Out of the Ordinary

Hi everyone! I haven't posted for a while, so when I edited this photo just now, I decided to post it here first, rather than to Facebook, Flickr, or my blog.

Over the years, I've found that good, compelling images are everywhere. Our job as photographers is to isolate the interesting parts and exclude everything else. Easier said than done, but that's what I aim for... and maybe 5% of the time, if I'm very lucky, I make a decent image.

Today, I needed new tires and a bunch of other work for my 2004 Hyundai Elantra, and went to my trusted auto mechanics, which happens to also be a Goodyear franchise. They said I'd be their guest for a while, so I walked a block to a nearby Chick-fil-A for lunch and some reading. On my way back to the shop, I noticed this nice repeating pattern of electric meters mounted over a Goodyear yellow-and-blue paint scheme. The building itself is, frankly, pretty ugly, but I thought I could isolate these elements for a decent composition.

I didn't have even my little Canon S95 with me, but I did have my cell phone, which I used to make some snaps of the trio and the snazzy paint scheme.

So a little cropping and curve adjustment in Photoshop CC and a nice "mat" and "frame" added in Picasa resulted in what you see here.

I hope I succeeded in making something interesting "out of the ordinary."

Odor Abatement Program

Annapolis Running Shop on Main Street sets a cheerful example by recycling old running shoes as an outdoor display.

Up Against The Wall: Dogwalking on King George Street

Here’s a trick that I often find useful – find some scene that I like – then using it as a background or backdrop, wait for someone to walk into the scene. You need something photogenic to use for the backdrop… a handsome or unusual building, a path in a park during autumn, or, as in this case, a nicely-textured wall.

This kind of thing is an example of the whole being more than the sum of the parts. The building, wall, or whatever may be attractive, but by itself, will seem too static. On the other hand, a person walking by an uninteresting, distracting, or ugly background probably won’t be an image worth a second look. But combine an engaging background with passerby, and you often get something compelling.

I had driven by this wall on King George Street in Annapolis some months ago. It was early morning, and I really liked the way the directional light brought out the textures of the wall. Filing the scene away in my sieve-like memory, I resolved to return with my camera to catch some passers-by.

Finally, last Saturday morning, I packed up my camera bag, drove back down to Annapolis and walked to that spot. Stationing myself across the street for over an hour and pre-composing my shot, I snapped away in machine-gun mode as various individuals and groups happened by.

This one is my favorite out of those hundreds of images. It’s my new acquaintance, Keri, and her two fine dogs Big and Murray. Actually, Keri was walking on my side of the street, and, after explaining what I was after, I asked her if she wouldn’t mind making a pass with her dogs against this wall.

I got five shots of her walking by. I like this one the best because of the way she and Big fill the large space between the windows, while Murray, in trail, tucks in nicely under the leftmost one.

Sorry I've been AWOL here. I have lots of photos that I've taken this year (mostly already posted to my new blog) and I'll start posting them here as well.

Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Baker

Nikon D100, Sigma 15-30mm


Eric and I spent yesterday afternoon exploring and photographing the area around Fort Baker at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. We were walking past a passenger drop-off area in front of the Discovery Museum when I spotted these bright yellow knobby plates on the ground which gave me a splash of color and pattern to incorporate into a different view of the iconic bridge.



--Warren