Urban Explorations — Jon's Photoblog

Welcome back!

For a variety of reasons, lately I’ve found myself more drawn to my local streets than wilderness, at least as far as photography goes. I did still get out into rough country (with a few photos from that at the end), but I think I just need to focus something new, or try to hone a different set of skills. It’s part of a project I’m working on tentatively called “The Empty City”. Or perhaps the endless rains of June, and the subsequent explosion of ticks and mosquitoes has tested my resolve, and I wimped out 😉

Whatever the reason, I’ve come away from the local outings somewhat satisfied with the results. Lots to learn still, but it’s a new start.

About 10 minutes from my house are a pair of one-way thoroughfares (Wall St and Erin St for you locals), mostly serving light industry, with a few conversions to coffee shops, bakeries, and brew pubs. On a bright and quiet Sunday morning, with an active sky, it can look like this, all raw and angular with lots of lines:

Going for simplicity:

Or a little more complexity:

I think what draws me to this form is subtle intricacy each shot requires, even down to which lane lines on the street to include or exclude. No doubt I’m still missing a lot (and there are many more in the “discard” pile), but even making the attempt is satisfying.

A couple more, starting with one of our local technical schools in the morning light:

Between the two thoroughfares there are still train tracks, leftovers from days of yore, rusted and unlikely to ever be used again. It’s surprisingly green and lush back there, and bit of a refuge from the traffic on both sides. I even saw a couple of foxes, one proudly trotting along with a fresh rabbit breakfast. Framed right, it’s hard to tell this is in the middle of a city:

Another 30 minute walk away, behind and between some active shopping and strip malls, there is a vast field where development was started, and then just petered out. They got as far as putting in a parking lot and a bit of landscaping…

…but now the lower section is halfway to becoming a marsh, complete with bullrushes, and plenty of killdeers and other marsh birds:

Finally, my favourite shot (and the title):

It might be worth mentioning, if you see little white flecks in the image, it’s cottonwood seeds (a major river is nearby), not a dirty camera sensor :)

Okay, enough with the hard urban lines… I did brave the bugs and wet a few times, and managed a couple of decent shots, starting with some daisies in front of an approaching storm:

A few minutes later, I was taken by this mix of textures:

Before the storm hit, the wind suddenly got calm, and allowed me to capture this nymph grasshopper (about the size of my last pinky joint):

Back in the marshes, on a sunnier day, I spotted a Coot with her young chick and watched a little family drama unfold:

I guess the chick was getting tired, and rested its head on mom’s back, but she was having none of it, and proceeded to chomp on its head a couple of times!