The Artful Engineer

A few months ago I posted about our visit to the Alabama gulf coast, in particular Gulf State Park and the birds I photographed in the area. One day while we were driving back to our hotel, I spotted the brightly multi-colored building featured here. I didn’t stop then, but made sure to go back.

The image above is one of several I made using a trusted composition: straight-on and centered, with the narrow strips of the trimwork at the top and the curb at the bottom helping to define the frame. In this case, the building forms a symmetrical backdrop so the few asymmetries stand out, in particular the shopping cart, but also the discoloration on the sidewalk from the drainpipe and the sliver of shadow alongside the post. These are subtle elements and only have any strength at all because of they break the pattern set by the rest of the scene.

This next image is basically a study of pattern and texture. It’s calming and peaceful, but I think a big print of this on the wall would not be a soothing one for my marriage. This probably falls in the you-can-put-whatever-you-want-in-your-office category.

This next image features some strong vanishing point perspective. I like the subtle glare off of the ceiling; and the variety of tints and shades of different hues in this image.

It’s probably obvious at this point that I was trying different compositions. For this post, I tried to select a variety of the ones that I think were most successful. As I was writing this post, I got the idea to switch this next image to a long-and-skinny (5:2) crop, and think it is a lot more interesting without what was the bottom of the frame. I wouldn’t say the result is abstract, but it is a little disorienting. It would be a much calmer image with about half the orange on the left cropped away. As it is, it competes for attention with the bright white verticals on the other side of the frame, which I think I prefer.

Despite being inauspiciously presented as the fifth of six images, this next image is my favorite of the set. It’s colorful and graphic and, oddly, seems both symmetrical and asymmetrical at the same time.

This last image is something a little different from the others, since it includes the sky and different shapes. It’s carefully composed—or at least carefully perspective-corrected and cropped—and I am very happy with how it turned out. I’m glad there is a little cloud giving texture to the sky; otherwise I think it would be too saturated to work well with the rest of the colors in the frame. And I have no love for pigeons, but I admit this one improves the image for being there.

This would be an interesting location to visit again at a different time of year when the sun was at a different angle, which would add some diagonal shadows to the compositions. My vote would be winter. It was very warm and humid in April, so summer would be truly hideous. Who knows, perhaps I will get the opportunity at some point.

I hope you enjoyed this colorful post. If you know anyone that would enjoy my blog, please send them a link; I would be glad to have them along for the ride.