I forgot how to see
Two miles(ish). Two photographs. Out of all of the things I observed today – one photo per mile – two photographs.
This is one of my first photo walks with the Fujifilm X-T4 and 23mm f/2 lens. And, after a long period of time devoid of photographing with a dedicated camera, as I walked around what is basically my neighborhood, I quickly realized that I lost my ability to truly see.
Modern camera phones stitch a bunch of exposures together into one photo, exposing for both the lighter and darker areas, providing a final result that is well-exposed for the entire frame. This provides a final image that more closely represents how the human eye and brain together interpret a particular scene. Point and shoot perfection.
This is not how a dedicated camera works. One exposure per photograph, not multiple, providing far less dynamic range than what the camera phone's automatic HDR processing is doing for each photograph.
I guess what I'm saying is, I felt the distinct need to practice photographing with a dedicated camera again. I felt the need to bring back the practice of observing light. Of observing colors. Of observing form. Of seeing.
Things observed
Emptiness. Empty roads. Empty streets. Empty parking lots. Empty buildings serving as a sort of foundation to the emptiness everywhere else.
Stormwater drainage infrastructure provided even more empty concrete, the exposed absorber of heat adding to the amount of surface area storing the heat of the day to later radiate that energy throughout the night.
The one riparian area by the creek was mowed all the way down to the point where the slope gets too steep to safely mow. There, the landscape was covered with hedge parsley, Torilis arvensis, a plant often treated as an invasive weed – and treated that way for good reason. It thrives in disturbed areas, serving as a sign to plant more useful plants. Especially on a hill leading to a creek, where filtering runoff and stabilizing the soil are kind of important.
But the two photographs I want to show you today? They are the (mostly) empty buildings in the Four Corners area of Farmers Branch. This empty feeling is not present when driving quickly by in a car. But get out, walk around, and emptiness prevails.
