I wasn’t the brightest smartie in the box today, by any stretch of the imagination.  I went scouting today for a photo venue, after a client said she wanted to have her family portraits taken at the James and Ethel Gray Park near Melrose.

It’s only now, after editing those photos, and actually thinking about what happened that I’ve realised how really stupid I was!

I went tootling off to the park at lunchtime today, armed with my camera and 50mm lens.  Alone.

I park in the first parking area I could find.  Random strange cars already parked there with, oddly, men on their own in them, and I’m feeling uneasy.  But do I stop?  Of course not!  This is me you’re reading about

So I start walking with camera, camera bag, keys and cell phone.  I pass a lady sitting on the slope and ask if it’s a safe spot.  She says yes, she sits there every lunchtime, and tells me where the path leads (which interestingly led all the way to Melrose Arch). So I carry on.

I take photos, and plenty that I love.

Then I spotted him.  The dude that had been sitting in his car, next to mine, was now on the big grass bank.  He spotted me and moved to the other side just out of my sight.  Anyhoo, to cut a very long story short, I decided that I needed to get out of there, and skedaddled back to my car, noticing that he’s now following me.

The reasons I’ve now thought I was more than stupid about this expedition:

1.  No-one knew where I was!  I normally shout out to the world where I’m going…  on twitter, facebook, foursquare and sometimes I even actually say it out loud to whomever will listen.  But today, none of that.

2.  I didn’t even tweet from the park.

3.  I actually walked right past the desk of a fellow photog and tweeter, and I know Unixel would have come with me… but did I ask him… no!

Imagine something actually did happen?  No-one would have known where to start looking for me!

Utterly utterly stupid!!

But the photos were good