Always wear a camera. That's the rule for me, and I never question if I should bring a camera or not. I just do it.

So when I walked one floor down at the Hotel Internazionale in Bologna, Italy to have breakfast, I had my camera with me.

This type of hotel is nice to sleep in but boring to stay in. It's the type that bought solid furniture that will last 30 years and it all looks 4-star. But it's been looking that way for 25 years and everybody is performing a routine under energy-saving light bulbs and with the same five-year-old plastic flowers standing in strategic decorative locations.

The breakfast routine was no different. I got it over with quickly with a view upon two sleepy-eyed couples, the only others in the restaurant that morning.

I still had time before we were planning to leave. Joy was over at the gym, at the sister hotel, doing her daily three hours of training for her upcoming bikini fitness competition.

I turned around to look out the low-sitting window behind me to check how the weather and light looked outside. This type of hotel always throws in an extra floor when possible, so I was basically sitting under the ceiling of what used to be a lofty high ceiling building, now divided into two low-ceiling floors.

Morning commuting in Bologna, Italia, May 2016. Leica M9 with Leica 50mm APO-Summicron-M ASPH f/2.0. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

I recognize a picture when I see one, so I took a series of 8 photos of this scenery through the window. I wasn't dedicated enough to move out of my chair or try to open the window. I was just sort of training with the light and already knew I had to go outside for a while.

I stayed in my seat. I prepared the focus and waited for the people to move, or someone coming into the frame.

If you photograph when you see it, it's too late. You have to press the shutter for a series of 2-3 photos when you sense something is happening. A bicycle enters from the left and you shoot 2-3 pictures without knowing at that point if he moves up vertical in the frame, goes across or stops in the middle of it. You see him coming, and you take 2-3 photos.

Advertisement:

Compose and wait

In this case I picked a stage and made sure to have the focus where the action should be. I had the shadow in the top and the pillar to the left working as a frame.

Don't move the camera to follow anything. No matter what, just stay with it and capture what is offered within that frame. That's my rule.

I did this for a short while; after all shooting from a chair through a window is not considered the way to do it.

But the low morning light had made me enthusiastic and I wanted to go outside and get more of it.

The contact sheet of the six pictures I took out through the window in Bologna. © 2016 Thorsten Overgaard.

I walked through the streets and through a park for 40 minutes and then to the sister hotel where Joy was training. I trawled through that hotel for pictures as well, then coffee for another half hour. Not much luck despite promising low sunlight and approaching thunderclouds.

When I later imported and edited the photographs, this first photo of the day was the best one.

Nobody could tell it was taken from sitting on a chair, photographing down at the street through a window. If it works for you, it works for everybody.

Always wear a camera; also even if you are just having breakfast one floor down.

I hope you enjoyed today's article. I will be returning to Italy in May 2016 to do workshops in Milano and Rome. As always, feel free to mail me at thorsten@overgaard.dk for suggestions, ideas and corrections.

	NEW VERSION 11.3
		Buy Now. Instant delivery. New Version 11.3 ONLY $698.00 Now includes 4+ hours of video tutorials. 100% satisfaction or 100% refund. More info.     #2130-1121-3           Update to Version 11.3 Apply code "UPDATE113" on checkout to get this complete version 11.3 update. $298.00 Updates all previous Surival Kit versions since 2009.         Buy the complete new Lightroom Survival Kit 11.3 The Legendary Tutorial for Photographers Brand-new JUNE 2022-version. Now with brand-new 4+ hours of video tutorials. New sections on compostition and storytelling. How to edit color photos. How to edit black & white photos. How to do keywords logical and easy. The most successful photo editing kit ever Photographer Thorsten Overgaard first released the Lightroom Survival Kit in 2009 and have honed it with new and fresh updates. This Version 11 is the most radical updated and renewed version ever, four years in the making. Professional workflow experience made simple, logical and easy to use. Master editor makes it simple to understand The Survival Kit is unique and one-of-a-kind being made for photographers for photographers. When someone understands their subject, they can explain it so it is easy to understand. The hallmark of Thorsten Overgaard is to make expert knowledge shown and told in a way so anyone can apply it. Hands-on advice that works With a 450 pages workbook and 4+ hours of video, every element of digital photography is touched on, in handy chapters and pre-flight checklists. Editing of color vs black and white photos, keywording, cropping of images, fine-tuning of tones, color balance and color control, export of originals, printing, archiving and backup, and much more. Comes with the Overgaard Leica Presets (Value $48) The Lightroom Survival Kit comes with Thorsten Overgaard's special-made Lightroom Presets for all digital cameras and for Leica digital cameras. Understand all from camera to the final print Chapters in this version goes over the background for High Dynamic Range (HDR), digital raw files and how to set up a professional photography workflow, from calibrating the screen to editing in Lightroom, and to making a final print. And more ... 10+ years experience in one package No need to spend years figuring out the smartest way to do things when you can tap into the best way of doing things right here. The workflow of Thorsten Overgaard as been refined through years of field work with more than a thousand workshop attendees. This method of workflow now used by thousands The Survival Kit has been taught to thousands in workshops and in this Survival Kit. What does it do? It make you enjoy taking and making photos, and it increases your production considerabely. Most important of all, it'll give you back ownership of your files (which you will understand why is so important, once you have bought the Survival Kit and started applying its methods).         "Thorsten's methodology is perhaps not what hardware-, software- and cloud-companies want us to do, but as a former IT engineer I can only acknowledge his views about preserving our digital heritage. This workflow explained is for me the best I have ever seen". ★★★★★         Video tutorials, image files, presets, checklists, definitions, tutorials of Lightroom, that boils down years of experience to a workflow you can implement in less than one day.   Start working in minutes.