Alpha Photography Blog

In our busy modern world there always seems to be something happening. These occurrences don’t always require a photograph to be taken, but think of what you could miss out on if you didn’t have a camera handy!

Recently my mother was in a pretty bad car accident. Having safely deposited her at home, I had to drive over an hour away to get all the stuff out of her mangled car. That trip was unexpected, so I didn’t have a camera on me - except for my phone camera, at 2 megapixels (better than nothing I guess)…

Having a camera to take a decent photo of the wreckage would have been a way of showing my mother what her car ended up looking like, as she didn’t get a good look at it, having been in shock. Also, as a morbid kind of memento of the event.

At least I had my phone camera to get some record:

There are, of course, happier events which one would like to have a camera to capture - a child’s first steps, an unexpected performance or procession you happen to see, a beautiful sunset, and even spotting a famous person.

My cousin always has a small camera in her handbag, and it’s amazing how often it comes in handy. With all the stuff already in my bag, I’m certainly not looking to add anything permanently to the pile. There are times I regret this though.

And, there are times where I’ve had that camera with me and been extremely grateful. While in London not so long ago, I went out for a walk and ended up on the Tube and at Oxford Circus. Walking down the street there was suddenly the sound of hooves - not a common sound on a busy traffic-filled street. A procession was coming my way. So, happily armed with my compact digital, I snapped away and got this shot:

Where you have a small camera, which can easily fit into your bag, try carrying it around with you for a few weeks, and see if a photo opportunity presents itself. It doesn’t have to be something momentus, just a situation where you feel it’s nice to have a camera to capture the moment.

A great feature of modern compact digital cameras is their movie function - allowing your camera to turn into a video camera for as long as your memory card will hold out.

This is a great idea - especially around kids. They are always likely to do something that warrants videoing.

Ultimately, if in doubt - take your camera anyway!

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