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…
Searching for abstract architecture photos is a little more conducive to conversation than many other types of walk-about photography. As we walked along, my daughter and I talked about talents, skills, careers, colleges, and life in general. Being a parent can be stressful and contentious, but a walk through a scenic area with someone who also appreciates the beauty of the man-made world around us can bring it all back into focus.
These were the stairs that first drew me in at ECC; they’re on the outside of Building J and perched precariously on the side of the brickwork. The angles, the straights, the bricks, the shadows all combined to create great imagery.
I love the beauty and fluidity of Chinese characters; in English, signs are typically written in block letters, but the majority of the text through Chinatown is written in a script that I would describe as “cursive”.
Pardon me if I’ve photographed this structure before, but I’m obligated to capture an image each time that I visit Chinatown! I do need to remember to bring a wider lens next time that I visit though; I would love to capture the staircase as the border of the photo.
We stayed in a VRBO in the building to the right of this photo, and walking out to this patio / sidewalk each day was so welcoming. There was a variety of restaurants and entertainment along the first couple of floors and then housing in each building’s higher floors. Down near Skillet was the alleyway that leads up to Pike Place Market to the North, and as you can see, the stairs down led to the waterfront walk. But…don’t ask about the rent.
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Not all buildings are architecturally interesting. But every building has aspects that can lead to an interesting photo – like this stairwell in a parking gararge! And yes, I know that these doors are not in the correct stoplight order.
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While I’m certain that at certain times of the year the Devil’s Punchbowl has a torrent of water flowing through it; it’s plainly obvious by this tiny channel that most of the time, its a small trickle.
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The staircase in the Ironwood Theater was absolutely gorgeous! (And we’ve already established that I like photographing staircases.)
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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.
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