Yes, yes, I know….it’s been awhile. A long while (2 years? really?) but this time I promise to make no promises regarding how often I will post. To be frank, you can be someone else if you’d like, I absolutely HATE editing photos. It’s tedious and just plain boring, much like doing taxes. You sit down, staring painfully at a screen while trying to muster up the willpower to get stuff done in an attempt to have some worthwhile return at the end. Sometimes ya hit big and other times….well you’re disappointed to say the least. However, at the end of the day, that’s life. You have to bite the bullet and get it done. And so that’s what I decided to do. Sit down and type at whomever is crazy enough to read my long winded excuses.
If you've made it this far you might be wondering “So what brought you back?” or “Is this guy off his rocker?” Well I can answer one of those questions. For the past seven months I have traversed the Amtrak rail system to and from the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. In that time my creative spark was slowly reignited but it did take some work. I started off with Instagram posts (which I plan to integrate with this site at some point) during my commute as an exercise to get mind back in the habit of noticing interesting subjects. After a few weeks of using my camera phone phone camera, I felt it was time for my Fuji X-T10 to join the party. For a month nothing worthy of the mirrorless mechanism appeared but then, one night… I saw it.
Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool, outside my hotel window I saw an old school. Okay ya got me, it wasn’t a school but it was an institute, the Franklin Institute to be exact. Dimly lit in the after hours, the glow from Logan Square, surrounding street lights and cars whizzing by accentuated the museum's grand appearance. My photographic eye smiled opened and I knew it was the shot I was waiting for.
As I passively listened to my mother narrate her day on the phone, inserting a “uh huh” when necessary I tried to plan how I was going to take this shot from the double pane, rain streaked window with the sunset quickly dissipating into the horizon. I made a pseudo-tripod by using an overturned trash can and placing it on the ledge and then I closed the heavy curtains to block out any light from my room thus preventing any reflections in the window. I spent about an hour fumbling around in my makeshift darkroom trying to remember how the darn thing works and consulting a friend for advice (thanks Andy). Finally, I got the shots you see below. Please, have a look. You’ve earned it.
When I first got into photography some six or seven years ago I was pretty much obsessed with the NY skyline and the spectacular reflections produced in the Hudson river. I think this view reminded of that excitement and finally hauled me out of my two year slump. Have I been taking pictures everyday? No, I have not but my eyes are vigilantly scanning this green earth for the next shot. Until then, I have a backlog of photos to process from my trips to Iceland, France, Japan, London and Hong Kong which I hope to share with you soon.
And there you have it, my re-entry to the world of photography. I'll do my best to stick around this time and I hope you do the same. Feel free to like, share and/or subscribe.
A tout a l'heure,
-KQE