On a lovely pleasant August afternoon, the resident photog set out to enjoy a nice lovely day in the park. The camera bag came along, of course. Those were the days of always being prepared. One can’t take the chance of missing a perfect shot.

The park was a small place whose main attraction was a large body of water that looked like a lake. Plenty of birds that could float enjoying the breeze from the safety of the water, as the few humans around searched for the few available benches to sit. A cool breeze floated over the water and drifted into the town that was gearing up for the afternoon rush of employees seeking solace at home.

There was not much to see on the solid ground and the photog was not in the mood to go  test his walking on water skills. This was the day to play around with the new zoom lens. Maybe, catch some action shots of the birds on the water or a few reflection shots of them as they sat in the water.

After a while of shooting boring photos, something caught the eye of the photog. There was a young couple walking about very much in love and another photographer trailing them  taking many many photos. The angles of choice looked plain and uninspired. This gave the resident photog an idea. What if he trailed them with his zoom lens and took photos of them being photographed?

Sounded good and fair with one little problem. There was not much terrain to hide with. There wasn’t much places to take photos and  not make it obvious that the subjects were the the trio walking about. That was until they decided to stop by the only noticeable landmark of the park. A mini bridge walkway over some rocks. I’m sure the landscapers made that area look very pretty in the spring with plenty of flowers.

Without hesitation the resident photog found himself a nice position on one side of the mini-bridge and waited. The photographer and the couple made their way up to the perfect spot. The lake was behind them, the swans were behind them looking so much in love and their photographer took the opportunity to take a few pictures. This was perfect. Being they were by the bridge, the photographer on the bridge, and the photog was off the bridge, the vantage point was fantastic. A brilliant idea was there for the perfect shot.

You see, the photo would traditionally involved the whole scenery with a regular lens. It would look a bit drab overall with an amazing background. The photog wanted to capture the couple in a unique fashion. Zooming in tightly on the couple, the photog positioned himself to crop out the photographer and aim through the posts of the bridge. It was perfect. The nature of the rail created a nice framework in which to aim. It would create the frame of the photo and the couple in full embrace was dead center with a nice blue sky behind them.

No sooner the photo was taken, their photographer noticed and called the photog out. With a smile, he quickly approached to show off his masterpiece. Before the other photographer could sound his protest, he saw the image on the back of the DSLR and was impressed. How did such a shot get taken? How did the photog see this? The couple seeing the interest shift from them to another camera came over to see the fuss and were also impressed. The bride to be whispered to her fiance “could you hire him too, that was a really impressive shot”

The photog feeling good about himself asked for the email of the photographer to share the image with him. After all, this was not his paid event, and he had taken a bit of their time as they oggled his work. It was only fair to allow them to see the work and enjoy it on their own time.

After thanking them for the compliments, the photog looked at his watch and decided the day had been well spent. it was time to head home before rush hour traffic took hold. What was at first a relaxation outing at a park that had few amazing features to offer this time of year turned out to have the perfect shot.

Just maybe one day, when the photog and writer (both one and the same) sort out the whole of blogging, the replica of this perfect shot will be shared. Not having the blessings of the couple to show the original, a replica will have to do. Until then, just the story remains to celebrate how taking a chance and letting life surprise you proved to reward the photog with a perfect shot.