Sometimes things don’t work out as planned the first time around. Sometimes they don’t work out the second time you try. But sometimes the third time’s a charm. That was the way it turned out for me recently.

In landscape photography the masters have often revisited a location numerous times waiting for the right light or a beautiful cloud formation to arrange itself overhead. Then think of how may times Edward Weston photographed his pepper to get exactly what he was looking for. In the case of street or documentary photography you often only get one chance, as the picture is there for a fleeting moment and then it’s gone forever.  But not always, especially if you are persistent and not willing to give up!

Such was the case when I went to the large open air Italian Market in South Philly last summer. First things first; as soon as I arrived I grabbed some quick chow. Then off to make some photographs. After walking around the central area I decided to keep going … I always find it the most interesting when I have no clue where I am headed. I quickly came upon Capitolo Park and the semi annual Capitolo Park Flea Market.

The exterior of the Park along the sidewalks was packed with vendors selling their wares on top, on the sides and beneath tables, which they sat or stood behind. In some cases they had things hanging from or leaning against the metal chain link fence behind them that bordered the playground and basketball court. I walked around, mostly in the street because there were cars parked in front of the tables and the sidewalks were jammed. This of course made for some challenges when trying to make some of the pictures I was interested in.

I finally stumbled upon a gentleman selling the usual stuff, but behind him leaning against chain link fence were stuffed animal heads mounted on some kind of wooden board. A little bizarre, so naturally I got excited and made a few pictures. Unfortunately I couldn’t get what I really wanted due to the parked cars and the mass of people I wasn’t able to control. But you do the best you can or walk away empty.

I eventually got around to developing the film but the proof sheet turned out the way I thought it might; the pictures were not worth printing. Nevertheless, I stored what I saw in my memory for future keeping. On a Saturday morning this June I drove back to the same location hoping the flea market and the guy with the animal heads would be there. Of course I hadn’t done any checking beforehand and so no flea market and no guy with his animal heads. I walked around and made a few pictures but felt a little dejected until I spoke to a nice woman who I guessed live lived in the neighborhood and asked if she knew about the flea market. Yes she did; it takes place twice a year and the upcoming one would be next Saturday!

With great anticipation I drove back to South Philly the following Saturday.  It took forever to find a parking space within walking distance, but I finally found one and started hiking towards the park.  It was packed with people, tables and of course the damned cars parked in front of the tables. I walked around the park and playground and then I saw him with his animal heads against on the fence, in the exact same location as last before!  And yes there was a car parked in front of his area, but with enough of a space to hopefully get a decent shooting angle.

I had a nice chat with him about what he was selling, especially since he had a couple of boxes vinyl LPs and I only own several thousand myself. A few more couldn’t do any harm. Good ice breaker. In a short while he was happy to move into position so I could make some photographs and I was able to get the passing onlookers to stop while I made them. All very enjoyable!  I finished what I set out to do and went to find my car.

A few days later I developed my film and made my proof sheet with a certain amount of anticipation. And yes, third time was a charm!

I really wanted this picture and wasn’t willing to give up on it even if the probability of success was pretty slim. There are a number of pictures I have missed either because I didn’t have my camera with me or I couldn’t quite get it right or I just screwed up completely. I wanted to keep trying to see if I might capture this one. I thought somehow that if I kept trying the photography gods might look kindly upon me and magically it would happen.

I did, and it did.

If your picture really matters to you, don’t give up!