photos from joshua l. smith
Back in November 2023, Side Street Studio Arts hosted a photo walk; each participant was supposed to pick a “challenge” for the day, so I took every photo at 200mm. I’ve already posted several of my photos, so make sure to check those photos out too.
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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…
This image may be my favorite image that I captured on our Blue Line Photo Walk; I love the fact that you can wander around this image and see so many scenes, each one partially obscured by another scene. For me, the perfect detail is the two men chatting at the counter at the back of the repair shop.
There may only be a couple of weeks each year when the sun lines up perfectly with the doors on this building to create this photo. If the sun is any lower, then the trees just outside the doors will block the rays too. Opportunities like this abound everyday, we just have to pay attention … and bring a camera.
ECC has many locations where plants have been integrated into the buildings; rooftop gardens, between buildings, and even small court yards. As I’ve walked around looking at the architecture, the spots of nature leap out with their beauty and color.
A few months back, a photography mentor challenged me to find the photos in everyday life. I tend to capture many beautiful images on photo walks, but them rarely take photos outside of those “events”, so I began photographing the normal scenes in normal life. While this was taken while I wandered around ECC looking for photos, I would’ve likely ignored it without the challenge of looking for normal scenes.
Once you start looking around ECC, you’ll find many beautiful scenes to photograph, and since the campus has been built over decades, there are many different architectural styles to take advantage of.
Recently I saw a photo of a fork.
The fork was alone on a white backdrop, illuminated by a single point of light casting a very distinct shadow.
The image stuck with me, itching my creative neurons. Then this past week, Sarah was at a conference, and I was home alone, so I grabbed random a few kitchen items, a white backdrop, and a flashlight…
When we started our photo walk, I wanted to capture images that I may not normally see or look for. The stop light shadow immediately grabbed my attention, but I will admit that my second photo, the reflection, is the type of photo that I have taken many times over.
I loved the way the evening light played with the reddish bricks on the steeple, but when I saw the shadows on the RR Donnelly building? The way the straight shadow played across the rectangular windows and contrasted with the darkness of the second building’s window reflection? That was simply too good to pass up!
My friend and I took a nice slow walk around one of Elgin’s historic neighborhoods. Our meandering path matched our meandering conversation as we talked about life and pressed our shutter buttons. I remarked to him “I’m just not really feeling it”, but I continued to capture interesting images. As I tried to pick 7 images to post for this week, they all seemed to be missing something; but as pairs of photos?
The strong red-ish light of the sun played strongly across each scene, but was most evident on the brick buildings leading to the wonderful hues in these photos.
This particular morning, I saw very few spiders. While I do enjoy capturing a bee in a flower, it’s more fun to photograph other insects as they pollenate. Spiders are even more unique; typically they’re “hiding”, hunched in an area of the plant that is out of the way, but paying attention to YOU the photographer. It’s a cat-and-mouse game, but for the spider, it’s a monster-and-mouse game.
Sometimes it’s just the simplicity of the photo.
…view older images with the thumbnails below…
One of my favorite things to do in the winter in Chicago is to visit one of the conservatories to see the plants and blossoms. The splash of color does wonders to invigorate my spirit.
But then I tend to create monochrome images out of my trips because I love the textures.
There is not much to say about this image; I love its simple composition.
As you fly over the midwest, you can see a patchwork of farmland, roads, and rivers creating right angles and natural curves across the earth. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy this photo so much, it reminds me of the mixture of manmade and natural shapes. The weathered run off from the rivets just adds a little pizazz too.