Challenge: remember your camera



So, I'm here to tell you about your next bi-weekly challenge. But first, let me tell you about the bike ride I just took. I rode 55 miles and it was great. The weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cool. And I don't know if it was my new tires, or if I'm getting stronger as a rider, or if it was the energy drinks I brought with me, but I was flying. For the first 20 miles, I averaged over 17 miles per hour! On a mountain bike! I rode from west of Valley Forge, through the national park, all the way down to the Philadelphia Museum of Art - and I was so pumped when I got there that I kept going. I rode across the city of my birth, checking out the shops on Chestnut Street. I visited Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the new National Constitution Center, too. I saw monuments, horse drawn carriages and a group of a hundred tourists riding a duck. I rode my bike past Philadelphia City Hall - which is considered the finest example in the country of the "Second Empire" style.

As I looped back, I crossed Drexel University - my old Alma Mater - and I marveled at all the new buildings and how much the old concrete campus has evolved. When I passed 30th Street Station, I stopped and gave directions and dining recommendations to three exquisitely beautiful women on vacation from the U.K.

Then I rode past our nation's oldest zoo, and I checked out the hot air balloon. I saw boathouse row, and I saw engineers actually blocking off and draining a part of the river.

As I followed the river out of the city, I saw kids using a rope swing, I saw wild flowers and a lovely little trail-side garden. I saw the wreckage of an 8-alarm fire that left almost 400 people homeless and made the national news. I came to parts of the trail that were, literally, "bumper to bumper" with riders, skaters, runners and walkers. (And I really, um, enjoyed the view of all the young ladies running in teams, getting ready for the fall season.)

And I'd really, really, love to show all these great things, but I can't.

Because I forgot my camera.

Actually, it's even worse than that. I didn't "forget" my camera. I mean, I thought about bringing it. But I couldn't be bothered. I thought about bringing my wife's old P&S instead but, really, what were the odds I'd see anything worth shooting?

So I didn't bring my camera. And so I missed out.

And that's this week's photo challenge: to remember your camera. Where ever you go. It doesn't have to be your DSLR. I'm sure you've got an old P&S someplace. Maybe it's your old camera, or maybe it belongs to your S.O., but they just leave it in a drawer, unused. Your job is to bring it and use it.

Now, that doesn't mean you should just shoot willy-nilly at everything you see. The down side of digital cameras is that they make it too easy to capture hundreds of images without taking a single photograph. Instead, focus your eyes and your mind. See what's happening around you. Think about what's happening around you. Think about what's important to you. 

And, then, when you're ready, take the picture. Show us something great, something unexpected, something you never thought you'd take a picture of.

Something you'll remember forever.


* We will not use these email address for any purpose besides emailing this story.