After over an hour of feature photo hunting, I found myself in a situation that led to this sequence of images. The four frames occurred within 30 seconds. In frame No. 3, bottom left, all the elements fell in place to make an interesting photograph. A fraction of a second later, frame No. 4, the boy’s eye closes, and the moment was gone.

“We need some wild art. Go shoot a feature.”

While they may not mean much to you, newspaper photographers hear these phrases often. In an effort to clarify these terms I’ll describe a recent photo hunt. Hunt — there’s another unusual word for pursuing a feature photo. Actually, the process is a lot like a hunt and requires a mix of intuition, skill and luck.

The most important element of any feature hunt is going where there’s prey, uh, I mean people. I start in my car to cover ground quickly. This is the part of the search where I’m looking for something unusual. I’m stalking that rare ivory-billed woodpecker of feature photos. It’s a long shot but worth a try. When I realize I’m paying too much attention to what’s on my radio I know it’s time to ditch the car. With a deadline looming I decide to pick a center of activity and place myself in a situation where my hunt might be more successful. Usual suspects are parks, the library, downtown, museums, etc. I pick the Lawrence Arts Center. It’s summer, and I’m sure there’ll be some animals around the watering hole, uh, I mean children inside creating art. On the second floor I get lucky. Children are making masks, and they have a cardboard treehouse! I spend 5 minutes quietly observing. I don’t see a situation yet that will lead to a good photograph. They’re too scattered. Unfortunately, I’ve already spent too much time searching, so I have to make this work.

I crawl into the treehouse where three children rehearse a play. The boy closest to me fiddles with his fake glasses. I get on my knees and frame him in the foreground with two girls in the background. I take a photo. It misses badly, but nobody notices. Another boy enters the scene, and he looks right at me. That’s not good, but I shoot another frame because I’m getting desperate. Suddenly the boy near me adjusts his glasses again, and everyone looks at him. I shoot two quick photos before the scene falls apart. In one frame all the elements fell into place, providing me with an interesting photograph. A successful feature hunt.

So, if on the periphery of your vision you ever find yourself under careful observation by a photographer, beware — you may be prey.