You carry the camera, do you stop anywhere while driving?

[mrodgers]

So, I'm curious about something. I see many state they carry their camera everywhere with them. So, I had my camera at work as a co-worker wanted to see it. Then ran some errands after work and had a bit of a drive home (I live 30 miles from just about anything, hehe.) My drive home was kind of a back road, but it is a much used road as well since it links the middle of nowhere where I live to town. I have a thing for old barns and old bridges, thus as I'm driving down the road, I'm always looking for stuff like this. Plenty of old barns around and I want to stop to catch them all in a photo. Problem is, the road might not be exactly a bumper to bumper traffic road, but it is a well traveled road in which the majority ignore the 45 mph limit and run 60-65. Tis the way to drive out in the middle of nowhere. Traffic could see a handful of cars run by every 5 minutes to not seeing another car for 20 minutes.

Do you stop anywhere and shoot at anything while driving down the road when you see something? This particular drive yesterday doesn't have anywhere to stop, or the places you can stop and be off the road are few and far between. I saw quite a few old rustic holes-in-the-side weathered wood barns along the way that I just longed to stop and capture. Do you stop? Would you stop at an area that allows you to get off the road and walk to something you are interested in?

I use to have a motorcycle. I rode alone and though I only had a full auto camera, it was always hung around my neck and tucked underneath my jacket. A motorcycle is much easier to stop along the road for a photography moment since it isn't very big. Not only that, but the motorcycle was used to specifically go out on a ride, thus, it would be taken out in some very scenic areas, which have much more areas to pull over at than the commute through the woods.

So, what do you folks mean when you say you "always carry the camera with you"? Is it a city thing since you are more likely to be walking than I am? Would you stop on the side of a (very) rural road for a capture?

There I go again. I can't post anything or ask anything in a forum without writing a book.....

[Japaslavian]

Of course I do!
If I see something that's worth being shot, then it is definitely worth the effort of stopping the car, getting out and walking back, and admiring all the weird looks I get from passing drivers. If I can't get myself to do those things, then I the shot just isn't that important to me.
Just make sure you're not trespassing (though I pretty much do this all the time for my shots...).
Sometimes, I'll dedicate an entire day to just driving around places I've never been to, and stopping along random stretches of road to see what I can find.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by mrodgers

So, what do you folks mean when you say you "always carry the camera with you"? Is it a city thing since you are more likely to be walking than I am? Would you stop on the side of a (very) rural road for a capture?

In my normal life, yep, it's a city thing. I don't own a car. When I'm visiting my parents and have access to a car, yes, I would stop, but it's far more likely for me when traveling by foot.

[xxpinballxx]

If I can stop i do. Or else I make a mental note of it on a notepad I keep in my bag so i can go back at a better time. If its a sky I want to catch i make a big effort to stop. I have missed so many shots from not having my camera with me so now I carry it in my slingshot and feel totally normal now bringing it out whenever where ever.
If I were in a rural area it would be even better with all the landscape shots and the animals and old barns.....
Plus traffic isn't as much of a factor either....hard to stop on the side of the highway at rush hour without having to walk back a thousand yards to the spot where you first saw the shot.

[ALSto]

Very much like xxpinballxx, I was always missing a good opportunity or I saw scenery that I had just wished I had my camera. I work mostly from home office now and live outside the city but I never stopped in the city because of traffic or having to park ($$). Not to mention, I just wanted to get home after being stuck in traffic.

I do now keep one of my my old point & shoots in the glove box for an emergency photography fix. In most cases, if local, I will note the location & time of day and return with my DSLR. Too bad you can't replay a sunset...

Allen...

[Major_Small]

I don't drive much anymore, but when I did, I would stop if I could - if I was on my way somewhere that prevented me from stopping (on my way to work, or an appointment, or whatever), or if I found something, but the lighting was wrong at the time, I'd make a mental note of it, write it down when I could, and revisit it some other time.

[mrodgers]

Originally Posted by ALSto

Too bad you can't replay a sunset...

Made me chuckle since the guys at work made fun of my homemade DIY tripod I made from an old floor lamp. Tripods are cheap! they tell me. But I had quite a sunset outside that I wanted to capture, but wanted stability and didn't want to hand hold the shot with no tripod as of yet. "The sun sets every day!" is the response I got, hehehe.

It is unfortunate on the particular road I talked about up there because it winds through the woods up and down with trees or banks on either side of the road. So, even though you might not see a car the entire trip, there's always a chance of someone coming up behind you around a bend at 60 mph. So, can't really stop, but I saw lots I wanted to grab the camera for. I had thought about just stopping and shooting out the window without getting out that way I could stomp on the throttle if needed, but that felt risky as well.

Oh how I miss having the bike to go out on rides now that I have a better camera than I did when I had the bike. With fuel prices, it's tough to make the decision to just go out for a drive in the car with the camera.

[neilwood]

I only wish i could stop - but im on motorway most of my journey (speed limit 70 mph) and its no stopping uless youve broken down.

So all i can do is make a mental note to myself that i need to come back at some time and hope i remember to do it

[kirbinster]

I stop when I see something worth capturing unless it is a clear danger to do so. What's the worst that will happen - someone will honk their horn at me

[mrodgers]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

I stop when I see something worth capturing unless it is a clear danger to do so. What's the worst that will happen - someone will honk their horn at me

In my case? Plow into the back of the car at 60 mph because it's all hills and curves, hehehe. At least on the road that spurred my interest on whether everyone else stops along the road on their drive to work or where ever.