A couple of days ago I wanted to do some long exposure photography that will be minimal. I created the composition in my head. Found the perfect location for it. Thought of all the details. The gear, the settings, the time and the location. I had it all sorted out in my head. My photo was ready. All I had to do is combine all of the above and just press the button.
So I am all set… steady… ready… go !
The location was Alassa Dam (see map below). Within the Dam there is this sunken church of St Nicholas which is visible when the level of water in the dam is low.
From Nicosia where I live it is an hour drive so I decided to start my journey at around 15:30. By the time I was going to arrive to the location it would be the perfect time to shoot long exposure.
NOT !!!
When having a strong image in our heads you may have noticed as well its never going to happen. It will never be the same. Not the details… not the timing… and not the conditions of course. While driving from Nicosia to Alassa and having delays (the usual me) I decided to take the turn on my left to Zygi. By the time I was in the highway and close to Zygi it was already getting dark and I could see a great sunset setting off near Zygi and more specifically to the Vaisilikos Cement Factory.
So I changed my mind and targeted for the sunset. From the results I can say that I did not regret for my decision.
A couple of years back I read a book by a Greek Priest called Papadopoulos Charalambos – Everything is a journey (Όλα είναι δρόμος) - ISBN 978-960-527-834-2
“You waited for days, months, years, for this appointment. It didn’t happen yet. . Its already late. I’ll tell you and maybe it will hurt you. It won’t happen. Do not wait for it. Not because it rejects you. Simply it will never happen. This appointment was never promised to you. You imagined it. You believed it will happen.
There will never come the day where a self-dressed, perfect, flawless, sinless, flawless person will appear within you. No, it will not come. It cannot happen because it just does not exist. You wanted it too, like an alibi, as an excuse, never to start the journey. Start the journey, even if you do not feel ready. And do not feel perfect, good and awesome.”
"But I do not know the way ...", you will say. Do not know it; you do not need to. When you start the journey , the paths will open right in front of you and you see paths emerging everywhere.
So this is life and this also photography. We wait for the perfect moment. The perfect relation, the perfect time, the perfect frame, the perfect composition.. the perfect picture. We have this image in our head of the perfect moment, the perfect conditions, the perfect timing. The perfect FRAME within our heads.
Do not wait for it. It will not happen. Take the photo you have in your heart. It may not be the perfect image you have in your head. It will be a better one . And even if its not, it will be for real a real ! photo. A snapshot in time that DID happen... because you made it happen.
Photos are taken in Vasilikos Cement Factory.
I have called this set of photos “Royal sunset” and indeed nature rewarded me with this royal sunset in following my heart instead of my mind.
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