photos from joshua l. smith
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…
I love photographing mushrooms, and I was looking for mushrooms, but at our first stop I saw the small bush with so many caterpillars! When I’m on a photo walk or trip, I often have to remind myself to stop and smell the roses of sorts; I’ll be so focussed on the waterfall that I’m hiking to or the reflections that I miss the other enjoyable elements that are around me … items like those fern fronds that so delicately extended from a massive stone.
I’ve taken many photos along this theme over the years – I absolutely love the strong silhouette border and pop of colors in the sunlight.
For the past 10 years, I’ve wanted to take this trip with Keith; Sarah and I have also talked about taking a vacation down to Southern Illinois to see the natural beauty. For many years, the trip would conflict with work or kids activities, so we we’d say “next year, we’ll go on Keith’s workshop”.
We started the trip off with this fantastic image, and by the time the two and a half days were complete, Sarah and I had hundreds of fantastic images, and we’d made great new friends too.
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.
Back in 2023, I wanted to photograph the 4th of July fireworks, but not from the normal location on Chicago Street. So I found this little hole in the trees along the river. I nearly dropped my camera and tripod into the water because the hill was steep, but I really like the uniqueness of the photos.
One of my photographer friends has taken images that are similar to this concept; what happens if you photograph while the crossing guards close? But at the Metra crossing at National Street, you have additional options – what if you merge traffic, train, casino boat, and crossing guard?