“Blue Feet” — Blue footprints in front of a colorful roll-up door.
I photographed this subject back in July on a long walk that took me to an area that is being redeveloped — or at least that is the story. The city (of San Jose) granted some extraordinary benefits to a very large corporation that promised to build a new campus in a somewhat blighted area. Hopes were high for renewal, but then the pandemic arrived, plans were delayed, and now no one knows when (or if) the plans will move forward. So, in the meantime, it seems that this corporation has decided to apply new paint to old buildings.
“White Door, Dublin” — A white door surrounded by colorful street art, Dublin.
I photographed this doorway on a block in Dublin’s Temple Bar District that features several little shops — eateries, a used clothing store, and so forth. Temple Bar is a busy place and not visually subtle. So I imagine that the bar is pretty high when it comes to attracting the eyeballs of passers-by. As a result, there is eye-catching exterior paint, large and colorful signs, and more.
“Cemetery Gate” — Cemetery, gate and stairs, Kirk of St. Nicholas, Aberdeen.
Often when I make a photograph I remember a lot of specific details about the subject, how it looked, and why I chose to photograph it. But I’m not always good about recalling specific locations. (In many cases the “what” seems more important to me than the “where.”) I’m pretty certain that this is an entrance to the cemetery around the Kirk of St. Nicholas in Aberdeen, Scotland. But while I recall the general layout of the place and the subjects I saw, I’m not precisely sure about the location beyond that general description.
“Poetry 86” — A weathered Aberdeen wall with graffiti, pipes, and street art.
It may seem odd that someone cast as a “landscape photograph” is also intrigued by rough-edged urban scenes. To some these subjects may seem as radically different from natural landscapes as can be imagined, but I see connections. In fact, I like to think of photographs like this one from Aberdeen, Scotland as “urban landscapes.”
