Wisconsin through car windows

Went back to my home state of Iowa recently for a funeral. As the sun set and we drove west, I made myself all but carsick staring through my camera and firing off frames from the passenger seat.

It was a fun exercise in chance and in creating my own luck. (Something that was recently discussed here.) I firmly believe that in photography, and in life, you make your own luck by knowing what you want and putting yourself in the right places at the right times so you can get that coveted shot. Or whatever you’re after.

I watched as an ever-changing landscape of hills, fences, telephone poles, trees, farms and fields whipped past at 75mph. If my reflexes weren’t fast enough to catch a scene just so, no big deal. I was in the right place, at the right time. I was all the more prepared the next time my lens met something similar.