Your next great photo is just around the corner

I decided yesterday to walk over to the mailbox to drop off a letter. The temperature had climbed to a balmy -16C and I was tired of being in the house all day. I took the DSLR with my 10-22 zoom (equals 16-35mm film) along as it was late in the afternoon with a bright sun going down in the south west. Good light can much improve the possibility for a good picture. Besides, I need more practice with the wide angle.

I was almost back home thinking that I was not going to see anything worth photographing when I walk by Mayland Heights Elementary School. I’ve walked by this building without much thought before – always thinking about ugly exposed concrete that I’m not so fond of. What caught my eye was the decaying paint on the side of the building in the light of the setting sun, seeing it alternating with much fresher looking paint, thanks to the water falling from some galvanized window trim above.

Elementary Decay i7617

I spend the next few minutes walking back and forth trying to get the right subject matter, from looking at the results, the above picture of the whole alternating decay pattern seemed best. I could have FARTed around a bit more to try to get an interesting feature photo, but the artistic part of me was not cooperating. Wide angle is hard for me, but I keep trying because I do seem to be getting better at it. Although the good light lasts a long time in Calgary at this time of year (sun sets very slowly), you don’t have forever to get your photos. You have to act quickly and get your good shots.

Just as I was finishing, I noticed that the angle of the building where I had wandered down was interesting, the converging lines of the wing I was photographing and the main “smoke stack” of the building made for a good picture.

Mayland Elementary i7621

Unfortunately, you can see the good light is already fading, so it isn’t as contrasty with the concrete lit up in orange of the setting sun. But, it was good practice with the wide angle, and reminded me that you never know where a good picture might be waiting to be taken – could be just down the street from you.

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