Project 365 d-163

     The sun was threatening to drop below the tress surrounding my house today. My big landscape project at the front of my home had robbed me of most of my daylight, and I had yet to photograph. Tired, sore and very dirty; I slipped of my work gloves and leaned my shovel against the tree. To go driving around looking for something random was the last thing I wanted to do with the light failing. So I do what I have done many times before. Walk around and will myself to find something worthy of putting my lens on it. It was then that I remembered an old C02 tank that was left at our home. Earlier in the day, I had carried it up from the basement out near my up and coming studio. The valve knob was slightly bent over and it looked unsafe. Of course when dealing with something that is unsafe and could explode, what is the proper thing to do? That's right! You open the valve to make sure it won't explode. Keep in mind that I was standing as far away as I could while turning the knob. In case you are wondering, it didn't explode.

     Throughout the afternoon, it had been sitting there slowly releasing it's contents. That was most likely not wise either as ice had started to from form the condensation.  After retrieving my camera from the studio, I paid it a visit in hope of finding some photographic quality to spare my aching bones from a bigger search for a daily photo. Lifting it was quite easy now as its gas had all escaped. With just enough sun light still pouring in from over the trees; I carried it to a spot in my driveway for our session. There were labels on it that had become soaked and were just really a mess. They didn't strike me as something that I wanted to work with. Still, I was determined to extract something of value from this sweaty, and worn old tank. You have to be careful sometimes when photographing objects with words in them as the viewer is sure to read them. Perhaps not a big deal if that is your intent. It was not necessarily mine; however, I was not bothered either way. The narrowness of the tank presented a challenge of not being able to pull back too far due to the risk of the background creeping in. Something about this shot just appealed to me and even had I the time or inclination to move on to something else; I may not have done so. It seemed like the remains of an old Billboard not fully removed. In tilting my camera, I think it helps create a bit of mystery as to the meaning of those few words. Black and white helped solidify this feeling more than in color. This tank is now on its way to becoming something new courtesy of a metal scrap yard. Who knows where it will end up? Perhaps it will become building material, or a Navy ship. From the posture of my worn out shovel leaning against the tree; I know just what I hope it becomes.

Happy Shooting/Gardening.