LOCATION: Castaway Cove, Ocean City, N.J.
EQUIPMENT: Canon EOS 6D, EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
THE STORY: If you hear it once, you'll hear it a thousand times as you journey deeper into photography. And it will always remain true.
Find a different angle.
Take the image above, for example.
That's the iconic swings you find at the Castaway Cove amusement park, a popular destination on Ocean City, N.J.'s boardwalk.
It's not hard to understand why the swings - 27-feet tall and beautifully hand-painted by a park ride manufacturer in Italy - are such a camera-magnet.
It must've been photographed a million times. Heck, if you peruse my personal gallery of images, you probably won't find another object more photographed than this one.
Back in the summer of 2014, I sat on a bench beneath the swings with my newborn child in a stroller, waiting for my wife and our then-2-year-old son, who were off on another ride.
When I heard the bells signaling another turn of the swings, I craned my neck backwards, pointing my chin up to the swing's glorious yellow facade.
Instantly, a new image presented itself in a way I'd never done before. Even if it strained my neck pretty badly.
I took my camera, went as wide as I could, set it for 1/1000 of a second shutter speed, and came away with a look you don't typically see of this iconic spot.
Dave Pidgeon is a seasoned writer and photographer from Lancaster, Pa. You can reach him at dave@pidgeonseyeview.com.