This is one of those photographs that just all came together, and I was there to capture it, right at the decisive moment. As I set up my camera, with a tripod and framed up the shot of the Devil's Elbow Bridge, a truck began to pass over the bridge. Since I was standing in the middle of the street, it was game off, so I dropped a quarter to mark my placement and moved to the side. I allowed the truck to pass and went right back to work. Placed my camera back over the quarter and tuned in my exposure. Right at that moment, the truck stopped behind me. I thought for a second to turn and look to find out why the driver had paused. But for some reason, I kept my eye in the frame and began to commit the scene to ones and zeros. After the first exposure, I noticed that there was a dog running straight towards me. Realizing that the dog would make the image that much stronger, I timed it so he would fall into the right place of the frame. I snapped the shutter, the dog went past me, hopped into the back of the truck and the driver was off, down the road again. I stood there for a moment, pondering magic that just happened right there in the middle of old Route 66, with a huge grin on my face. I then reviewed the image to find my timing was impeccable, All four legs were up in the air, with the dog's big old tongue hanging out. I was ecstatic. If I weren't on route 66, I would've put my camera in the bag in call of the day. But that's not how I roll on the old Mother road.
Fast forward to 2014. I'm sitting at the bar at the Elbow Inn talking to Terry the owner. I mentioned this image to him. He said, I know exactly who's dog that is, The dog always does that they cross the bridge. I promised him I would bring a print back the next time I was in Devil's Elbow, for him to give to the dog's owner.
Now it's 2015 and I'm back at Devils Elbow, Terry was not around. Chatting with the bartender, I asked if she could pass the photograph along to Terry, to give the owner of the dog. She agreed. I finished my beer and decided to head out and make some pictures of the bridge. After completing my session, I decided I couldn't leave Devil's Elbow without eating some of the delicious smoked wings, that they serve there at the Inn. So, I headed back inside. While I was gone, Terry had arrived and the waitress passed the photograph off to him. Now here's the funny part. It just so happened, the gentleman that arrived and sat down next to me, shortly after I had passed the photo off to the bartender, was the owner of the dog. 🤣 He was no longer there, but Terry said he really treasured the image.
