Bring what? Camera! What else? You're reading a photography sponsor's ruminations after all.
If I didn't have the camera with me, I would have missed the act of chutzpah of this man (I would have also missed these stunts in an old post here).
I didn't see how he managed to go up the bamboo scaffold, but am certain that he climbed with bare hands; more alarmingly, without any safety device!
He was checking out something of which I had absolutely no idea. In another five minutes, he was still safe and sound but – no he didn't fall down – I wondered if I should keep shooting or call him down for his safety's sake.
Despite the worry, I being overwhelmed by a photographer's instincts as always were still able to figure out the composition. I purposefully included the ground below the man to show the viewers the height, hopefully accentuating the danger the man was risking.
Also, to balance the preponderance of weight on the left of the image, I waited for some road traffic passing the right before fully pressing the shutter release.
I was not satisfied yet because there is still something lacking in accentuating the point of interest, namely, the man's dangerous act. Luckily, I finally got it: some passers-by went under the signboard leisurely without paying any attention to him. The contrast hopefully adds tension to the image, stirring the viewer's minds about what if the man fell.
But, it is not always easy to learn from experience. Just this evening, I was too hands full to grab my camera in the bag when two birds came perched atop a street-lamp pole against a background of a motley of lights and a darkening sky. The top of the pole was at my eye level as I was on a footbridge. The scene could have make a good photo. It was really regrettable.
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