I was downtown Tampa last night waiting for model that didn’t show and decided to use my waiting moments to try some night-time pics of the city.
I love Tampa for many reasons, not least how beautiful the downtown is and the pride that local government has in it.
I hope you like this small selection of images taken from the University of Tampa grounds and Kennedy Blvd bridge.
She messaged me that she was on her way after she had already missed our shoot time and I told her not to bother, that I was heading home and as I drove home I was feeling proud that I hadn’t succumbed to some beautiful young woman thinking she could step on me as she chooses.
When it comes to showing respect for a person, it is important that you respect their time and clearly this young lady had no issue in showing none.
So, while my initial thoughts driving home were indeed about the whole respect thing and being ok with keeping people waiting for you, it transformed into my own response to the situation and how I handled the lemons I had been given.
By choosing not to let lost in anger, I focused on what else I could do while I was down there. And as I was fully equipped with cameras, tripods, and such, the choice was obvious … grab my camera and see what else my lens might see.
I wandered down onto the banks of the river for the cityscape shots and stood in the middle of night traffic on the Kennedy bridge for the light trails. So, I didn’t just shoot what was in front of me … I went and sought out something.
And it was fun. Great fun, actually!
So rather than anger and frustration of an abandoned shoot, I headed home eager to see what my camera might have caught and happy with what I imagined it captured.
Dwelling on the negative of any situation is rarely a productive response and while it is ok to be angry with whatever wrong has been done to you, it is far better to be able to find a way to reduce the wrong and even try to flip it.
In the legal world, there is a term called mitigating the damage and it is the responsibility of the person who is a victim to reduce the amount of damage being done to them by taking action that effectively “stops the bleeding”.
And in the real world, it is also our responsibility to respond in a similar fashion and help ourselves up off the ground. Chumbawamba’s anthem song of a few years back which hailed “I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never going to keep me down!” is an inspiration if we allow it to be.
Refusing to be kept down is a really good philosophy in life.
It is how mankind the world over has overcome suppression and it can be how we start into a new day even though yesterday really sucked.
So, here’s hoping your weekend comes without any knocks. But if you do end up experiencing some, just reach out for a glass of lemonade and enjoy the taste!
