Gone on a Walk About

I really need to make the time for photography nowdays. It used to come easier, but life intrudes constantly. Anyway, I decided to get crazy to spark some madness and took a single prime (non-zoom) lens with me to work last Monday and do some walking between light rail stops on my way home. The madness part was the focal length: 300mm. This is not a common FL for general photography I agree, but like I said, I was trying to spark some madness to get my creative juices flowing. It is a highly restrictive field of view on APS-C cameras and takes extra care to avoid blurriness from hand holding. Because I am just not going to take my tripod too. That is too crazy for a wandering kind of day. I was both frustrated and inspired by that cramping of my style, I definitely liked some of my shots, and really didn't like a lot of them too.

Shadows are a favorite subject, and shooting in the late afternoon makes shadows easy to find. This detail of the chain on a fire hydrant spoke to me of everyday objects that become extra-ordinary in the right circumstances. Integral to the safety of the public every few years, and mysterious in the afternoon light.

I have always been drawn to patterns and order. Sometimes having something different irritates me to no end, other times it is a delightful accent. Often the thing that is different brings the counterpoint  that simultaneously enhances the beauty of the orderly pattern and is beautiful in its own right.

The progression from health to decay and death is a natural one, repeated seasonally, yearly and over generations and lifetimes. I have had an image in my mind I need to photograph one day of the hands of a baby, a mother & an.... more mature mother. Birth, vital life & gentle fading away in one photo, black and white, dramatically lit. Until then, this captures that concept in another type of subject. The fading of brilliant green into yellow then dead brown without the full leaf capturing the potential of a golden moment.

Old buildings present endless opportunities for things to become more beautiful as they age. I kind of wish they had left this cornerstone unpainted. But, then it would have been less interesting.

Again, shadows rear their head, the texture of the ageing plywood is what attracted me the most. Patterns, unseen objects casting shadows, textures.

Ah, an old friend, I have taken several shots down the length of this street towards this building, I really like the compression I am getting from the longer focal length. May need to try on a colder day, at full resolution you can see how heat shimmer blurred the capitol building.