Putting it mildly, the ambient wasn't bright, as the ominous clouds were drifting over the sky and creating terrible darkness. For a photographer, it's far from a perfect condition to shoot the steppe. It was evening. A strong wind burned my face like a frosty cold. My arms were stiffened by the cold and I desperately tried to make them listen to me. Time seemed to be dragging on and on. Every minute was endless.
My repeated efforts to find something interesting were in vain. Nevertheless, I kept saying to myself: “Just one more effort and it'll work!” Gradually, the city was disappearing beyond the horizon, leaving only dark forms of landscape. Walking along the bay shore, one could see a wide clean field without a single soul.
There definitely was something mystical and ominous in it.
Suddenly, a silhouette began to appear through the thick blanket of fog. My consciousness rose and strained in anticipation. It didn’t take long before I changed the wide-angle to the telephoto lens to see a sudden object. All of a sudden, a granny appeared right in the focus of the lens to stare at me. A bit frightened, I realized it was just an elderly woman with a bucket in her hand.
Without taking my eyes off her, I was still watching her for a while, feeling her negative energy! It was as if she was invisibly penetrating my veins, completely captured me. I got confused as it was so weird! After removing the camera, I hid behind the reeds, still being stunned. When she noticed it, she also averted her eyes, so I felt relieved. Well, that was nice although so strange.
All the same, I'm a curious photographer so I continued my observations, trying to stay unnoticed. Once again, I aimed the lens like a surveillance binocular towards the object under study. It was obvious that this elderly woman also didn't want to let me out of her sight. She kept looking towards me as if she was looking for me with her eyes!
Patience is like water: the stone sharpens, but it seemed to be not the case! Patience always comes to an end. When I found the right angle, I put out the required shutter speed and aperture. I just clutched the shutter, as I became stunned again from her cold piercing look. Finally, with my stiffened finger, I pushed the shutter button. Yes! Finally, I did it. For a second, I was filled with a bitter sense of triumph.
Having zoomed in a little, I began to look at the screen of my camera to see the picture taken. I was amazed at how bright and accurate the picture reflected the ambiance. My expectations were met. It was exactly what I wanted. Enjoying myself and the productivity of the day, I headed back.
At some distance, several new objects appeared: sheep and goats. They were barely seen. And then the thought came to me: “Wasn’t that elderly woman a shepherd?” Then it became clear to me why that vigilant elderly woman was looking at me so closely...
- CAMERA: Canon 600D
- APERTURE: f/5.6
- SHUTTER SPEED: 1:320
- ISO: 200
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