Mindless by Timothy Poulton

Mindless by Timothy Poulton

What I thought was going to be one of the most amazing sunsets capturing the Matterhorn, turned into frustration and annoyance. After hiking for 2 hours from my hotel in Zermatt up to Lake Riffelsee to shake off a little jet-lag, I did what I always do and suss out a bunch of compositions, memorizing each one so when the magic happens I can quickly switch between, capturing as many styles of this location. About 10 minutes before Magic Hour this dude turns up and sets up behind me, clearly getting me in his shot. Now I’m not one of these photographers that gets in peoples way, I just don’t like that uncomfortable feeling and stress. So I ask him if I’m in his shot and he waves at me with disdain. Once it starts going off and I just can’t stand the stress I move to one of my other compositions. He then starts telling me that the second lake is a better place to capture the Matterhorn for the first time, I say I’ve photographed this place several times before but he’s adamant I should go. So it’s going bonkers in the sky, and I think, fuck this, I was here first. Heading back to shoot the lake, this dude starts on about missing the last train back to town, so I tell him I’m going to hike back down, to his shock he starts telling me it’s too far, it will be too dark and dangerous, I’ve done it before mate so back off! Seriously, why do people feel the need to interfere and assume so much about another person? I go out of my way to photograph locations at certain times of the year to avoid all this, but with so many people taking up photography and our world population hitting critical limits, I’ll just have to get used to it. Remember, we see the world not as it is but as we are. Most of us look through the eyes of our fears and our limiting beliefs and our false assumptions. What’s your approach to others taking shots during your sessions? Love to hear your thoughts below in comments!

Timothy Poulton: Photos