Ok. So here's the second post on my blog. As you can tell from the title, this was supposed to be a normal, Saturday Engagement Photoshoot. Everything started well. My second shooter (and a great photographer to boot!) Israel and I met up with Shaun and Gena at the Starbucks in Milpitas. Since we were caravan-ing, I decided to take the lead and trust the 'ol Garmin GPS Navigator in my car from Milpitas to San Francisco via Hwy 880. Mistake# 1, never-ever-ever completely trust the navigation! Sometimes you should trust your instincts and eyes-ears. For those of you who know the bay area, the best way to get into SF is Hwy 280 thru Daly City-SF. Mistake #2, I did not know it was Fleet Week that weekend.
The first clue that driving part was not going to be fast was the traffic we encountered around Haward all the way thru Oakland. The second clue was the Blue Angels doing a fly-by near the Bay Bridge. =)
So we finally make it past the bridge into the city. From downtown to Palace of Fine Arts was almost bumper-to-bumper, red lights the entire way. And, of course, since I was playing Chicken with a SF Transit, I totally missed the one and only exit to Palace of Fine Arts which costs us another 15-20 min of driving near Golden Gate Bridge and turning around. So what normally takes 1 1/4 hour trip to SF from the South Bay turned into a 2 1/2 hour drive. You would think that was bad enough. Well since it was fleet week, parking was anything but easy. After walking 10 min from the Presidio to Palace of Fine Arts, we arrive at the entrance to find out that they are doing recontruction on the Palace of Fine Arts. Which means no cool photos from underneath the dome. =( By this time its almost 6pm and we literally have 30-40 min of light before sunset. While Israel and I are taking photos of the lovely couple on the pond near the Palace of Fine Arts, the shorts I am wearing inelegantly has a tear when I get into one of funky photpgraper position to get the "right" angle for a shot. With the excuse of going back to the car to get my 2nd flash, I find out I left the headlights on my Honda Element on - leaving me with a dead battery. With the help of some good samaritans, I try to jumpstart the battery for 30 min. By this time its nearly dark.
So you ask how did I survive all these mishaps? Through the patience and calm personality of Isreal (he's like a rock or that mighty oak that is not disuaded by anything or any situation!), the good samaritans who helped me with jumpstarting my car and the overall good attitude of Shaun & Gena; I never lost my cool. Though I came very close at times!! The moral of this story is never-never give up or get mad. Just stay the course in the midst of adversity and you will get through it.
Just check out the photos that Israel and I took which was the silver lining on a very cloudy day. =)
-jp
No comments:
Post a Comment