Just outside the entrance to the place I work is a beautifully aged curb and I make eye contact with it everyday I'm at work. Often I will stop and just study it before heading inside the building, or when I am leaving it. On many occasions I have stood over this peeling, mustard colored curb and photographed. It has been the start of some really good conversations as people who are coming and going ask me what I'm doing. That's usually a challenge to quickly explain what I see and by the time I get to the why they have that "I'm so sorry I asked" look in there eyes. On occasion, I have attracted and conversed with those who appreciate the process and my attempt to extract art from such a seemingly strange place. Conversation when I am photographing can be very distracting, but I have learned that I usually cannot photograph in a public place without being chatted up by curious souls. Thankfully, I have managed to strike a balance between the two by not staying too long in one place if I can help it. Clearly some subject need more time and exploration, but I'm learning that my first reaction to my subjects are often the purest and the best. Sort of like when you were a kid and everyone on your block plays a game together and it was just the best time. Try as you may the magic of that day can really never be duplicated or relived no matter how hard you tried.
Mostly I have come away disappointed from the results of my sessions. Still, I have enjoyed gazing down upon this surface as if it was a map. Maybe because I enjoy the study of Western Civilizations that it appeals to me, and I imagine and old world map complete with territories and bodies of water. There would be more colors of course it it were; however, I let my imagination run free. Plus, I feel strongly that there is art here, and I'm fascinated by the way art appears on the surfaces we all walk on day in and out. In fact, some of the best photographs I have created have been from simply looking down at the ground. Amazing things dwell beneath our feet and between the steps we take to make our lives complete. Each coming and going takes us near unvisited galleries that long for a passing glance. The mysterious, the decaying, life's flotsam and jetsam all waiting, and hoping for a chance. If your gaze should find them they may fill your heart to overflowing, and with time and healing you'll be better for the knowing.
Happy Shooting.
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