It is 1998 in July, late afternoon. I'm driving a Land Rover Defender outside of Córdoba, Spain. No A/C in the 4x4 and it is terribly hot. The sun is punishing everything and everybody down below. My watersupply is about to end and I am dizzy. Thinking that, this is it, I'll call it a day and look for an airconditioned hotel and put myself in the bar with a cold beer after a long cold shower.
Blinded by this thought I am concentrated on the countryroad leading back to Córdoba Town. Almost there, a bus has turned over and blocking the road. Sitting in a 4x4 Defender I was tempted to simply go around the whole accident (which I easily could have) but there were quite a lot of people already and I felt that a manouver like that could be offensive. As far I could tell the bus was empty except for the driver and he seemed ok, so no concerns on injured people.
Oh well, I'll sit it out. Sweating away with all windows down. Going easy on the little amount of water I still have. After several minutes I turn my head to the right and see farmland in a very typically graphical layout that really always catches my attention. Thinking to myself, 'could be a nice one', but don't have the strength to do something about it.
When half an hour has lapsed and I can see the difficulty the rescueteam has to get the bus out of the way I decide to kill a few minutes with a shot over the field.
I stumble out of the door and unfold my big heavy Gitzo by the side of the road. Take out the mighty Fuji GX 680 III and change lens to the 250mm. Isolating the field completely. Standing on the roadside (slightly above the field) I put on a 5mm fall and add around 2 degrees front tilt. With the camera loaded with Velvia 50 (always) I get a reading of 1/125 & f16 from the Sekonic 508. And bang...there it is. A photograph made almost 15 years ago and it still works.