Posted on Apr.13, 2009, under Michigan

(Olympus E-3, 70-300mm at 70mm (2x crop factor), ISO 100, exposure 1/80sec @ f/8.0)

This is a shot of a local restaurant/bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The weather here has been cold and snowy for some time, and when we had a nice day following a storm, I decided to take advantage of the sunny day to walk around town to see what I might find. I started out using my 70-300mm telephoto (2x crop factor) because I wanted to get some detail shots. As I was walking up Main street, I noticed this restaurant from across the street. I had always liked the typography of the restaurant’s sign, but this time there was just a bit of snow on the front which added something to the image. I particularly liked the bits of snow on E’s.

I think this image is a pretty good example of how I sometimes work with my images. When I’m out shooting, I’ll often come across something that catches my eye, but it might not be the literal image that grabs me, but more of a general concept. When I encounter those sorts of subjects, the picture I take with the camera is more raw material than finished product. I’m looking to get a reasonable picture with all the interesting elements, but I’m not necessarily thinking that the in camera shot is going to be the final image. If you compare the final image above to the out of camera shot below you will see that they are quite different. The raw shot isn’t particularly attractive, the color is bland and composition isn’t that great. However, my main attraction in this shot was the typography and other graphical elements which are highlighted in the cropped/black and white version.

Comments and feedback welcome.

Image and text Copyright © 2009-2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved

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