Creative Muscle Exercise

It is always a challenge to simply go out and find interesting pictures. Those of you who have read my blog for any length of time know that I like to simply wander and look for interest in what is around me. Being completely IN the moment as it were. Whether I get anything of significance or even interest is less important than creating a connection however brief with the world around me. Creating strings that tie me to a moment that I can weave into the tapestry of my life. Sometimes that means moments of significance. Other times you are bringing significance to the moment simply by capturing it.

I "saw" this as I was walking to the train. Ooooh pretty flowers, and walk on for most people, IF they even look up from their smart phone. For me I will remember this exact piece of ground even after it is paved over, I will remember the delicate salmon/purple/blue of the sky, the technical challenge of capturing the photo without a tripod in lower light. The luminescence of the nearly full moon, and the delicate sunflower swaying in the slight breeze, making my job harder!

Downtown Salt Lake City is always a rich place for exploration. If you are aware you see new things. I have walked past this multiple times, never looking up at it. Never walking around it to find the dizzying pattern that dazzles and yet draws me in.

Never walked past this part of the courthouse. In and Outdoor reflecting pool. Disorienting and beautiful.

Have to admit I really am shy about just taking pictures of people on the street. Had to get one of this guy though. He was tooling leather for boots just there. In the shade. Never seen him before, wish I had asked to do a closer up portrait...

Tall buildings make everyone a little kid again. You are always looking up. Unless you are glued to your "Smartphone" and walking into street lamps.

In an effort to... push forward the arts, be funky, be cool... whatever. Salt Lake has some fairly random art pieces placed around. "Art on a stick." I call it. Whatever you call it, it can be fun to look at.

Many fond memories of this building, choir performances during intermissions of The Nutcracker at Christmas being the most prominent. Really need to shoot this at night!

Courtyard of the Blue Iguana. Best. Mexican. In. Salt Lake.

Same building. Love the building, love the ornateness of the light fixtures. And yes I made it crooked intentionally. Gotta break out of the OCD somehow....

Debated taking a picture of this kid for awhile, decided it was OK as you couldn't see his face and it was in a very public space. He stood there forever just staring. He was in the moment.

Clouds... They Make Most Every Picture Better!

One complaint I have about summer in Utah, is that we often have days and days of severe clear, with a little haze. Great for getting a tan, but it makes for uninteresting skies. I much prefer texture and drama to the sky. It there are great skies I always want my camera in hand.

Case in point: I can shoot these mountains everyday, tough to take a photo of them I am excited about unless there is texture to the sky, or the moon or something like that. While this is not something Ansel would be proud of I just get happy when I see skies like this!

The thing that made me happiest was I had time to take pictures of the Temple with the clouds. It necessitated an angle I usually don't shoot from much, but I think they turned out ok!

I had to wait for sunlight on the temple though, you can see this first shot, the temple is a bit dull looking, this was due to clouds partially blocking the sun.

My patience was rewarded I really like the look of this better.

I did also do a HDR version with the bracket shots above and below the previous pic. It turned out pretty nice, but I think I lost a little richness in the color of the temple while going through the process. Not sure which I like better!