A Different Angle

When life gives you lemons… try a different angle.

I know, that’s not how it goes.

When you’re trackside, you might feel there’s nothing new or interesting to photograph. It’s all been done before.

Well, give your head a shake and try to look at the scene with new eyes. Imagine you are new here. Imagine you’re only a foot tall. Imagine the only lens you can use is a 300mm prime lens. Force a different perspective.

I faced such a situation when I was strolling around Regina one autumn evening this year. There were a few black tank cars parked on a bridge over Broad Street (here). Boring, right?

This is the typical shot:

The setting sun made for some warm tones and long shadows, but the angle itself? Pretty pedestrian.

I decided to try something a little different. I shot the other way, between the bridges, and mostly up, and just for fun, I processed it as black and white.

I like this a lot. It feels a lot more… industrial. Yet clean, if that makes any sense.

Whatever. I like it.

Looking at the colour photo again, I think it would have been good to try a telephoto lens and delve into the details. I’ve noted three areas that might be interesting.

Some rivet detail on the bridge? The ladder and its warped shadow? A profusion of lettering? Yes please!

When you’re bored with the same old, same old… shake it up a bit. In these days of digital photography, the worst that will happen is that you’ll waste a few megabytes of storage. Big whoop.