Airports make great fields for candid photos.  If you are killing time in a layover, why not scout out an interesting spot or an unobtrusive blind. You can shoot some images of people passing by seeking departure gates, snacking in a food court, or a charging electronics in a waiting area. You may find some animated faces, harried situations, or human surprises. Leslie once got a great shot of people sleeping on the floor during a storm-caused layover, and it was used on a news outlet’s website.

I didn’t have any major news stories inside the airports during my recent layovers. I did take two candid shots that pleased me.

First, is the image featuring strong graphic, geometric elements. I took this at a gate waiting area. The placement of my subject on the right makes it seem like he is tipping scales in favor of being mellow instead of choosing the path of the harried folks running along the corridor behind him, to the left of the column on which he rests.

Chillin at ATL

Second is the photo talisman that was presented to me, literally. It came about after my kids secured us a table to enjoy an oven hot pizza pie from a food vendor in the ATL B-gates. As we sat and I passed out the slices, the table immediately behind one of my boys became occupied by a solo airline pilot between flights. He sat, took off his hat, propped it sideways on his suitcase in his full view, and mine, to reveal the hidden collage inside it’s lining. Then he proceeded to eat his meal.

A Pilot’s Talisman of Sorts

The collage was a series of lovingly cut out and pasted together images of him at the birth of a child, a toddler waving, and a teenager standing up with him. A private collection of images, exposed to me. His motivation to work hard and return safety home. Who could resist that click??! Not me, the snampamma.