Asphalt plant last January
I hear emotional tales from energetic photographers of wonderful travels to exotic places for spectacular photos.
That’s a mouthful. A mouthful of unnecessary discussion about where to find the best photos of your life.
I will not deny that most of the places my photographer friends tell me about are great places for photos. Centuries-old cemeteries, old growth timbers, and city zoos are examples of proper photo subjects and are worthy of at least one visit in your life.
What makes life more interesting, and challenging, is visiting the familiar, the places you pass every day.
Yesterday was such a day. After topping off my tank at Speedway adding another day to the ten-count required for bonus points, I turned left out of the parking lot instead of turning onto Westerville road.
My original thought was to look for signs of the huge flocks of birds that return to the nearby I-270 interchange. They are late this year and fewer in number but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to shoot them again.
With few signs of them gathering in large flocks, I continued down the roadway to the asphalt plant, a company I’d shot before.
Although it didn’t first pique my interest, I followed my own instructions to “Get out out of the car” for a better chance at discovery.
As I did, the sun began to appear through a slight opening in the clouds to bath the plant in a soft light strong enough to reflect specular highlights and slightly fill the shadows.
The iPhone and HTC EVO phones were my cameras of choice. I also carried the Canon G11 as a high-res backup.
I walked for about 30 minutes along the quarter-mile of roadway from where my car was parked to the end of the asphalt property watching as the light changed moving closer to the horizon and past the sliver of opening in the clouds.
I studied deer tracks that traveled into the asphalt plant. A Red-Tailed Hawk glided overhead searching for prey. A slight wind rustled weed stalks dried brittle in the winter cold. Melting snow dribbled into the street and through narrow gullies in the field. Piles of recycled road surface looking more like a snow-covered mountain range as the sun settled behind them.
All these things were familiar. At the same time they were all new, for this time and this place. Just as the light across the plant and plants was news, for this time and this place.
I didn’t need to travel to far-way places or foreign climes to discover something new.
The new was in front of me. It always has been and always will be.
Enjoy the familiar. It will make your life different.
