Waiting for the right moment in (where was I exactly) Arles, France

Waiting for the right moment in (where was I exactly) Arles, France, originally uploaded by Photomike07.

My travel technique is one often ridiculed by those who don't understand. Actually, i've ridiculed it myself! Ever since my first trip to Europe, my style has been that of the typical American I guess: See as much as possible and at a rapid pace. I actually spent about 4 hours in Venice my first trip there. FOUR HOURS! Jumped on a boat from the train station, headed to St. Marks, walked a few alleys, got back on the train, and bam....off to Florence. Silly, I know...

Fast forward a few years and I'm essentially the same guy, not quite AS bad, but still a bit hyper. All that being said, it was at first quite torturous to wait here for the slowly wandering tourists to clear out of the shot. Its kinda funny, when your waiting...they seem to move slow as molasses, don't they? Appearing to be studying nothing at all, one guy wandered in and out of my camera view for what seemed like hours!

Like a slap in the face, however, my focus changed. What in the hell was I in such a rush for. If I could only slow the pace down a few clips, I might actually be able to let my mind wander a bit and imagine the stories these walls might be able to tell. Almost like a scene from a bedtime story I might have read to my daughter, this place was magical. As I sat down on the cool stones in the corner, I allowed myself to sink into the music on the Ipod while noticing the details in the arches, the texture in the stones, the musty smell of years gone by, .......WOW. Its amazing what we let out minds filter out in the rush of the average day.

I sometimes wonder what value there is in spending so much time behind the lense, until I recall moments like this :)