The Race is On!

My high school is near Tamagawa Station, in the outskirts of Tokyo. To get there, there are two options: The Seibu Line (run by a private company that also owns a baseball team and a number of stores and other interests), and a monorail. I usually take the Seibu Line.

Today, as I was walking down the stairs from the station, I saw another train coming. I thought it might make an interesting shot, so I hurried back up to the top of the stairs and took this shot. The way it was running next to that car, it reminded me of a race. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry, so I didn’t hang around. I wonder who won.

I didn’t plan this picture, and I only had a second to take it. The timing worked out well. I don’t mean to brag that this is a great picture, because it is just a simple shot of a train approaching. But I do think it is a good example of the power of timing. I literally ran back up a few steps and hastily aimed and shot. If I hadn’t been paying attention I would have missed it. And if I hadn’t decided to go back up to that spot, I wouldn’t have gotten that perspective.

Taking pictures is like anything else we do in life. In our actions, in our relationships, in our moments of quiet solitude as well as in our moments of frenetic activity, the only moment of power is NOW. The more we engage our minds and efforts on the current reality, the more effective our thoughts and actions become. I think of photography as another way to train my mind and eyes to be open to new possibilties and perspectives around me.

As I wrote in an article from last Ocober, every moment is special. We never know what will happen from moment to moment. We can think of that as a scary, threatening thing, or as a great opportunity. The choice is ours.

Just a thought I had today.