Wednesday Wandering | Hartwell, Georgia Photographer

Last Wednesday Aidan and I were at a loss for something to do.  With Em and Jake in school Aidan and I are on our own to fill the days.  It's funny, but when thinking about something to do I often forget that Aidan is 2 1/2 now and I have this "Aha!" moment when I realize we can do something outdoors!  We (OK, I) decided that we ought to pick up the camera and head out to check out areas I wasn't familiar with and make some photographs.  I spent four years exploring Boston (the Back Bay and Fenway, mainly) and there was always something new to discover.  The photos I made on those walks were more of an exercise for me than for any great artistic purpose; sometimes they would spark the idea for a photograph and sometimes they were silly photographs of leaves or stores.  I burned a lot of film (i.e. spent a ton of money and darkroom time) but really enjoyed the time to think and create.  That's just my process - think, shoot, then sometimes think more and reshoot.

So Aidan and I walked.  We wandered, we poked, we strolled.  We chatted and enjoyed each other's company as we checked out alleys and sidewalks and train cars and tall grass.  We were on our way home by 11am because it was getting hot and we were hungry, and Aidan took a marathon nap that afternoon.  As I did in Boston, I'm kind of using some of these like a painter would use sketches - great for working out ideas for photos to go back and make with different light, or with people for portraits, or with permission to explore a location in greater detail.  Others are just snaps from a fun morning out with my youngest son and I'm glad we ventured out to make them.

My little buddy in his shades, in the lower left.  This one has me thinking... I miss the city!  What city photographs can I make around here?  Can I make our small town look like a major city?  How can I do that?  Should I even try?  Should I respect the small-town qualities of our small town and showcase those instead?  What about doing both and juxtaposing the images?

  

No, the one on the right is not in Florida, it's just outside of Hartwell.  Love the colors - there's something else to be made there...

  

Good wood - I can almost feel the splinters.

      

Super colors, but not in love with them and I can't put my finger on why.  They might make a good exercise in Photoshop, to test out some new techniques for post-processing.  I don't believe that you can take a poor photograph and make it good with Photoshop, but I do believe you can take something already good and make it look extraordinary.  There might be hope for these. 

 

Love the feel of these, but the image can't work on tone/feel alone...  I think I'll chalk these up to "fun to make" - which is perfectly alright with me. 

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