*photos and text depict July 2019

There they were, a continuous, almost organized line of middle-aged men in various stages of unfolding tripods, mounting massive DSLR’s on them, carefully aiming long lenses at indeterminate points in the darkening late evening sky.  The LCD’s lit their faces with a soft glow as they took test shots and talked among one another while fiddling with various items from their giant bags of equipment.

I stepped into an empty area among the photographers and leaned towards the grey-haired gentleman beside me.  “Is this spot taken?”  He murmured something, lifted his glasses over his head and stuck his eye on the viewfinder.

From my small Domke bag, I removed my tiny, old black camera and held it up to the sky.  I unscrewed its little lens and tucked it safely in my bag.  I noticed a guy watching me but he didn’t speak, so…