The best seat in the house!

Day 32, and I swore I would take a picture *before* I got home. I like shooting macro, and playing in the lightbox is fun, but it's time to change it up, even if just for one day.

I had a subject in mind, but I wasn't sure how to frame it. I took a chance, shot two or three angles, and to my eye this is the best I managed:



I call it the 'Best seat in the house' but it's totally not. Irony! Technical details - ISO 100, f/4.5 and 1/400th shutter.

Composition in this shot really left me scratching my head, and it still is. There is a contrast effect between the fabric and snow that is nice, the graffiti on the wall is interesting but not distracting from the focus, but that's about it. Maybe I should have shot from closer, played with the perspective more. I'm not sure. This might be the subject of a reshoot later on.

This is where the back alley picture in this post opens into the parking lot, and you are looking back of a couple of hole-in-the-wall Chinese food restaurants. This couch appeared some time in November, and since then the snow draft has been fighting a battle of attrition with it.

I'm curious to see if the drift will completely engulf it before the melt hits.

Downtown Winnipeg

So, today I stopped and took out my camera as I walked to work. For some reason, it was completely nerve wracking.

I have no idea why, but part of it has to do with taking out $1,000 or so worth of photography equipment in what is essentially the armpit of the city. Also, I did not want to take a picture of anyone without their consent, so I was making a point to put the camera down when anyone approached.

No one said anything, and nothing unexpected happened. It should be easier to do next time, and I'm glad that I did it.

Now for a little dose of urban decay. Only two shots, but I was in a hurry at the time.



This is the alley I walk through every day on the way from my office to the parking lot. It's nothing unusual for downtown alleys, I suppose, but this one is mine. I've been at this office for about a year now, maybe a bit more, and in this alley I've witnessed bum fights, drug deals, and a guy getting a hummer behind the dumpster. It's always entertaining.

I went mono for this shot, as urban-decay-type shots always seem to be in mono. I don't know why it works, but it works. My only complaint with this shot is that the weather was bright and sunny, and the strong shadow and clear sky don't make the shot 'brooding' enough, for lack of a better word. I'll be sure to reshoot it on the next overcast day.



My favorite tag in that alley is this one. Why? I have no idea. I like the script, the text is amusing, and it just never fails to make me snicker.

As a picture, it is what it is: A brick wall with some low-quality graffiti. It's a part of the whole alley experience. I had to sit on the dumpster to get it in frame on the 50mm lens too. Icky.