What We Do For The Shot

Last week, I drove up to middle-of-nowhere, Washington to photograph a horse show. The drive from Portland, along the Columbia River and then up through central Washington, was amazing. After weeks of wild schedules, working non-stop and pulling in some big projects, I am completely exhausted. My inbox has 1,300 unread emails and counting, but I'm muddling through. 

On the drive back home, I left so I could photograph the sun going down over the Washington scenery. As it started to fade and the colors began to intensify, I saw a shot. Like THE shot that I wanted. So I slammed on my breaks (no one was behind, don't panic), pulled off into a small spot off the highway and ran out the car. 

I'll show off the sunset shot later, but I had to take the photo of my car haphazardly parked off a 2 lane highway. I keep laughing maniacally at how ridiculous this is, but then I thought: how often do we, as photographers, do crazy things for the right shot? 

I know I'm not alone here! How many of you have leaned in giant puddle of mud just to shoot at the perfect angle? Or pulled of onto an unknown road to find the best shot of that beautiful mountain? Or slammed on the brakes to capture that perfect moment? We've all done it, and if you're dedicated to your shot, we've probably done it A LOT.  

For a short second, I want to acknowledge the crazy things we do for what we love. You can see it in the images we shoot, and I think that's the best part: when you're passionate about your photography, you can feel it.  

Cheers to you photographic badasses out there, and keep doing crazy things to get the shot!