More downtown photos

Downtown

I participated in a photo walk a few days ago.  It was a cloudy dull day.  However, I was intrigued by the reflections.  These were some of my favourite.

"Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness."  Frank Gehry

Texture

A friend told me recently that when he returns to a place he has visited many times, he goes with a particular type of shot, or camera setting, in mind.  One morning I walked around a semi-truck that had been parked close by which I have walked around many times and could not think of any way to photograph it.  It was a bright sunny morning, and the contrast would be high, so I decided to look for textures.  It didn't take long and I was seeing them everywhere. 

A running board

The grille

"The beauty does not live out there; the beauty's in my eyes."  Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Rock

"A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be explained in words."

Ansel Adams

Taken in Joshua Tree National Park, 2013 (I think of it as "Turtle Rock")

 

Windows and doors

A walk through the Exchange district in Winnipeg.

"All the windows of my heart I open to the day."  John Greenleaf Whittier

Flowers along the road

I learn a lot about macro photography from reading Rob Sheppard's book on the subject and reading his blog posts.  I remember reading a chapter on capturing subjects in their environment.  Each summer, I try that with the wild flowers I find along the road where I walk.  I like finding these little spots of colour.  These plants are tough and resilient. These are my favourite from this year so far:

morning glory

wild rose

Western Salsify

"Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."

Hans Christian Andersen

Creativity

I am always amazed by the different ways there are to create a garden.

"My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful."  Abram L. Urban

A mill town

I have been thinking about the difference between art photography and journalistic photography.  (Sometimes the two combine in one photo, but I'm a long way from that.)  I was visiting a small city recently where the paper mill had shut down a few years ago.  This is a place I knew well many years ago.  While the residents strive to keep their town vibrant, the signs of economic hardship once the major employer left town are all around.  I decided to try a photo essay.

This was the main street between downtown and the old high school.

A former donut shop

 "People in small towns, much more than in cities, share a destiny."  (Richard Russo)

Legislature

Recently I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon at the legislature in Winnipeg.  I was fascinated by some of the small details that started jumping out at me once I started looking.  I'm sure I will be going back there whenever I can. ( I was surprised at how busy that place is on a Sunday!)

Detail on the door knobs.

Ceiling details
 

 

"Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light."  Le Corbusier

Raspberries

"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides."  W. E. Johns