This was the last frame I took in South Africa. This was moments after I took the shot from yesterday. I turned to leave the beach and meet up with my wife and I saw the mountains in the background lit with wonderful light. The mountain in this picture is a side view of Table Mountain which is normally seen from a much different and impressive angle.
I was walking toward this man and saw him standing there watching the sunset. I noticed the same light on the mountains was illuminating his face and I wanted to capture it. By looking at this picture one might conclude that I stole this shot without him knowing but where would be the fun in that? I walked up to him and simply asked him if I could take his picture. He quickly responded with "Sure, what do you want me to do?" I told him to go back to doing what he was doing before I came up to him. He took this pose and ignored me totally while I snapped a few frames. He asked to see the picture and I showed him and he laughed and said thanks. I thanked him as well, slapped him on the shoulder, and kept moving along.
This interaction probably lasted 30 seconds but it was much more fulfilling than if I hadn't talked to him at all. If I hadn't talked to him, I would have had no story behind it and the picture would have much less meaning to me. As I walked away, I thought it was so strange that I felt compelled to slap him on the shoulder as if we were good friends. I think it illustrates how quickly we can make a connection with another person if we are open to it which I am learning to do with much more frequency.
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