My Favorite Time of Day

By Adam Prieto,

Photographer/Videographer
  

As the season shifts and the spring weather is in the air, I usually have to wait for my favorite time of the day. Once 7 p.m. hits you can usually find me out and about in my own little world. The sun has about another hour left in its day until it proceeds to its slow diminishing act. This is the time of the day that I’m usually waiting for. The lighting is low and warm, and the deep shadows create abstract objects. Everything in sight is slightly more beautiful. One of my most favorite things about photography is how easy you can get up and just go.  I pop in my headphones and captivate my ear canals with soft, relaxing music. All of a sudden, things in front of me become still. External noises are eliminated and I’m in a therapeutic sense of meditation. 
  

 

The most fascinating thing about going out and just shooting is you never know what that thing is going to be that draws you in. You just let it happen. It seems odd, but it’s almost like letting your self be seduced a little bit every day. This is the real joy of it. To go out and be part of the world you’re in. To see it, to keep your eyes open, to really relate and react to what you’re seeing. I don’t think, “is this in the moment enough or beautiful enough?” I’m just reacting, reacting to the moment. Life is a series of moments, and photography allows me to capture and share them – to capture a little piece of the universe and sustain it one picture at a time.  It is now 7:35 p.m. 

“For the world is movement, and you cannot be stationary in your attitude toward something that is moving. Sometimes you light upon the picture in seconds; it may also require hours or days. But there is no standard plan, no pattern from which to work. You must be on the alert with the brain, the eye; and have a suppleness of body.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson.