My photo buddy and I took the ferry over to Seattle so he could have someone sign some legal papers. Of course I didn’t go in with him. He had parked in an alley and I didn’t want to wander so far off that I couldn’t see him when he came out. That meant I was limited to what I could find in that alley.
I was amazed at how much I could find to photograph up and down. The first time I walked up and back I got the obvious stuff—the flowers, an occasional week, an interesting grouping of garbage cans.
The second time through I noticed more than the first time through. I look up and saw a great balcony. There was an old garage almost completely overgrown with ivy and next to it, a gat that had obviously not been opened in years.
I made one more trip up and down that same, short alley and found yet more things asking for the attention of my camera lens.
That exercise has done more to expand my photographer’s eye than any other exercise I’ve done before or since.
I got a couple of good photos from my first wander in that alley but the most important thing I learned was how to look closer at my environment.
I’d like to recommend you take a chance to do the same exercise. It’s been a while since that happened and I’m thinking it’s time for me to try it again. That time I stopped because Larry got back to the car and it was time to go find other locations to photograph. Right now I’m ready to find an improbable location to wander around and see how many things I can find to photograph.
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