you are looking for it. Sometimes it happens fast and when you least expect it. You need to be employing that ‘seeing eye’, camera in hand, ready to react, almost without thinking. You see it, you catch it, you move on.

It happened yesterday. A large serendipitous dollop of it.

We were in London to meet up with our son at the V&A museum to see the ’British Design 1948-2012’ Exhibition (well worth a view, by the way). We were on the point of leaving, passing through the main lobby. Actually in a little bit of a hurry to move on to the Chelsea College of Art and Design to see the final degree show of my wife’s nephew.

On a previous visit to the V&A I had spotted the potential for an image of the information desk where people stood in front of a yellow flood of ground level light. But previously I had not seen a worthwhile shot. As I passed the desk there were three people lined up just right. I dropped down on one knee – Image I.

Charlotte and Richard were already heading outside. I turned round to exit through the revolving doors and saw Image 2.

Another reactive shot, the background is burnt out but what I wanted is there – the constant comings and goings of a busy museum on a Sunday afternoon, people close up but also in the background.

I stepped out through the revolving doors to see a line of shadows cast across the pavement. Instant thinking: it will convert to B&W – Image 3.

Strangely pointed shadows – Why, What? Looking up I was astonished to see an awning of upside down traffic cones. No time to think ‘What the heck……..’. I took a shot but didn’t like it – no light on the cones. Enabled the flash and shot again, being careful to line up a tall lamp post with the tip of a cone. Image 4.

The EXIF data confirms the first shot was taken at 15:42:54. The fourth shot was taken at 15:44:22. Precisely 88 seconds from first to last.

I couldn’t believe my luck, I still can’t. Thankfully I had my compact and not my SLR. No fussing around with lenses. The camera was already in my hand, just aim and shoot. The only fiddling with the dials was ramping up the ISO for Image 1 and remembering to reset it for Image 2.

And what are those bizarre traffic cones doing there? Apparently they are part of the advertising for the Heatherwick Studio exhibition. Something we will return to visit.

That was quite a surreal day – certainly the last shot is surreal. It will probably be a very long time before anything quite so crazy as that happens to me again – if ever.