“WHY YOU TAKE PICTURE?”

As we toured the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, the company I was keeping awed me. Works by such great luminaries as Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, John LaFarge and Louis Comfort Tiffany completely surrounded me! These were the masters of the art of stained glass, and each piece was a thing of beauty!

Located on the Navy Pier, one of Chicago’s most popular places to visit in the summer and fall, I was also overcome by the magnificent view of the cityscape, from a distance. The skyline is one of the most beautiful in the world, rich in not only architectural beauty, but also the history behind it.

As I went from room to room, viewing the different stained glass works of art, they were all framed, and lit from behind. Attached were little notations with dates and names of artists and for whom the works were executed. The place had a great many visitors and may one could not understand if they lived in this country.

Suddenly I came across one frame that sat in a corner, but not lit from behind. My curiosity was stirred by the fact that like all the rooms, this particular room was dimly lit, with no light emanating from behind this one particular picture frame. I really wanted to see this masterpiece and so devised a simple plan. After all, after viewing everything before this particular piece, why miss something that may be the most beautiful, simply because the rear light is out.

Standing near by was an Asian lady and her husband. He too, like me was carrying his camera around trying to get the shots off without the glare of the flash. She was watching me looking at the picture frame. Her stare was intent, and called her husband to watch. I figured she was telling him to watch my technique in shooting through the glass and dealing with the glare of the flash. Everybody was suddenly still, watching me, making me feel self-conscious! I raise the camera and aim, fire and lower the camera. When I look up, I see the lady almost on top of me, as she says:
“WHY YOU TAKE PICTURE?”

Looking at the camera results, I realize what her problem was. There was nothing in the frame for where the stained glass should have been!