Ohio River Barges in the Rain

Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago if I could photograph and barge and a tug.  And I’ve been trying.  When I can….Problem is, that the times I have captured it, the light is wrong, it’s raining, I couldn’t get access to the riverfront.  Today I was at a friend’s house on Neville Island and I’d asked her about the tugs and barges going by her house.  ALL THE TIME she said.  And they did go by, Empty, filled, just a tugboat not pulling or pushing any barges.  Problem is it started to rain. And it would not stop.  Trying to capture a specific scene has taught me a lot about how I photograph things.

Most of the time I see something and just photograph it.  Or I think about something, have an idea and go and find it.   The light might be great, the garbage has a treasure in it, the kids are ignoring me, I drive by something I just can’t believe it is right there in front of me.  Now- try to capture something specific.  I am not as good at that assignment I’ve just learned.  It would be as a true assignment like a National Geographic photographer.  Stake it out. Camp out.  Know the ins and outs. Shoot thousands of frames.  Monkey around with your results.  Do it again.  Different time of day.  Return to the scene. Try a different angle, different lens and or camera. Shoot. Shoot some more.

It isn’t that I am not that serious about shooting a specific photograph, I just couldn’t  make it come together for this one.  Exasperating and frustrating.