I lead an ordinary life. From the outside looking in, it might seem unusual, unconventional but it’s my life and feels ordinary to me. It is full of moments. Fun moments, tired moments, lonely moments, happy moments, sick moments, tragic moments, elated moments, spiritual moments … and perfect moments.
Perfect Moments. What is a perfect moment? For a perfectionist like me – it is a very elusive moment in time that goes beyond ‘great’ or ‘outstanding’ or ‘it can’t get better than this’ and lets the person experiencing this ‘perfect moment’ glimpse a tiny bit of heaven.
I was thinking of perfect moments as I was falling asleep last night after taking our night shots of the Sydney Opera House and the first thing I thought of was the first time Jessie said ‘I love you’ to me. Seems like a ‘nice’ moment – even a ‘cherished’ moment – but ‘perfect’? When your daughter is 21, mentally handicapped and the event occurred just last year – yes … it becomes a perfect moment … the moment I finally get to add that small little word to the end of something I had been saying to Jessie for 21 years: “I love you, too”. Do I have a picture of a perfect moment? No – that’s not how it works – I have fairly perfect photos, but no picture of a perfect moment. Wouldn’t that be nice?
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Sydney. Gary and I head out to take night shots of the opera house – me – because I am a photography fanatic and Gary because he loves me. We set up the tripod and I start snapping away. We move our position a few times, trading off a fixed, flat spot to set our camera and the tripod between us.
Perfect Moments. What is a perfect moment? For a perfectionist like me – it is a very elusive moment in time that goes beyond ‘great’ or ‘outstanding’ or ‘it can’t get better than this’ and lets the person experiencing this ‘perfect moment’ glimpse a tiny bit of heaven.
I was thinking of perfect moments as I was falling asleep last night after taking our night shots of the Sydney Opera House and the first thing I thought of was the first time Jessie said ‘I love you’ to me. Seems like a ‘nice’ moment – even a ‘cherished’ moment – but ‘perfect’? When your daughter is 21, mentally handicapped and the event occurred just last year – yes … it becomes a perfect moment … the moment I finally get to add that small little word to the end of something I had been saying to Jessie for 21 years: “I love you, too”. Do I have a picture of a perfect moment? No – that’s not how it works – I have fairly perfect photos, but no picture of a perfect moment. Wouldn’t that be nice?
********
Sydney. Gary and I head out to take night shots of the opera house – me – because I am a photography fanatic and Gary because he loves me. We set up the tripod and I start snapping away. We move our position a few times, trading off a fixed, flat spot to set our camera and the tripod between us.
Photo title: "Ghosts"
We then decide to climb some stairs and get a better view of Harbor Bridge and get some shots of that - so up we go. I set up the tripod again and started snapping away. It was dark, and to shoot a clear shot on a dark night, you need to use the timer - because you hitting the button is enough to jiggle the camera and fuzz up your shot. So we got used to the cadence of the night - hit the button - an 8 second countdown depicted by ever faster soft beeps, the click of the aperture opening - then at least a 20 second wait while the camera absorbs the light, then another click of the aperture closing. A second later - your shot is displayed on the back of the camera.
Over and over again: Press, beep, beep .... beep, click, wait, wait, wait, click .... photo!
We are done.
We take the tripod base off my camera, put our cameras away, fold up the tripod and off to the motel we go. It had been a long day and I was tired, but happy – and excited to look at my photos since you can’t really tell if they are out of focus until you get them on a computer screen. We are walking along the top of the Cruise Ship terminal and Gary sees a set of steps leading up – towards the location of the Opera House. He says “I wonder what this view would look like”. I reply “It is probably gated off and we are done, let’s go”. As usual, he ignores me and starts climbing the stairs. I remember thinking that there was no way I was going up there – as I started climbing the steps behind him …
It’s a good view of the Opera House. Gary says – “Get your camera out – take a few shots”. I grumble “OK” and start unpacking everything. Get the tripod set up, my camera on it and it won’t focus. I was frustrated. Calmly Gary suggests we switch to manual and focus manually – which he does. He snaps a few shots.
Then all of a sudden, we hear a ‘boom’ … and FIREWORKS light up the sky just to the right of the Opera House. We stare at each other in amazement. Here we are, the camera is set up, it is pointed in the right direction and …. Fireworks? What are the odds? Gary says “Start shooting!” and I press the button down.
Beep, beep, …. beep, click – fireworks blasting – click. “Too many – too much light – dang”, I say. You see, 20 seconds is an eternity during a fireworks show.
Gary says "Just keep snapping shots" which I do - getting bursts of low fireworks in the trees.
I press the button again: Beep, beep … beep, click – nothing - no fireworks … then: boom – blast – a huge pink firework lights up the sky – click. "YES!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I had just captured, randomly one firework, next to a beautiful building I have always wanted to photograph, with the person I love most in the world standing next to me. Twenty seconds, just twenty seconds is what it takes to capture a Perfect Moment:
We take the tripod base off my camera, put our cameras away, fold up the tripod and off to the motel we go. It had been a long day and I was tired, but happy – and excited to look at my photos since you can’t really tell if they are out of focus until you get them on a computer screen. We are walking along the top of the Cruise Ship terminal and Gary sees a set of steps leading up – towards the location of the Opera House. He says “I wonder what this view would look like”. I reply “It is probably gated off and we are done, let’s go”. As usual, he ignores me and starts climbing the stairs. I remember thinking that there was no way I was going up there – as I started climbing the steps behind him …
It’s a good view of the Opera House. Gary says – “Get your camera out – take a few shots”. I grumble “OK” and start unpacking everything. Get the tripod set up, my camera on it and it won’t focus. I was frustrated. Calmly Gary suggests we switch to manual and focus manually – which he does. He snaps a few shots.
Then all of a sudden, we hear a ‘boom’ … and FIREWORKS light up the sky just to the right of the Opera House. We stare at each other in amazement. Here we are, the camera is set up, it is pointed in the right direction and …. Fireworks? What are the odds? Gary says “Start shooting!” and I press the button down.
Beep, beep, …. beep, click – fireworks blasting – click. “Too many – too much light – dang”, I say. You see, 20 seconds is an eternity during a fireworks show.
Gary says "Just keep snapping shots" which I do - getting bursts of low fireworks in the trees.
I press the button again: Beep, beep … beep, click – nothing - no fireworks … then: boom – blast – a huge pink firework lights up the sky – click. "YES!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I had just captured, randomly one firework, next to a beautiful building I have always wanted to photograph, with the person I love most in the world standing next to me. Twenty seconds, just twenty seconds is what it takes to capture a Perfect Moment:
And, who knew - if you just keep trying ...
Just maybe
in one evening ...
You can experience an entire sequence of Perfect Moments ... which I think is called a Perfect Evening and a beautiful ending to a wonderful trip to Sydney.
6 comments:
Serendipity - being in the right place at the right time to experience a moment of perfection!
Lori, I don't know your faith or concept of a higher being. But I think some times G-d takes a moment to provide us with the opportunity to realize the splendor of being alive, to be loved and to love someone. Those moments become even more special when we have the chance to share it with someone else. Thanks for sharing your night overlooking the Harbor with my me and my wife.
I love this post. What a great evening and some great photos to go along with it. So glad you guys are loving Australia - what a fantastic adventure.
Again, all I can say is "beautiful"! I'm glad you and Gary were able to have a magical weekend in Sydney, topped off with perfect moments. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
You pictures are perfect. I love your passion for picture taking - it is inspiring! Glad you had the perfect moment!
I like pictures. But when I got to that first firework picture, I actually got goosebumps. Perfect evening, indeed.
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