THE MOMENTS I'VE MISSED

When I was a child my aunty gave me my first camera for my birthday. I remember my Grandma telling me that I should take it with me wherever I go because you never know when the perfect photo opportunities might present themselves. Today's post is all about how I should heed my Grandma's advice more diligently. I want to share with you four fleeting moments I wish I could have captured on camera but, sadly, I did not have it with me.

The first moment occurred while I was waiting outside the shipping agents while Darren was trying to organise the arrival of our goods into the country. On the opposite side of the street was a long, rendered wall, standing a good couple of metres high. It seemed to be an old wall, although sometimes it is hard to judge. It's grey surface was patterned with blacks and greens where the climate and time had played their hands. Even on it's own it held an interest for the eye. A lady hurried past and the vibrant yellows and oranges of her punjabi suit and head scarf shone out against the backdrop of this timeless wall. The brilliant colours billowed as the wind played with the materials and then in a moment both she and her colours were gone. In that instant I knew that this was the stuff that travel photographers would dream of and I felt like I had, indeed, stepped straight inside a travel book complete with beautiful, glossy photographs.

The second moment was found and missed on a trip to take the boys to school. As you drive along the streetsides are busy with a steady stream of bicycles and pedestrians, streetside stalls, shops and homes. I like to try and look further back, trying to catch glimpses of what lies behind the busy street side. That morning I caught sight of a large shed, or it is probably more appropriate to call it a lean-to; large sheets of corrugated iron held up by poles and boarded around with rough planks. There was little inside the shed; a dirt floor and one basic, wooden bench upon which sat a man, perhaps a little past the prime of his life. He wore a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, both of which had clearly seen a lot of work, and his feet were, naturally, bare. Around him, little beams of light pushed their way into the otherwise dark area through the multitude of holes in the tin and cracks between wooden planks. They shone brightly, catching the dust that was floating in the air. One of those moments where light plays so perfectly with shadow and the subject seems to display the very essence of humanity. Ah . . . so perfectly designed for a photo and then in a second the van had moved on and, once again, the busy streets dominated.

For the third moment I actually had the camera with me, but again we were travelling in a van . . . so quickly moving on. We were on our way back from hiking in World's End, which is situated in national park. It was a Thursday and, as it turns out, Thursday is wood collecting day. On Thursdays, locals have permission to collect firewood from within the domain of the park. As we travelled out of the park we passed several women carrying firewood. After collecting the long, thin branches, the women bundle them up and carry them home, balanced upon their heads. It was an amazing sight to see these women emerging from the forest hills piled up with sticks. Sadly, I was too embarrassed to ask the driver to stop so that I could happy-snap this delightful image and now, as I write this, I am kicking myself. Next time I go back to Horton's Plains I am going on a Thursday.

The final moment I wish to share with you was seen on a trip home from school with the boys. Ttwo men were walking down the street carrying a single bed. Now, I'm pretty sure that you have a mental image of two men carrying a bed between them, one at the head and the other at the foot. However, these men were carrying a bed EACH! The mattresses had been removed and so had two of the slats in the centre of each bed. Each man then stood in the middle of the bed where the removed slats had once been. They carried a wooden pole over their shoulders, as though bringing water from a well, but each end of the pole was attached to an end of the bed by a rope. They then walked down the road carrying their respective beds around them, bearing the weight with the pole on their shoulder. Amazing!!

So I wish I had my camera with me to capture those moments. I know they are captured in my mind but it would have been so much quicker and easier to share them with you visually than verbally. So I hope that my humble attempts to make words serve me have inspired your imaginations so that they too might see these beautiful, fleeting moments. We're off to do an English class this afternoon. Think I might just go and pack my camera now, before I forget.