Friday Morning Photo Walk

Each Friday, I meet with friends who are fellow photographers at a downtown coffee shop. Normally we discuss a variety of subjects ranging from photography and photo gear to local events, family, and the price of coffee. In other words, mainly old fart stuff. During the previous week we decided to take a short fifteen-minute photo walk prior to coffee. Our walk was limited to just the area around the cafe, and we were free to choose whatever subject caught our attention. We placed a limit of three images for each of us. Part of the exercise was to become selective in what was photographed and enjoy time photographing with a partner. This was not a competition; rather, it was a search for what we would take to "show and tell" time next Friday. I will be interested to see what compositions each of us found worthy of our attention since this is the first time we have ever done such a photo walk.  

While I enjoyed the experience, I was disappointed to learn that I have developed some sloppy habits that have crept into my photography. One of them is how lazy I have become in composing a photo by not using my feet. Shooting with a prime lens this morning instead of my regular zoom lens made me remember how important it is to move when framing your subject to utilize the best light and best lines. My first photo was of an architectural feature where a tile design was incorporated into the brick exterior of a building. After looking at my photo, I discovered that I should have selected a different section of tile to find a place where the mortar was intact. My second mistake was to take this shot with a 90mm lens that would need a different angle to create perspective or to photograph it at an exactly 90-degree angle to make the mortar lines appear spaced evenly. 

The second photo was of a bust inside the window of a cosmetology school. The bust was resting atop some textbooks and was wearing a dark wig that was partially in curlers. I chose to photograph it mainly because it was weird, without thinking about what message I wanted to share with the viewer. I failed to adjust my exposure correctly to account for the dark background window reflections of the parking lot. Those dark background reflections failed to provide any separation from the dark wig, giving the appearance that the cosmetology students performed a lobotomy instead of the traditional perm. 

The photo that appears in this week's blog is my winner by default. I like it because it displays a rainbow of spring colors that are not overpowered by the reflections from the street. The walk experience is worth repeating for instructive purposes. This short walk around showed me how easy it is to allow bad habits to spoil the opportunity to create an interesting photo, although it was fun to shoot with others since most of the photos that I take are when I am alone.  

Together Again

I'm sharing two photos that I took this week with my first digital camera. That camera was a Fuji FinePix V10 that was introduced in 2006. It boasted a 5MP sensor and a large 3-inch display screen. Reviewers called it quirky but praised it for its high ISO performance. My motivation for purchasing it was that it was priced $300 cheaper than the Nikon entry-level DSLR. Price was a critical element in my decision to move from film to digital. My concern, at the time, was how I would embrace digital after shooting film all those years. The feel of my sturdy metal Nikon FM did not engender confidence as I held the plastics found in the new entry-level digital DSLRs. Would digital stay, or would it go the way of New Coke?

I charged the battery, and the 20-year-old Fuji lit up once again like familiar old face -- together again.  I took it to morning coffee to show a friend what digital looked like in its genesis. While there, I took the photo below. The metal chair backs at the coffee shop had cutouts of coffee cups. Their design piqued my interest, prompting me to photograph one and enhance the cutout portions by applying a dual warming filter to add some vibrancy. The result struck me as looking like a logo for the place. That quirkiness the reviewers expressed in their reviews perhaps referred to the buyers of this camera. 

While driving home, I encountered the dogwalkers walking down a rural road near my home. I was impressed by the number of dogs present and how each walker successfully controlled the eight dogs they were walking that day. They were spread out across the narrow country road and no tangled leashes were noted. Since the little Fugi was in the console of the car, I called upon it to capture a scene as it did some twenty years ago. When I got home and reviewed the photo, I noticed that there were four walkers. The fourth walker is hidden behind the middle walker, bringing the total number of dogs to thirty-two. I was also impressed with how the dog's eyes were fixed on me. I wish it were that simple to photograph groups of humans in the same way. 

My title for this week's blog emerged from the deep "hillbilly" recesses of my subconscious, bringing to mind the old Buck Owens country classic "Together Again." 

The love I once knew
Is living again
And nothing else matters
We're together again

 

Suddenly, Squill

Each spring a small, vibrant, blue plant emerges abruptly and carpets the ground before the grasses take over a week later. Their appearance each spring is an assuring and magical sight.  It is as if elves were granted power to landscape secret places for only one week. Most spring signs emerge in soft pastels, but the Siberian squill bursts forward with intense color, trumpeting spring's return.

The small flowers stand as testimony that there are recurring patterns in life that remain steadfast even when our daily lives seem much less predictable.  As we approach Easter, the story of resurrection gains prominence, bringing the promise of hope and abundance. For this reason, the true blue squill brings me awe and comfort each year. 

              “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” — Lady Bird Johnson