Well, this is not a very deep throw, but it does go back..
I rarely go anywhere without a camera, and often carry several of them. While it’s true that if you have a phone you have a camera, in my backpack I generally have one digital camera, and two or more film cameras of varying formats. I imagine as I get older and the bags get heavier, I will pare back, but until then, I trundle on…
Ouch
There are many types of distracted drivers. Some are daydreamers, some (most?!) are using their phones, some might be lost and looking for directions, and others may be more interested in conversations with other passengers then to give proper attention to what is happening on the road in front of them.
I am none of these. I am distracted searching for photo ops.
So it was while flying north up Route 70 near Durham, NC that I came upon the scene above. Hardly believing what I was seeing, I slammed on the brakes and pulled off the road as quickly as I could. Plowing through the underbrush I worked my was as close to the scene as I could. If I had taken the time I might have noticed the service road nearby and made my way more easily. But that would not have been nearly so dramatic. Or as much fun.
If I have the time, I like to spend some time looking around and trying to visualize what I think I would like the final image to look like. Other times, I like to play around just to see what I might discover. This was one of those in-between situations. I had some time, but not a lot as I suspected the scene would change quickly as the crew went about the work of removing the crane from the baby’s forehead.
I made several versions of this but this is the one I like the best. I have a closeup of the baby’s face which illustrates the damage the crane has done, and the baby’s obvious displeasure, but I think the panoramic version tells more of the story. We see the surroundings, the tipped over crane and the damage it’s caused. We also see the workmen along the side of the crane which gives everything a sense of scale.
All-in-all, we have all the components to tell an interesting story.