At times when I’m on the job, I dutifully carry a camera and accessories so that I am ready for the shoot.

Most often though, when I’m off the clock, I leave the photo equipment behind. One incident from 1989, changed this habit. I was in West Berlin in early November of that year. To the surprise of much of the world, the East Germans started to dismantle the infamous Berlin Wall. At this historic time, I was regretfully camera-less.

This lesson nudged me from this time forward to carry a small camera so that I wouldn’t miss those “once in a lifetime” photo opportunities.

One of these opportunities amazingly happened when I was in London in September 1997. Sadly, Princess Diana had died in an automobile accident the previous week. Hundreds of thousands of mourners turned out at Kensington Palace to offer their sympathies. Thankfully, I had already seen the light and had changed my ways so a camera was on hand to record this event.

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Of course, this was an unusual moment in which I coincidentally happened to be in the U.K. for this remarkable occasion.

Luckily, most of the time I don’t have to be out shooting on photo assignments. But having a small camera near at hand has given me a chance to get a few snapshots of celebrities without feeling that I am a member of the paparazzi.

Here’s a few of my very casual candid camera encounters:

Gordie Howe, Detroit

Whoopi Goldberg, NYC

Art Buchwald, Washington DC

Patty Wagstaff, Oshkosh

Wolfgang Pick, Santa Monica

Mohammed Ali, flight to LAX

Garrison Keillor, NYC

Neil Sedaka, NYC

Paul Anka, Las Vegas

Sigfried, Las Vegas

These snapshots are my way of keeping these events memorable. The lesson that I learned early on is to keep my eyes wide open and to keep a small camera close by. It’s my way of having fun remembering the past.

This is the “handy camera” that I’m using these days. Its 14X optical zoom lens is very useful for taking a wide range of subjects. The camera is very compact making it a great traveler. You can see by the scars on the camera body that it is well used.

My advice is don’t leave home without it!

 

 

Note: I’m currently using the Canon SX210 IS as my everyday walk-around camera.