Why Some Images Won’t Let Me Walk Away
Why some moments feel impossible to ignore until we’ve captured them.
The other night, my wife called me to the window. A spider was suspended on a perfect web, frontlit by the house lights, with nothing but darkness behind it. I admired it, sat down to eat, but halfway through dinner I couldn’t shake the feeling: I need to take that picture. My wife even said, “I assumed you would’ve taken it.” So I put down my fork, grabbed my Sony A7CR with the 90mm, and only felt complete after I fired off a few frames.
That moment reminded me of last year in Alaska. After a full day of photographing glaciers and whales, I swore I was done. My bucket was full; I couldn’t take another shot. But then I saw a fishing boat drifting across the sunset with mist curling behind it. At first, I thought, cool scene, and tried to let it go. But that same pull hit me—I couldn’t ignore it. And of course, it became one of my favorite photos from the trip. I’ve ignored the pull before, and those moments haunt me. Not in a dramatic way, but as this quiet ache, like I missed my chance to listen to something important.
I don’t have an answer. I don’t know what exactly creates that feeling. Is it the fleeting nature of the moment—the spider web that will soon sag, the light that will vanish? Or is it something deeper, some kind of instinct photographers share?
All I know is this: the photos I have to take, the ones where I literally put down food or push through exhaustion, often end up being my favorites. The snail climbing a plant on a walk with Pixel? That’s nice. But the spider web, the Alaskan boat—those images feel alive in a different way.
So I’m curious: do you feel this too? Do you ever get that unshakable pull, that voice that says stop everything, grab your camera, take the shot? Or am I out here on my own with this one?
I don’t have it figured out, but maybe that’s part of the point. Photography isn’t always about answers—it’s about noticing what stirs something inside us and following it.
For me, it’s capturing the essence of that moment. When everything comes together in that instance, for that image.
Magical memories are associated with those photographs. 🙏