Taking a Second Look... and then a third...and then

I've been involved for quite some time in a debate with the Art Hash Harrier gals regarding the nature of commercial vs. fine art and the value/merit (or lack thereof) of each. The gals, hailing from backgrounds steeped in the academia of art, argue that a distinct line exists between the two, while I, an uneducated boob and self-taught cretin, see no such clear line of distinction. Still, the debate has inspired me to make a clear & concerted effort to further blur the lines between commerce & art by moving in a new direction & working to develop a new body of work that is more fine-art in direction but with "editorial" overtones & potential. 

This new direction is motivated in part by the gals and in part by a competition announced two days ago by Rob Haggart's blog "A Photo Editor" (see previous entries for link). One of the greatest things about APE's competition is that it requires submission of new & fresh work. It has also exposed me to the work of many photographers with whom I was unfamiliar. I've spent a great deal of time looking at the work of these photographers and have come away remarkably inspired to return to making picture that please me as much as making images to please clients. 

In the spirit of this new found motivation, I have begun stopping and taking a second look at sights that, in my usual distracted haze, I drive by sometimes twice daily... walking around and really looking at things... making the effort to make a  photograph even though lighting conditions might not be ideal... really trying to make in interesting image no matter what the challenges or inadequacies of the conditions at that moment. The photograph uploaded with this entry is a scene I drive by daily, has always interested me, yet I have never taken the time to explore further. I was headed home in the early evening... the conditions were cloudy, the light very cyan. Still, I made several different pictures of the scene and spent part of this morning seeing what I could do with them in post-processing. This is one of the resulting images that I like very much.