photos from joshua l. smith
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Parking garages offer unique views of Chicago, so anytime that I park in a garage, I walk down the staircase. On my way to visit a client, I saw spotted this puddle’s reflection and in my mind, I wandered off to what I could create with just a boring staircase.
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What do you SEE as you walk around your daily life? A photographer friend of mine recently asked about taking photos of another artist’s work; but in reality, aren’t photographers normally taking photos of other artist’s work? Even nature photographers are taking photos of mother nature’s work, right?
A craftsman who creates an object out of paint, clay, wood, stone, or metal can claim originality, but most of us are taking photos of something we didn’t create; instead we are creating art by adding or interpreting the existing environment or material.
With that in mind, go around your home and create art by adding or interpreting your own personal environment.
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>other images<
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There are certain architectural elements that lend themselves to odd, abstract photographs, but in some instances, you must create the abstract image. As I walked around ECC some images just made sense – the concrete ceiling under the elevated walkway and the outdoor metal staircase. But the staircase’s metal railing and marbled look, I knew there was a photo; but as long as it was right side up, it just looked like stairs…
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
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…view older images with the thumbnails below…
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
I have a collection of stairs photos; so from the moment that I saw Lauri’s photo of this staircase, I knew that I had to photograph it and add it to my collection.
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
Here’s 2 strategies to capturing light trails: the pre-COVID way; I find a cool spot, setup up my tripod (first few images), and capture cars as they pass by; or, mount my tripod in my car and then took a series of 15-30 second images from the passenger seat (second set of images).
Things I learned from this photo adventure:
1. Windshields are dirty, even after you’ve cleaned them.
2. Programming my camera’s wired remote was much easier than I expected; I should have tried it long ago.
3. Roads, even the ones we think are smooth, are actually VERY BUMPY.
4. If you can’t do it the old way, try doing it backwards.
