A Photo Geeks ups and downs through words and images.
For what it’s worth. My wife has always been my harshest critic. So, when I shared this image with her last night, I got, what I’d consider, a pretty good reaction, when she said, “I don’t know.” “What the fuck is that?” I found it cool, because so much of what we/I photograph is instantly identifiable.
Below is an image I took outside our condo. As a born and bred New Yorker, I immediately thought of the cities countless bike racks. Having never seen a bike locked to it. I’ll assume it’s a sculpture. With some serious down time, I feel my immediate surroundings are providing little inspiration. With time on my hands and an itch to get out there and shoot. I’ve decided to take some steps to get back to the basics of focusing and composing. Here’s to the weekend.
I was digging through some old folders with the intention of deleting images and sessions that either have’t held up over the years or never served their original purpose. When I came upon this image, I paused and thinking the old me would’ve immediately deleted it, and how the current me was grateful that I didn’t. Though, in all likelihood, the blur and silhouette were caused by my studio lights not firing correctly. As I found myself revisiting this shoot, I was reminded how some of my mistakes, or hat of my gear, have turned out to be favorites.
I’ve been going through some old picture folders (Something I’ve been doing as I have come to realize some aspects of my photography are coming, or have come to an end.) and deciding what to delete and what to save. During this process I’ve found a number of photos that were never edited or just needed a bit of TLC. Going back about ten years. I found some images from a Municipal Waste V.F.W. show. At the time, I knew nothing, other than the name, about the band. Something I grew to love, considering all the times I became a devotee to a band I was seeing and hearing for the first time. Upon coming across images from that particular show. I took a few minutes to make a few adjustments and do a little cropping. Thanks to my newly acquired Lightroom knowledge, I was pretty happy with the results.
As exhausted as I might be from our move back to the east coast, my mind can’t help but think of photographing and documenting my new surroundings. A new town or city will do that, and both Washington DC and Virginia offer many visual opportunities. And as we move from two nights of hotels in both Seattle and DC to our temporary Amazon apartments, I couldn’t help but grab my camera and 50mm lens to experiment with some of the light and shadows in our apartment and spooky hallway.
When I got up to go to the bathroom before leaving the Starbucks headquarters located in the SODO area of Seattle, my wife looked up at me and laughed before asking “Are you going in there to take pictures?” I frowned as if to I was reacting to some ridiculous question from a half out of her mind crazy lady. “Pffft” I quickly replied as I rolled my eyes before wandering towards the facilities. Though relieving myself before the ride home was my key reason for my sudden departure. 
My wife’s knowledge of how incredibly predictable I can be, had me reaching towards my back pocket to ensure I was indeed carrying my iPhone.
When you enter a room, whether it’s a cheap hotel, a lavish ballroom, someones living room or a bathroom. You are sure to get a sense of what went into the thought process and overall design. Bathrooms are by far the most overlooked when it comes to proving anything more than the basics. However, when you walk into one where you can tell a lot of thought and artful attention went into creating a space that is often overlooked when it comes to art. So after making my deposit, thoroughly washing and drying my hands. I took a moment to capture an image of the sink that extended throughout like a brook and the lighted mirrors that adorned the wall above. Note the contrast and shadows disabling the flash gave me.
Just prior to the New Year, we took the ferry to Vashon island. Though small in the grand vastness of things. We found a lot of interesting things once we drove off the ferry. With an essential downtown hub that offered good food, culture and most importantly, great coffee. We more than enjoyed our little day trip. Aside from the excellent coffee, we found a bakery, a couple of art galleries, a book store and a lot of local history to keep us both informed and entertained. I didn’t reach for my camera until we stopped for coffee before the trip home. What I did capture while enjoying my fresh cup of beans made my stay feel all the more memorable.
One might ask. “What’s better than ordering delicious four dollar Vietnamese sandwiches on a Saturday afternoon?” How does doing so at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant that offers billiards and an open bar while you wait, sound? Okay, so I did leave my camera bag in the car and was forced to rely on my iPhone 7 for proof. That won’t keep me from sharing.
With my life as a studio photographer in a holding pattern and my days of shooting bands at basement shows coming to a screeching halt. I’ve had to get a little more imaginative when it comes to what I photograph. Knowing full well that a new city or town takes getting used to. I’ve done my best to do just that. Since moving to Seattle, I’ve occupied two apartments that bookmark the Seattle Center. Being somewhat of an anti-tourist. I tend to steer clear of the traps every city seem to offer. That said, I’ve always made it point to document my surroundings the best I can. With that in mind, I decided to brave the mid day sun and heat known so well to Seattle and headed over to spend some time in the green, green grass. As you can probably tell, I did my best to avoid including the famous Space Needle. To be honest, you can see it from anywhere and I’m kind of sick of it. This was shot on manual and set to monochrome. I was hoping to give it a 1960’s Worlds Fair kind of vibe.
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