My Favorite Mistake | Author: Christina Heinle
While in Vienna, I practiced long exposure photography at night. Capturing the streaking tail lights of cars with the historic buildings in the background was quite fun and overall I was pleased with the results. I started at the Opera House, moved to Parliament and ended up at the Rathaus (city hall). An event was being setup at the Rathaus and the fences along with little buildings detracted from the glory of the building. Unenthusiastic about the scene, I still took pictures. When the bus pulled into my frame and stopped at a light, I called it a night. Non-scenic subject, buses ruining my picture and discouragement gave me the reason to pack up and head back to the hotel.
Later when I reviewed my pictures, my favorite photograph turned out to be the picture where the stopped bus created havoc on my picture. Surprisingly, the long exposure of 15 seconds was long enough to capture the beauty of the Rathaus along with the inside of the bus because it was sitting motionless at the light. The hand straps seen towards the top of picture and the “Ein stigen bitte Knopf drucken” button are my favorite aspects of the photograph. If the bus had not stopped at the light and “ruined” my picture, I wouldn’t have captured such a unique photograph.
Christina Heinle is a Trip Leader with Arizona Highways Photo Workshops
Instagram: christinaheinlephotography