“If you want it, you get nothing. Just be receptive and it happens.” Henri Cartier-Bresson

I was just watching a documentary on the old man and this is the line that stood out. I have felt this for sure, but never tried to express it. And yes, it’s true. Going out with a preconceived idea of a photograph almost never works. No matter if I’m hiking in the wilds or strolling city streets.

It happens, most of the time, when I’m not looking for anything. Call it serendipity, call it luck. I call it keeping my eyes, mind and heart open. Being an intuitive observer. It’s almost unconscious. You feel it when it’s happening.  And you begin shooting. Really shooting… like mad. Because at that point there’s no other way to shoot. It is a kind of madness. An instinctive, visceral condition with little control. And man it feels good.

iPhone photograph. Waitress in Washington DC tavern.

Washington National Cathedral visitor. Shot with iPhone.

And, by the way, Cartier-Bresson would love the iPhone.  (or any other smart phone with a good camera inside)