Project 365 - Day 21

As you may have noticed, one of my favorite things to capture is Small Town Decay.  It's not that something is rotten in Mayberry or this is some sort of small town kid gets even: I'm just drawn to the way an American meme (rural and small-town Americana) mixes with the cold hard reality of humanity and impermanence.  All of these places were once bustling microcosms of working class America - now deserted, bereft of economy, but not bereft of value.  The worst thing that happens is when someone gets the bright idea these old buildings no longer serve a purpose as well as a vacant lot does, so these places - once bursting with activity and commerce - get torn down and replaced by a characterless, useless Nothing.

The weather was horrifically bad, photographically (while "overcast" is great, "pissing rain" is not), so I was only able to manage a few decent shots.  (Although, I did try to get some skill with the noise reduction capability in LR3.)  But, as Ansel Adams once said, "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. "  I'm not sure my keeper rate is that high, yet, but the idea is to see something and capture it.

Pre-Spellcheck

Time to Change the Sign...?

And here's something: this pumpkin was sitting on top of a stack of pallets...at the recycling center.  Considering it was a few weeks after Halloween, I liked the image...and grabbed it.

Project 365 - Day 20 (See, the Problem is....)

The problem is...I was nearly late to work.  I had allowed myself what I thought was plenty of time to get a couple of nice shots before work...and then I started wading through the weeds...and ducking behind them...and playing with DOF....  Basically, I lost myself in shooting for quite a while, though I have to thank the guys who thought I was trespassing...they made me look at a freakin' watch...so I made it.  But still...I wish I'd had even more time to wade through those weeds....

The first shot is of the first floor freight elevator of the former Ms. Elaine's, a fairly sizable local manufacturer until about a decade ago.  Slowly, the west side of the building either collapsed or was torn down (for safety), leaving the elevator doors exposed to the elements.  Two main things I love about the first shot: the blurred weeds in the foreground give a light sense of overgrowth, complimenting the weathering of the door and brick, and; when you enlarge the photo 100%...you can clearly read the "Up/Down" options on the button.

The rest of the post is images I captured that I thought gave a sense of the place...and a little well-lit driveway I liked...and a sunset...hard to go wrong with a sunset.

Enjoy!

Reclamation

Going...?

2 by 2

Somewhere in Germany....

Slowly but Surely

Stackables

Glenn Beck

Can't Go Wrong

Project 365 - Day 19 (A Desolate Panorama)

I've been driving by this scene for several years, now, and the thought keeps rolling through my head: "This was someone's version of the American Dream, once."  Now, it just sits in a corn field, rotting away, slow as time.

Another view, straight on.  I thought the panoramic crop added to the lines of the former home and the drab color to the feel.

What Little Remains

Project 365 - Day 18 (A Great Pic is Where Ya Find It)

If Only He Could Speak....

Yet another recurring theme here @ D&D will be Cooper for one simple reason: Dogs almost always make great subjects.  I like this particular shot because I used my phone's camera to capture a nice profile portrait of him standing just inside the front door.  The day was overcast, but that made the light coming through the door soft and even, which is always flattering.  I used the Retro Camera App (which I highly recommend), which gives it that sort of scratchy, grainy look.

Retro Camera offers several camera options, replicating the way images looked from Polaroid, a lomography-style camera, pinhole, etc.  If you like, you can also make the image B&W.  And it's free...free.

So really...I never have a good excuse to fail to get a good picture to post.

Project 365 - Day 17 (Watch This Space!)

You can always tell when I haven't had made time to shoot during the day because I always try to get a sunset (see below).  But...I found this shot well after sundown. I love the composition, the mood, even the soft focus.  As a piece of "art," it works quite well for me.  From a technical POV, though, the biggest flaw is the noise.  (Click for the hi-res photo and the noise will be apparent.)  My current camera does not like low light conditions in the least, but my new processing software (I use Lightroom and am testing ver. 3) reportedly performs miracles on the noisiest of photos.  However, like almost all tools, the user still has to know how to USE the tool to get the job done right.  As I just downloaded LR 3 a couple of days ago, that is something I have to learn...

So watch this space.  This shot has potential....

 
But here's another nice sunset over the prairie:

At least Two Chances a Day

Project 365 - Day 16

Another recurring theme for D&D will be entrances.  While I love almost anything crumbling, decaying, weathering, and/or aging, my eye is particularly drawn to the entrances of places long since left to waste away.  What happened?  Who used this?  And in this particular example, exactly what the hell is the purpose of a brand new lock?  While the lock, oversized hinges, and other bracing may have kept someone out at sometime, I think an even mildly interested burglar would be able to punch through those slats....

It was a damned good day of shooting though, as seen by these shots, too, I think:

Cooper, Guarding the Entrance

Texture and Context

Silhouettes, Never Boring

Project 365 - Day 15 (Just Pull Over!)

Pretty Dreary

Sometimes, you look out the window as you're driving along, mindlessly viewing a passing scene you've seen pass your window a thousand times or more...and inspiration strikes.

This is the kind of shooting I like: see it; stop; take; leave; post.  I only took a few frames, just to make sure I got the DOF I liked.  Then, I did a B&W treatment (Pick o' the Day) for one, then played around with desaturation for another, the result of which you see below.

As always, critique welcome, suggestions considered.

Project 365 - Day 14: A Random Stroll

Waiting for Next Year

Day 14 was a VERY good one, I thought.  I didn't have a plan of any kind, no subject matter, theme, or intent, so I just got in the car and drove.  I saw an empty lot and thought, "There's a photo everywhere, so why not here?"  I got out, tromped around, and captured several shot I thought were very good.

Even though it's not "perfect," I chose to make this my "Post o' the Day" because of the unexpected pop of color in this dingy, forgotten spot.  I also liked how the camera nailed the flecks of texture on the...well, I don't know what those things are on then end of the stems.  Seed pods, perhaps?

Click the pics for the higher res version and, as always...enjoy!

Other candidates:

Project 365 - Day 13 (My Mojo's Back and yer Gonna be in Trouble/Hey-na, Hey-na, etc.)

No Longer Welcome

Another overcast day, but this time, I decided to try to capture the color of the former Brown Shoe Company factory/warehouse instead of the mood in B&W.

With the exception of trespassers, meth cooks, and various other varmints, I doubt these doors have been opened and/or walkways used in at least a decade, so the entire building has been left to the weather...and my strangely attracted eye.  I love the patina of long-abandoned or neglected buildings, objects, etc.  There's a beauty and sadness that, although people stop coming, Time and the Elements keep visiting, leaving impressions.

It Tolls Not at All

 

A Sense of Scale

No Keys Necessary

Project 365 - Day 12 (Swing an' a Miss)

Well...good intentions often drown in a sea of reality, so...NO NEW PIC FOR YOU!  I did take a few indoor shots when I got home (after wrasslin' a 300 lb. bipolar who REALLY didn't want to be arrested...don't ask), but they were soooo gawd-awful, I deleted them.

Technically: I did some shooting.  Really: I sucked at it.  I was tired; it was late; I had failed to make time.

Upshot: at least 2 good ones for Day 13!

Hold It...

Don't Go In There...It's DARK!

(The pics are from Day 9...because EVERY post is better with pics!)

Project 365 - Day 11

Stumbling Through

I spent a bit of time at an old, long-abandoned factory recently, intending to capture some more small-town decay.  (Such will be a frequent subject here @ Of D&D as there are so many excellent examples of beauty in decay around these parts.)  I did get a LOT of really good shots, too: the triple-stacked elevator doors exposed to the elements; the now superfluous electrical connections; a small "wind shield" flap, ca. 1923; the rusticled water tower...you get the idea.  (I also "discovered" lens distortion, since whacking the 18-70mm lens to 18mm shows distinct curvature.)

But then...as I made my way through the undergrowth that is quickly turning into overgrowth...I saw this.  I liked it and thought you might, too.

Project 365 - Day 10

Rockwell's Engine

For several decades, this building was the Brown Shoe Co., one of the area's major employers.  After it closed, it housed a few other businesses, but is now empty, slowly decaying.  This shipping/receiving door probably hasn't been opened in 20 years.

The day was overcast and the mood of the place is somber, even when the sun is out.  A black-n-white treatment seemed appropriate.

Project 365 - Day 9

Country Colors

I found this along the perimeter of the land around an old barn I was shooting.  I was able to get several good pics of the place, but I think the barn itself will make a better wintertime study.

This shot, however...I like it now.  And it won't be there next month, so....  Saving the barn for later....

Project 365 - Day 8

Never Free, Never Repaid

No Matter What...

Sunset & Silhouette

...there's (almost) always two opportunities for a great photo every day.

In yesterday's post, I failed to mention I love the pic I did manage to get.

Project 365 - Day 6

Practice Makes Perfect

Oh, this wasn't pretty.  Tonight's self-assignment: shooting a bit at my 5th grade nephew's basketball game.  Shooting sports in general anywhere in general is difficult simply because of the size of the venues (wreaking havoc on DOF control) and fast moving action (wreaking havoc on focus control).  Shooting basketball-ESPECIALLY peewee basketball, with it's inherent chaos and lack of predictability-in an indoor gym is even more difficult.  Why?

Lighting....  Horrid, God-awful, garish, mixed lighting.  (The person who came up with the tungsten/fluorescent lighting mix clearly never tried to take a picture of their own kids in said lighting before designing that.)

I employed compensatory measures: shoot in RAW (for white balance control and detail) and wide open (speed = sharpness, but only if ya nail the focus), boost the ISO (helps in both those areas) and use burst mode (5 frames/sec to help catch a frozen moment between the missed ones).  I even "cheated" a bit by using the Program mode for some shots, though, happily, few of those worked out as well as when I used Aperture Priority.  Still, it takes a LOT of skill to anticipate THE shot.

Which skill I have yet to develop.  The damage: I took 85 shots; I have12 workable images-mostly of static subjects.  Don't get me wrong: many parents would find a LOT of what I reject perfectly acceptable...as snapshots.  But that's not what this is about.  I'm after intentionally capturing The Wow, not the Oh, That's Nice.  I am humbled by the knowledge this area is one beyond my reach.... 

But only for now.  This kind of thing is the "Devil" in "Of Devils and Details."

Lessons Learned

• Shooting in the RAW format (as opposed to JPG) makes white balance a breeze.  Notice the total lack of yellow cast?  See how natural and vibrant the colors are?  That's from RAW.

• Practice. 

• Practice.  

• Practice.  

"The difference between a master and a beginner is 10,000 mistakes."  Another 73 mistakes down.

Project 365 - Day 5

Some Light Reading

OK, so I was TOTALLY gonna go out to those other sites and try to work with some shadow and whatnot when I walked by a stack of books on the table.  I just liked the way the shadows from the blinds worked with the lines of the books, so....  Gotta be prepared when something that catches your eye just...well, catches your eye.

I'll save the other sites for a later date.  Unlike the airport light shot, those stones and the park ain't exactly goin' anywhere anytime soon.

Day 5 In the Works, but REALLY Looking Forward to Day 6

My plan for Day 5 is to go to one of the local cemeteries for a pic of some really old and well-weathered stones (B&W treatment?  A desaturation theme...?) OR  go hit up an abandoned car way back in the woods near my neighborhood OR go tromp around the park and see what I see.  (Though I think all of those would be incredible for winter, which is my favorite shooting season.)

However....

I am REALLY looking forward to opportunities tomorrow night: my wife and I are gonna go see one of our nephews' grade school basketball games tomorrow night.  I've shot in a gym before, but never used RAW, which meant white balance management was impossible.  All my images (JPG) in such conditions have a slightly yellow cast.  I'm hopeful RAW allows me to get the kind of shots I really want.

Saaaaaaaaaail-ing

So...stay tuned for Day 5, with Day 6 soon to follow.

And just because every post is better with a photo*, I give you:

(*Thanks to Jasmine Star for that inspiration and line.)

Project 365 - Day 4

Why I Do What I Do

I like this image considerably less than the others.  My original plan was to go to the local airport (believe it or not, this l'il podunk town has a working airport...a teeny-tiny wee-little thing, but an airport nonetheless) and try to capture the flares of the landing strip lights: a linear arrangement of variously colored lights in what is essentially a strip in the middle of a bean field in near-blackout conditions...mmmmmm.  I've wanted to get this shot for a couple of years now, but it was just one of those things I hadn't yet made time for.

So...beautifully crisp fall night, 11PM, gear packed and ready, boots on, so out the door I went.  And when I got to the airport: lights out.  NO lights!  For the first time in the 8 years I've driven by that image and the lights are OUT-OUT-OUT!  A photography-specific WTF mo' for me.

But I still needed to get a shot, but didn't want another moody-door/spooky light shot, so had to do something indoors....  Lighting: horrid, photographically speaking.  But this tile...my wife found it in this great out of the way art shop in the Broadripple district of Indianapolis a couple of years ago and it's held a proud place on our mantle ever since.  It's a simple shot of a simple piece, but not what I wanted.  Still, I like what it says.

But I wants my airport shot!  And yes...I AM stamping me feetsies.

Lesson: MAKE time for the shots you want because they may not be there when it's more convenient.

Project 365 - Day 3

Some Images...Just Work