![I can't recall the last time I actively went in search for wild life. I happened across this cattle egret in the late evening sun in Fairmount Park. See the other two pictures taken within 30 feet of this spot.](https://new.peterphun.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/jodi-by-sfetbrandt.jpg-8428.jpg)
I don’t think I’ll ever stop making pictures.
When my cameras were burned to a crisp inside a bus where I narrowly escaped with my life in Los Angeles, I was sick to my stomach for weeks.
The camera bodies that were incinerated were motorized Minolta XD7s with a complement of lenses and flash units.
I remember being in a shuttle bus with about 18 other Singapore Airline cabin crew members on our way from the Bonaventure Hotel to LAX when smoke filled the cabin.
![Here's another picture made maybe 20 feet away from the first picture you saw. The cotton candy vendor appeared suddenly and before I knew it, I was out of position to keep him backlit against the stand of trees.](https://new.peterphun.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_3993.jpg)
The driver had barely enough time to pull over to let us out on the 5 freeway.
By the time the fire department arrived, the bus was fully engulfed in flames.
I moped for weeks and mourned my loss but I replaced those Minolta’s with Canon F-1s and I never looked back.
After college when I landed my job as a staff photographer and I made pictures daily, I always believed there was always room for improvement.
![This red trees is only red during certain times of the year. If I were more motivated, I'd look up the name of this tree. I might still. This picture was taken on a different day but very close to the same time.](https://new.peterphun.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/MG_1873.jpg)
There is a strange mindset in news photography: an unwritten mantra that said you’re only as good as the picture you took today.
That set an impossibly high standard which meant I had to always be making photographs daily.
It’s so ingrained in me now that I feel incomplete and listless if I haven’t peered into a viewfinder after a day or two.
So every chance I get, I drive by one of my favorite parks especially if it’s late in the evening.
It doesn’t bother me that everyone heads here to take pictures.
It’s not a contest.
It’s about me, my camera and what I can see and find.
Early in the morning would be a good change as well since the light will be different but it doesn’t work for me for now.
I’m on chauffeur duty. I have to take my kids to school.
Where do you go with your camera?
Peter Phun Photography
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