Imagine There's An Image

Now don't these two guys get along well!

Another photo from the Reptile House at Atlanta Zoo. I don't know the species of either the turtle or the snake, so if you happen to know what they are, please send me a comment.

Next time I shoot a picture like this, I have to remember to also take a photo of the placard that goes along with the exhibit, so I'll remember what the heck I was looking at. I keep forgetting that a digital camera is also a great way to take notes.

Isn't she beautiful!

I think she was coming on to me a little bit.

One of the great things about the Atlanta Zoo is that many of their exhibits, like the orangatan habitat, don't have a zoo-cage-like fence around them. The orangs were separated from us by a deep, narrow trench - I can't remember if there was some sort of barrier at the bottom of the trench or not - but it allowed for an unobstructed, straight-on view.

Now, I'm not an animal-rights type, but I must admit, when I see a primate look this intelligent, I get a twinge of guilt about having them in a zoo.

Crikey! I'd forgotten about some of the photos I took during my visit to Atlanta Zoo back in February. Then I took another look, and there were some good ones I'd never posted. Here's one for today, and I'll post some more over the next few days.

Now, I'm embarrassed to tell you that I don't know quite what kind of snake this is...uh...Python??

If you are a snake maven, please let me know.

Whatever the species, this guy obviously understands something about photo composition. Look how he arranged himself into an arc and a diagonal.

I've had some more time the last few days, so I've been going through some photos I took a month ago, when I had just started on this temporary assignment in downtown Baltimore.

It seemed as if the first week or more, every day was overcast and there was some light rain some mornings. Never mind, though, fine weather for a fruitful photography outing.

The Low-Down on the USS Constellation

Baltimore is famous for crabs - in fact, the city makes a fetish of using the crab as a local icon. Now I'm not a fan of the crustaceans myself (not Kosher,) but when I saw a bunch of wild-looking crabs show up along my walk to work, I appreciated the photo-opportunities.

Would you believe... I didn't see the "crabcake" pun for this one at all until I had worked on this photo last night for 10 minutes in Photoshop!


Baltimore CrabCake

As I walked by this one, adjacent to the paddle boat rental dock, I realized that these crab sculptures were set on bases with titles. This one is indeed called "All American Crab." I liked the way its boldly-colored claws formed a nice frame for the boats in the background, their normally-bright colors muted by their distance through the misty morning air.

Inner Harbor All-American Crab

And of couse, if I'm going to walk along the Inner Harbor waterfront with a camera at hand, there isn't any way I'm going to pass by the Dragon Boats without snapping at least a few shots from various angles...

Dragon Boats Again

Last Friday morning, about 50 steps away from where I'm working this month in downtown Baltimore, I happened to look backwards just before crossing Pratt Street.


The Power Plant in Baltimore

There, reflected in the water of the dock area adjacent to The Power Plant, was a beautiful, glowing, magical image of that old building, courtesy of the just-rising sun.

... and I had no camera with me.

So the next time I was scheduled to go to the CEG office, Tuesday morning, I checked the weather before I left home at 5:30 am...clear and sunny! Not wanting to schlep my whole rig that day, I borrowed Sandy's 2MP Canon A40, the little digital point-and-shoot she inherited from me when I moved on to the Digital Rebel.

I made sure that I was in place just shortly after sunrise - and by 7am, the sun was just clearing the buildings to the East and providing that glow I had seen a few days earlier. Snap.

The dinky little A40 came through, producing a really nice 5-1/2 x 7-1/2 print.

I admit it. I'm just not all that good when it comes to photographing people. Lines, shapes, patterns, colors ... boats, buildings, windows, tableuax - that's my thing - I can take my time and compose to my heart's content. Nothing is moving too fast - or at all.

But people are a lot more dynamic than that, and I find it hard to keep up and catch that decisive moment that divides an interesting people-photo from a not-so-interesting one.

Something I've mentioned several times before in this blog is the wonderful photo workshop I took with Karen Gordon Schulman two years ago. Karen taught us about the special qualities of early morning and late afternoon/early evening light, something I've used again and again in my photos since then.

One thing I remember learning about shooting people from Karen is to look for gesture in the image. A body position, a lean, a pointing with the hand.

Well, walking to work the other day along the Inner Harbor waterfront, I came upon a scene that I thought would make for a nice image. There was a device with the politically-incorrect name telescoping-boom man-lift. The machine was adjacent to a big glass wall of the National Aquarium, and there was indeed a man, lifted well into the air on the platform at the end of the boom. He was caulking the large window panes making up the wall.

I liked the abstarct feel of the scene, with the big panes forming a Cartesian background for the chevron-like design element of the man-lift boom and it's reflection. The little bit of color in the man-lift and the man himself added a nice touch, I thought. As I watched, I saw the man lean well to the right while reaching out to caulk a window joint...and there was my gesture.

I composed my shot and waited for him to do it again, which he obligingly did.


National Aquarium, Baltimore

I don't think this photo is one that will ever sell, but I find it very, very satisfying - the best of the month - no the best of the last serveral months.

So Karen, thanks again! You've been a great teacher, and what I learned from you keeps coming back to me.

Dragon Boat Reflections