There is a photograph I took that is now sold as a greeting card in the local village shop. It's called Under the Bridge and shows a South Devon cow standing at the river's edge, lifting her head from the grass to look directly at me in the last of the evening light. Behind her, the gorse is in flower.
It was a moment, captured and then gone.
The card has proved to be really popular in the shop, but there's one comment I keep hearing.
"It's AI."
The first time someone said that I laughed. Then, if I'm honest, I felt a little offended. I even put together a quick TikTok video showing the original photograph to prove that it wasn't AI. Of course, the people visiting the shop will probably never see that video, so the comments continue.
The truth is, very few of my photographs are planned.
Because I'm always on the move, I don't carry a tripod, and I rarely set out with a particular image in mind. This photograph was actually the last in a short series. The cow was quietly grazing, and only at the very last moment did she lift her head and look straight at me.
Click.
The moment was gone.
The photograph was taken at 8.50pm on 28 May 2022.
Sometimes the best photographs aren't planned at all.