Always carry a camera…

Always carry a camera.

This is about the most basic piece of advice for any photographer, and one that I did nor follow today, due to being half asleep this morning. I thought about it as I left, but decided I couldn’t be bothered going back to find one, thinking, it’s a horrid day, I won’t see anything that I wouldn’t normally see on my way to work…

Of course today, as I walked home I came across this amazing spectacle. A burst hydrant, shooting water a full 3 metres into the air…

I have managed a shot on my phone, but I wish I had managed a better camera.

But so some extent, being a photographer is the ability to create works from what is available.

Even my BlackBerry, which are not renowned for the quality of their cameras, is better than the earliest digital cameras.

John Easterby, in his book 150 Photographic Projects for Art Students sets as a task the creation of a homogenous portfolio taken with a camera phone, taking note of all the normal issues you would consider when shooting with your high end kit.

I did this a few weeks ago, aiming to document things I see and like on my journey home from work; this spouting Hydrant creates the perfect addition to this set.

Doing this led me to look at things I hadn’t considered before, mostly quite normal, and that I wouldn’t always give a second glance, like the double yellow lines, and the street signs.