This image I made back in July. Besides that I fact that I like it, it may serve the purpose to illustrate why I hold my standard zoom in high esteem: My standard focal length would be more in the 35-50mm-e range. When this Muslim lady walked by, there would have been no chance to change lenses in the time I spotted her until she reached that crossing point.
Of course I would have framed with whatever lens on the camera, but this image with the crossing lines and the inclusion of the cloudy sky, adding the necessary blue tones to the whole composition, would have probably been impossible without the wide angle of a 24mm-e focal length. Opportunities like this at least make me enjoy the freedom a good zoom lens can provide.
This photo has haunted me for the past 24 hours and I can’t quite explain why, other than the obvious cliche of being at a crossroads in history. Yet there is more to it than that and, if we think about it, we are all at a crossroads in history at every moment. I’m glad she stepped where she did and you were there and ready to capture the moment…and share it.
Obviously despite all education our environment, TV and news are influencing us way beyond what we could expect – I had a similar immediate cliché association as you. Hard but not impossible to overcome.