happy accidents

I usually have a theme in mind when I'm shooting. I try to come up with some sort of goal for each time I'm picking up my camera, so that I'm not just shooting randomly. In this shot, at the cathedral of junk, I was trying to take a picture of the heart on glass. Just a straight, literal shot that I was considering for a card. My camera had other ideas. I was having a hard time auto focusing on the reflective piece of glass the heart was on - mainly because it was in the shadow in some quiet light. The junk pile behind was in bright sunshine - lots of contrast - so the AF system was locking on to that. I fought with the camera a bit, manually focused and got the shot I wanted. Then I realised that the incorrectly focused shot was a whole lot more interesting. I could use the out of focus heart as a framing element and show the whole cathedral of junk in the reflection. The second tower with a heart on it provided a good rhythmic compliment to the frame too. I was originally so focused on getting the idea I had in my head, I almost missed this. But I try to flow with the happy accidents that derail my original ideas, when they present themselves. So in general - have an idea but don't be afraid to shoot off on an interesting tangent. Keep your eyes open!