Small Beginnings
As my fascination with street photography continues to grow, I finally decided to make a move. I purchased an older, used Lumix GX85 to serve as a more discreet camera for this specific type of photography. A primary goal is to capture people in my compositions which is the bread and butter of street photography. This is no easy task in Old Towne with just a few persons on the street. So even with a discreet camera I stick out. Once comfortable with the new camera I plan on trips to Richmond and D.C. where I will be less conspicuous. Until then I decided to give it a try here.
You will find a few serviceable street photography compositions that include persons. Now I simply need to do this for 9,999 more hours!
Finding Creativity Through a Photowalk
Finding myself in a creative rut, I decided to go for a photo walk. No rules, no plans, just walk and take photographs. It works every time!
I’ve included a map of my photo walk for those that might be interested.
Allurement to Desolation
The warm days of March drew me away from renovation work for a long overdue photowalk. Stepping out of the studio door it was wonderful to see Old Towne alive with people in the streets and a singer on the sidewalk corner. Yet I felt impelled to find a quiet place to observe, contemplate and photograph.
I soon felt the allure of a place left to desolation.
I left the desolation with a desire to return only to find more desolation back in Old Towne. Yet still, there is beauty.
Red Reeds Study
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is my favorite museum this side of of Virginia. A fan like so many others I got a ticket to see the Ansel Adams exhibit first thing on opening day. After enjoying and feeling energized by the exhibition I sat down to get some work done outside the cafe. I was facing the sculpture garden with Dale Chihuly’s Red Reeds directly in front of me. I’ve always appreciated this sculpture but even more so today as I observed the sunlight slowly begin to illuminate the bright red glass. After I took the first photograph above I couldn’t help but want to do more. So I put my notes away and decided to do a brief photographic study of the Red Reeds.
This study, although not producing amazing images, certainly informed me as to locations, viewpoints, perspectives and how the sunlight affects this particular sculpture as it rises throughout the day. If serious about photographing a particular location or subject, I encourage you to do similar studies.
These 2 photos were taken from the vicinity of my cafe table. With the first one, I wanted to see if I could create an interaction between the Red Reeds and other sculptures in the garden. I cropped the photo using the rule of thirds and placing the sculpture at an intersection point. I find this causes the eye to focus on the sculpture and allow the Red Reeds to frame it in peripheral vision.
I love photographing architecture so I had to try this composition. I liked the contrast of the bright stone and the reeds. The reeds also complement the vertical lines of the windows. Like the previous photo I used a shallow depth of field. With the reeds in the foreground they will dominate the composition. But by keeping the reeds just out of focus and the structure in sharp focus the eye starts there. It helped that the sun had not yet struck the sculpture keeping the red color subdued and less dominant.
Before reaching the sculpture garden I paused to photograph the cafe patio opposite the Red Reeds. The composition doesn’t work in my opinion. I tried different crops and this was the best, but still there is too much tension between the sculpture and the patio. Instead of following the handrail into the image the eye bounces back and forth between the reeds and the patio. If only they led the eye smoothly into the image to that sunlit orange chair! It’s possible this composition will work earlier in the morning before the sunlight hits the reeds.
I really wanted to include the sculpture of the woman in some way in the foreground. Nothing really worked, this was the only serviceable composition. In this instance the 50mm lens may have been my issue (it’s all I had with me). Another visit and a wide angle lens could possibly yield the composition I was looking for.
Next it was time to try different viewpoints. I walked across to the opposite side of the garden and noticed the steps would allow me to shoot from below ground level. I liked all the horizontal lines created by the steps, the Red Reeds, the stone wall and upper seating area. The distorted and wavy reflection of the building made for a nice contrast with all the straight lines.
Walking back I chose a much closer viewpoint which offered a more abstract image. The second image is near that orange chair from earlier. I chose to isolate a small group of the Red Reeds similar to how the tall grasses in the water. The edge of the pond helps to direct the eye which starts on the left with the Red Reeds to the right side of the photo.
The final 2 photos would be from a distant viewpoint. First from a ground level perspective with Neptune! The second is from an elevated perspective. The composition of this photo is questionable, but does something I actually didn’t plan. I was surprised to see Neptune and his trident visable through an opening in the flower bush! This creates a nice tension with the Red Reeds which I was primarily focusing on. A branch also creates a leading line between both.