Life With Toast

Travel: Barcelona, Spain August 31st

Dotted laughter of young children play in the background of a jazz band echoing across the green-ized industrial ruins of Parc del Clot. Pausing to take in the music, I notice a stable figure amongst the turning over the busy street. A man, seemingly alone, leans against a tree and smoking a little cigar, his face, body, and intentions seems against everyone else. I took the picture.  

I immediately scanned the image to make sure it was alright and walked off with a smile. I'm not sure why the photo resonated with me but the ephemeral nature of getting that moment, that feeling as I see it is what it's all about. 

About 10 minutes later I pulled out the camera and the screen displayed the darkest nightmare of the digital age: "card read error". There were no photos, poof. My first reaction was pain and frustration. However, pretty quickly I had let it go. That ephemeral moment is just that; you get it or you don't. Most of the time you don't and to be a photographer you must accept that. Lose a roll of film before it gets developed or printed and there is no going back, baby. Capturing an instant will never return, that's the game. I got home and the error was gone, the photos returned from the other side.

I'm here for a conference, but I will be exploring the city more with two pocket cameras (1 digital 1 analog). I hope they save it all, but I'll take what I can get, the process moves on.