Plan but Welcome the Random I love to plan my photo expeditions. I like to plan the place, the time, the angles, the light, the inclusion or exclusion of the sun or the moon in the frame, my shutter speed, depth of field, and probably bunch of other things. Sometimes I plan more, sometimes I plan less. Despite all of that, I've learned and accepted that the unplanned that gets thrown at us is many times better than the planned. If an unexpected experience presents itself I go for it. Who knows if it is ever going to come back. On the other hand, the planned is already like a recipe that could be cooked later. Other times, the planned just simply is not possible because elements do not come together. The sun disappears behind a gigantic dark cloud, I miscalculate the position of the moon, I move too slow and arrive late, it is too hazy or not hazy enough, you name it.

That was the case here. My planned Skyline at Sunset went wrong before I ever arrived at the scene. Weather objected. I still proceeded, briefly checked out the scene, evaluated the location for the next time, and moved on to a random location. How random? Well, it had to be close by so I drove downtown by a few previously photographed locations when the lights of the Main Street caught my eye. A few moments later finding a parking spot and walking back and I was where I never took pictures before, just maybe five to ten minutes too late for a blue hour shot with balanced street lights and the remaining natural light. And rather than the planned expansive skyline shot captured this close up (and more).

Time to plan the next random photo outing.

Have fun!