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What do you think?  Can pictures of graffiti also be art?  Graffiti is often art in and of itself.  Some graffiti is truly amazing art.  Some, of course, is just ugly vandalism.

I am of the opinion that a picture of just graffiti can be a nice record of the graffiti.  There can be real value in that record, but it isn’t likely to be art in and of itself.  I am also of the opinion that an image that includes graffiti can be art.  It’s much like taking a picture of a statue in isolation versus that same statue being a part of a bigger scene, maybe street photography or maybe a cityscape.  One is a record – maybe a valuable or pleasing record – but still a record of someone else’s art.  The other is, or at least can be, a new creation, a new piece of art enhanced by the statue but not defined by it.

One of my early focuses of my photography walks, especially those in central Europe, was graffiti.  This image is one of my favorites from those walks.  The next two posts (Green and Enter That Way) also feature graffiti that, in my mind, enhances the image and maybe even makes the image a new piece of art.

This was taken in that favorite place of mine, Prague.  It could be any European city, made European by the “POSTA” box.  Otherwise, it could be from any worn-down section of any city.

Is the hand preventing the wall from collapsing?  Is the eye watching for additional danger?  Do the green letters intentionally point out that the wall is broken?  What kind of a wind could have caused that hook to spin and gouge the wall?  Is the red pipe causing the damage as it attempts to escape the wall?  Does the postman worry that the postal, or should I say POSTA, box will try to escape as well?

Some images have many stories to tell.  This image prompts those stories in the form of questions.

Another thing “They” tell you is that perspective is important in a good image. I happen to strongly agree with them, which is why I include this images as my third post.

A quick aside, I have many more images I consider to be part of my “portfolio” beyond the three I’ve now posted.  My intention is to introduce all images through blog posts.  You won’t see an image without a complementary post. I will strive to post weekly with at least one new image.  I will also strive to make the posts interesting and informative.  Big goals – I hope I have it in me to pull them off.  Refer to my ABOUT page for more about my plans.

This image, which, to me, has a few obvious flaws, was taken early in my creative photography adventure.  It was taken in the schoolhouse at the Dallas Heritage Center.  Dallas is my hometown, so, again, no long flights to find this image.

I like the “ant’s eye” perspective.  I like the way the grains in the well-worn wood floor (can’t you almost hear the sounds of young students shuffling their feet along the floor?)  pull my eye into the image.  I like the way the row of desks guides the eye to the stars and stripes.  I can envision those same children standing beside those desks, hand on heart, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

It is the perspective, the ant’s eye vantage point, that completes this picture.  If I had just put my tripod on the floor with traditional eye-level perspective, then it would have been rather boring.

I remember taking the picture.  A tripod was needed to make up for limited lighting.  I had to contort the tripod to hold my camera upside down with the lens almost touching the floor.  I’m sure it looked quite odd to the family who walked in just as I was finishing.

I really really really don’t like the blown-out sky showing through the window near the flag.  I didn’t know at the time how to handle the extreme different exposures needed to capture both the dark inside and bright outside.  I’ve since learned much about photography and would approach this image very differently if I were to take it today. 

I’ve been telling myself that I need to go back and retake this picture.  I’ll post the updated image if I ever return to the old schoolhouse. 

They tell you that a good photographic image, a “Fine Arts” image, must tell a story – “They” being photography experts, judges and teachers.  While I don’t disagree, I’m not convinced that the story needs to be much deeper than the story of the beauty of a sunset over the Indian Ocean.

There are times, however, that the story in an image reaches out and slaps you across the proverbial face.

This is one such image that I call – or rather, that it called itself as it was slapping my face – “Transitions – Spring’s Promise.”

The transition in this image is about life itself.  It is about nature’s repeated ability to create beauty out of decay.  It is about the optimism that comes with the onset of spring.  It is miraculous to me that something as beautiful as the budding clematis flower can form out of what looks like a dead branch of the plant.

I can’t help but feel a surge of optimism in this image.  Optimism that nature will survive, that nature will thrive, in spite of the damage we inflict on it.  I just hope we’re allowed to stick around to continue to witness that beauty.

A fun thing about this image is also a good lesson in photography (one that I continually need to be reminded of).  I walked to take this image, just as I did for the Prague Penguin Parade.  It was a much shorter walk – out the back door of our house to where we have an amazingly resilient and beautiful clematis plant that continues to create the most beautiful flowers, year in and year out. 

The lesson? It is not necessary to travel great distances to exotic locales to find compelling images.  Rather, it requires looking for those stories that are waiting to reach out and slap you across the face.  Those stories, those images, can be found wherever you are.

I love Prague. I love it for it’s whimsical nature. 

Where else would you find a row of yellow penguins acting as a guide for river boats or a display of statues of babies climbing up a broadcast tower or a statue of Sigmund Freud hanging from a bar outside a second story window in a historic part of town?

I have the very real fortune of a job that has afforded me the opportunity to travel extensively.  I’ve been to six continents, over twenty countries, most of the states in the USA and countless beautiful cities, towns, villages and hamlets.

Much of my photography is the result of explorations during those travels.  My explorations are usually limited to areas within walking distance of my hotel or metro stops.  My experiences driving in Ireland (on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car) were enough to convince me that walking and public transportation are the way to go.

One of my favorite cities for photo walks is Prague, Czechia.  Trivia fact – the Czech Republic short-form name became Czechia in 2016.  Prague is a beautiful city that managed to make it through the world wars of the twentieth century mostly unscathed. 

This image of the Prague Penguin Parade (my name) combines many aspects of what makes me love photography as a creative outlet.  It shows the beautiful Prague architecture, the Vltava River and the whimsical yellow penguins.  It is a reminder to me not to take life too seriously, to attempt to create beautiful things, but not be afraid to be unique.

Not all of my images have the whimsical nature of the Prague Penguin Parade (don’t you just like saying that?).  I have cityscapes, landscapes, nature, architecture, macro and other genres of images.  Still, I find that, more and more, the images I’m drawn back to the most reliably are those that have a little whimsy. 

Oh, by the way, welcome to my little corner of the internet and my contribution to the world of photography.  Stick around if you want to see more of what I love in photography.