Exploring the wonders of creation through a 50mm lens...and other lenses too.

This is actually the sequel to a photo I took a month ago, but since I was not especially pleased with the original I wanted to give it another shot (har!). Basically, I wanted to get a picture of this fountain along with the rainbow, but a lot of things had to come together in order for it to happen. It had to be a clear day, there couldn’t be a lot of people wandering around, I had to have my camera and tripod with me, etc. Since there’s only so much one can control when going out to shoot photos, sometimes it’s best to just work with what you’ve got and hope for the best. My goal here was to capture a sense of motion by leaving the shutter open for a little longer than on the first photo. To that end I think I succeeded, though as always, there are a few things I wish I could go back and change. But this type of self-reflection, if used carefully, can be one of the most valuable tools a photographer has. It’s important to walk the line between reflection and regret, though, and remember to use any successes or failures as opportunities to learn and grow, not as reasons to become complacent or to wallow wistfully longing for the photo that almost was.

That being said, it’s fitting that this post comes one year to the day after I started this weekly blog, and I appreciate all the feedback, both here and on other social mediums like Facebook and Google+.  I still don’t consider myself a photographer, but rather someone who just likes taking pictures.  It has been fun learning and growing, and perhaps one day I will get there, but in the meantime I hope to keep posting photos here one week at a time.

We don’t get snow all that often here in Oklahoma, so when the white flakes fall from the skies it’s kind of special. I took my camera with me to work hoping to find a decent photo opportunity, and a coworker and I went up to the top of one of the buildings on campus to try and get a better view of the situation. I happened to catch a photo of him when he was either thinking about how cold it was, or how to best pelt an unsuspecting pedestrian with a snowball from above.

I took this photo on Valentine’s Day when I was walking around for a few minutes looking for a picture opportunity. I saw these guys offering free hugs to anyone who walked past, and at first I thought it might be some kind of promotion for a fraternity or club, but I think it really was just some people trying to spread the love on this particular day. People seemed to be genuinely happy as they walked past and were offered a hug from these dudes, and I thought it was a really fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
On a side note, one of the things with which I often struggle is street-style photography. That is, going around and taking pictures of random passers-by whom I do not know. I feel weird doing it, even though most people being photographed really don’t mind. When I saw these guys I figured if they can go around hugging total strangers, I might as well try to get over my trepidation of merely photographing total strangers.

When I was a kid I spent many nights lying awake at night listening to the sound of cicadas buzzing and screeching in the trees outside, and there were more than a few times in which I stuffed my head into my pillow and prayed they would stop so I could get to sleep. Now that I’m all growed up I kind of miss that sound, though I suppose a trip back to Nebraska in the summertime would change my attitude quickly. But as this photo demonstrates, they are clearly alive and well down here in Oklahoma too, though perhaps not as prominent as back up north. I was actually going for a slightly different photo here, and if you click through to my Flickr page you’ll see a version of this with the sun rays poking out from behind the branch. That was more along the lines of what I was really going for, though I am more pleased with how this version here looks from a compositional standpoint. I went back and forth between the two, trying to pick a favorite, and finally concluded that while I like the sun rays in the other one, the cicada exoskeleton looked more like a yellow bump on the tree limb and thus was not readily identifiable. In this version I like how it looks like the little guy is on the move, though of course he has already been gone for several months.

Something about this bit of kitschy lawn art struck me, though I’m not exactly sure why. Those glass balls have clearly gone out of style in recent years, but I kind of liked the way the angel statue was holding it while sitting in a wagon. You don’t see Radio Flyer wagons like that much anymore, and this one had clearly seen a lot of use in its day. I like to think that this wagon spent years toting kids around and is now living out its remaining days in relative peace and quiet. But if any neighborhood children dared to ask the owners if they could take it for a ride, they would chuck the statue and let them take it out for a spin in a heartbeat.