Alanna, of A Veggie Venture, was nice enough to forward me this link to JPG magazine’s recent Get Cooking challenge. This photo challenge will be open for one week and will close on April 16th. And one lucky photo challenge will be featured on the back page of the next issue of JPG Magazine.

I hate becoming an obituary writer. Not for friends, but for businesses. If you are one of the lucky people that still has a thriving camera store in your town, I am jealous. After something like 40 years, Big George’s closed their photographic department in their new store last week. The management line was that they lost the camera business to the office supply stores, the Wal-Marts, and the Meijers stores. No, they lost the department when they decided that they would rather move fridges, stoves, and big TVs and not filters, in-store processing, and real photography gear.

When I first started shopping for cameras and darkroom equipment at Big George’s in 2000, I was awe-struck by the photo department. I could spend an hour just looking at things. If I had a question, Lee Kitada or Mike Myers or another sales associate would answer with patience and good humor. The moment I walked in the door, I was taken care of, whether I was buying a bottle of developer or looking to purchase something far more expensive. In addition, they sold USED cameras and accessories, and took in trades. My daughter was able to purchase a used Hasselblad outfit because of that. One does not lose customers to that kind of service. However, in the past 2 years, the photo department kept shrinking

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"The best camera is the one you have on you."

That's what photography is about after all, getting the shot, and you can't get the shot if your camera is at home. Now, many people don't want to carry a big camera around with them, and I get that. I used to carry my tiny Olympus XA with me in case of photo opportunities. Now I have a tendency to grab one of my big guns as I go out the door, either my Polaroid 110A or Mamiya Press. They're both big and heavy, but not really so much so that you can't carry them.

Any way, today I was carrying my big Polaroid, just in case. As I exited the car on my way to school, an elderly woman was at the corner waiting for he bus to come. The light was perfect as the sun was rising, and I just knew there was a shot there. I approached her, took the photo and chatted a bit, and continued to school.

That's the second part of getting a good shot. You have to have the equipment of course, but you also have to be willing to take the shot when you see it. A few months ago, I may not have taken this photo,...