A Summer Tango

One of my very most serendipitous afternoons in London was in the late summer of 2007. We were newly weds, and I hadn't quite gotten my head around cooling off quickly after a confrontation, so I used to go for a walk. Well, this day it turned into a tube ride into West London, a bus ride on a randomly selected route and a final destination of Regent's Park in London.

The heat of summer meant that I was in a simple sun dress, and had I been in Africa where I grew, up the stormy clouds which moved in in the early evening bringing with them the most beautiful light, might not have caught me so much by surprise. It was my first London rainstorm.

As it turns out, someone puts in a dance floor in the park in the summer, and young and old from across the city join in in the most beautiful ballroom dancing! I lost about 2 years worth of photos when my harddrive on my lap top crashed last year, and I had thought that these were among them.  While I would trade these in a heart beat for the pictures of Levi as a baby which are gone forever, Im greatful I came across them.

Originally I seem to remember having shot a few more in colour, but only one was on the disk in the pile I was sorting through. SO there is but one to show you the wonderful light by storm clouds.

My lasting ache when I look at these photos, is that when it started to rain, the dancers started to leave. Had they stayed and had the light not changed, I would have been a VERY lucky girl. But, then again, how often do you get to photograph the dancers who have spilt off the floor onto the walkways of the paths of Regents Park, dancing in late summer light?

This year I may PLAN it. I may just sneak a look into their "events board", just see if I happen to notice a date and a time and mention of dancing shoes. I may happen to stumble into Regent's Park with my camera and I may be blessed with incredible light.

This year I may get the shot I was longing for this day. These were taken in the first 2000 shots of my first ever SLR. Ive taken in excess of 30 000 now and have a much better camera. But sadly, I doubt I will be blessed with the combination of factors that made these shots possible. But I can hope, right?