Woman Whose Car was Saved by a Chatty Photographer
Yesterday I had the idea to photograph vanity license plates. I was looking for interesting plates in the Walgreens parking lot when I saw a tow truck preparing to tow a car from the lot. I took a photo as it started to drive away and then walked closer as it approached the exit onto Wilson Blvd.
As the tow truck driver finished hooking up the car, he asked about my photo. I explained that I was learning to pan and thought it would be interesting to practice as he pulled out of the parking lot. I described panning--how the subject stays in focus while the background blurs if you follow the subject and maintain the same speed. It took a few minutes to explain how to stay focused with a long shutter speed. He was just about to get back in the truck and drive away when a woman came out of Walgreens exclaiming, "That's my car!"
She was parked in the Walgreens lot and shopping at Walgreens, so she didn't understand why her car would be towed. She showed him her bag with merchandise purchased at Walgreens. He asked if she left the lot before she went into the store. She had walked around the block. I asked how he would know when someone walks away after parking in the lot, and he explained that they constantly monitor security cameras in the lot.
Moral of the story: make sure to go directly into Walgreens whenever you park in their lot.
I didn't get my panning practice, but I did get a portrait of a very relieved young woman grateful to get into her car instead of watching it get towed away. And I feel like I accidentally did my good deed for the day.
