“Free ‘P’ Star” — Free ‘P’ Star, a Paris thrift store, with orange and black paint and lots of street art.
This was one of those street photography “grab shots” — I think it was in Le Marais —that I make while walking about in the urban environment. I often make them almost spontaneously — thinking in the moment that the subject is interesting visually, but then not taking time to note the precise location or other facts. To be honest, in a lot of ways this is the opposite of how I work in my landscape photography, and that may be part of the appeal.
From more recent internet research, it appears that “Free ‘P” Star” may be a chain of what we in the US call “thrift stores” or “second hand shops.” There were lots of things in this scene that attracted me: the string contrast between black an orange, the glow of the purple light inside the store, and the impressive collection of street art on the outside wall.
“Mesquite Plants, Dunes” — Mesquite plants growing on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.
Mesquite manages to survive and occasionally prosper in very unlikely conditions. This thriving instance is growing in the middle of dunes in Death Valley, not exactly the most friendly environment. In the dunes, isolated clumps of vegetation like this create their own little ecosystems. The plants interfere with the windblown passage of sand, and in their shelter you can often find evidence of animal life — insects, lizards and snakes, occasional tracks of small mammals.
If you spend much time out in the dunes you soon realize that a lot of these plants are dead or nearly so, existing now just as snags. It is a tough environment! This little clump of mesquite is one of the healthiest I have encountered.
“Passing Cyclist, Le Marais” — A bicycle rider quickly passes at a cross street in Le Marais, Paris.
I often ponder the similarities and differences among the various genres of photography I pursue. (If you follow me you have seen everything from landscapes to night photography to street photography to travel and more.) The connection between landscape and street photography especially interests me, partly because many people think of them as being utterly different. I think that there are some similarities. For example, I often think about the street landscape first, and then wait and watch for someone to animate it.
That was the case here. I was interested in the wall at the end of this narrow street, and the way that its view is bounded by the darker walls on either side. I knew that I could photograph people as they passed by. One tricky part of this is that I had no idea who was about to enter the scene or from which direction. So I had to be ready to react quickly. (This necessarily results in some less than remarkable photographs, too. I won’t share those!) The time was even shorter as this woman sped past on her bicycle.
I have updated the format of the daily posts to make it a bit easier for you to interact with them at the website. It is now easier to leave a comment or question on each post, and I have added a “like” button. (I won’t mind at all if you use it! ;-) I have also added some easy-to-use “share” buttons you can use to repost to social media.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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