It’s a balancing act though… you don’t have to know exactly where you are going, but some light planning helps. I aim to connect a few dots, but not plot every twist and turn to get there. And I highly recommend avoiding straight lines.
The pictures here are a small sample from my day in Dublin. I chose them for specific reasons.
I started the day having lunch with friends. While there were crowd and energy all around me, I found stillness and beauty in the leather bicycle handle set against the cobblestone streets of Temple Bar. This photo captures the only small section of those cobblestones not covered by human feet, and for only a moment. Hoards soon filled that little view and the scene was gone.
I extol the virtues of taking a break whenever the inspiration strikes. A pint of Guinness is an obvious but requisite activity while in Dublin, and the one photographed here was not my only. A bit of rain drove me into The International Bar on Wicklow Street, just off Grafton Street. Just a drizzle, so an outside seat enabled me to continue watching the Dublin world pass by while I sat still and observed.
Grafton Street is always a hub of activity. I used it to search for what photographers call the decisive moment. See what happens while I stand still and wait. This is new to me so I wanted to try it a bit around Dublin. I love the moment captured as people pass by the Think Bigger backdrop. I often look at this photo and derive some deeper meanings from it. Another decisive moment occurred as I was low to the ground trying to capture sunlight reflecting on the pavement just after some rain. A woman walked right through my frame. Leather jacket, tight black jeans and killer heels. Who is she, where is she going? I did not plan the shot, and was crouched down, so we never see her face and will never know her story. But we can have some fun inventing the details.
The musician photo is one of my favorites. I call it “Hallelujah” to remind me that was the song he was performing. A moody, haunting Leonard Cohen song much loved and often covered. I’m partial to Jeff Buckley’s version. Playing this song in the middle of the afternoon is clearly not about drawing the largest crowd of tourists. It’s about doing what you love, for yourself. Most of the people around the musician are not affected. Some young guys on their phones, a traveler dragging a suitcase, a woman with headphones listens to her own favorite song. But the guy on the right… he’s into it. The artist has stayed true to himself, and touched someone else in the process. I have this photo in my office to remind me that we all should aspire to follow our passions.
The final photo was taken as the day faded into evening. At the corner of Camden and Grantham Streets, the sun is just about to set. A lovely dinner followed nearby, a final respite after a long day in Dublin, walking.
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