Columbus Day

Fifth Avenue, October 2009:


I took this picture at the Columbus Day parade last October 12th. And I didn't see it again until last week, when I finally got around to processing the images I took that day (I use the RAW format, so all pictures must be digitally processed to some extent before they can be displayed on the internet).

This means that there's now about a 6-month lag between the time I take a picture and the time I look at it again in the processing / output phase.

I like the delay for several reasons. Principally, the temporal gap provides some needed distance between me and the photograph, allowing a more objective evaluation of its merits (or lack thereof). Also, as someone who takes pictures nearly every day -- and feels much self-imposed pressure to produce at least one decent picture each week -- knowing that there's a large number of not-yet-processed images is comforting. Just think of the potential treasures hidden within that un-mined heap of digitized files! Even if I sucked this week (or, more realistically, this month), I feel less depressed, less worried about whether the next good picture will ever come. And not worrying, I find, is the best way to ride through the inevitable droughts.

Anyway, here's another photo of the same gentleman, who obviously was not shy about having his picture taken: