Deconstruction Site

This week has been moving so quickly. I haven’t gotten to spend as much time on the blog as usual but I am very excited about the shoot a did this past weekend. I dropped off a friend at work around 3PM and decided to grab a late lunch at the mall before I went home. The parking lot was pretty full so I grabbed a spot at the edge of the lot and hurried in. A chicken sandwich and a sweet tea later I was walking back to my car with the sun to my back. I noticed a lot of “scrap” in the grass on the other side of the guard rail so I grabbed my camera, climbed across and started scouting around.

A pile of street signs jumped out at me so I walked over to them. You ever notice signs seldom say “yes”? This wasn’t my first shot of the signs. I tried a few different angles from up at the stop sign but once I walked down here it clicked. NO, NO, NO, STOP. I don’t want to get too political or philosophical but maybe if everyone stopped telling us what we can’t do and instead gave us some suggestion of things we can do, we’d make some progress. I think this is especially true in photography. Too many “workshops” focus on telling you everything you’re doing “wrong.” I like constructive criticism as much as the next guy but I don’t focus as much on perfect composition, exposure, and light (at least not when shooting for myself) as I do on making the creative statement and mood I want to achieve.

I love cool stuff. Old pipes with pieces of rebar are really cool. I decided to bump the f/stop up to f/8 so most of the pipe would be in good focus. I did give some thought to the composition here because I wanted to maximize the rebar pieces and minimize the dead space. The background was mostly shadowed so it kept the attention where I wanted it. I really liked the texture where the rebar met the pipe. I didn’t do much to draw focus to it but it’s there all the same and it adds to the overall picture. I like the way the angles connect across the frame too. It all worked out pretty well.

This shot is a great visual. I love the angles and the textures. It has a nice symmetry that gets a little more complex as it fades out to the right. I didn’t “like” the white cover on the corner of the brick but 1. I’m a leave no trace photographer so I didn’t want to tear it off and 2. It was a part of the scene so I left it in. Last note: check out the cars in the distance. I got really nice bokeh off of them when I played the reflecting light just right. When you’re out shooting you have to be constantly aware of where your light is at. A backlit subject or a glare can make or break a shot, you should always know which one it’s doing in your picture. 🙂

That’s all for this one. Thanks for coming back again! If you’re a first time visitor don’t forget to follow the blog so you know when I share new stuff. If you want a guest article for your blog email me with details, I love working with other photographers and bloggers. Check me out on Twitter and don’t hesitate to get in touch about anything. I love hearing from all of you and I love checking out other blogs. God Bless and Good Night!

If you must go, go here… And tell them Arley at ShootAbout said hello 🙂

http://ellispictures.com/ – Beautiful photo blog with some great work from “across the pond”

http://space1eleven.wordpress.com/ – Chillbrook has some great stuff. I’ve really enjoyed his running water work and his shots around Charlestown. (Does everyone I like live in England?)

http://andrawatkins.com/ – I guess they aren’t all in England. This is Andra, she is an amazing writer/photographer and she lives in SC. We share the state but we’ve never met and I was actually referred to her by Greg who also has a phenomenal blog you should check out.