Wandering around Downtown Oberlin, February 2020
February 2, 2020
Last week I wandered around downtown Oberlin (see last post), but didn’t stay long because the cold commanded too much attention. Today was warm enough (mid-40s, Fahrenheit) that I didn’t keep thinking about how cold I was. And the sun came out! Here’s some of what I saw.
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Romancing Reality 
#12. At last. You’ve convinced me that that weird shrub at the Kohl Jazz building may have some redeeming aesthetic value!
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February 2, 2020 at 8:28 PM
Thank you, David. That is an unusual sumac, I think, and I think it only looks good in winter. How nice that something does.
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February 2, 2020 at 9:33 PM
I like the combination of straight lines and natural growth in #12. I see a link to abstract expressionism in #6.
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February 2, 2020 at 9:15 PM
Thanks, Steve. The straight lines of this buidling are featured at https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/2017/07/23/more-jazzy-windows/ and https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/some-walls-in-oberlin-14/. At https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/sumac-and-all-that-jazz/ you can see a warmer-weather version of the building’s straight lines combined with natural growth. The Abstract Expressionism of #6 is a window in the Oberlin Public Library building. Other similar windows nearby exhibited no similar display. A mystery.
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February 2, 2020 at 9:42 PM
This would be a good day for me. Nice work, Linda.
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February 2, 2020 at 10:10 PM
Thanks, Ken. It was a good day for me. Wonder how many more times this winterI can successfully mine this little town for images.
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February 4, 2020 at 7:50 PM
Oh you have such an eye! Enjoyed these very much 😊
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February 3, 2020 at 2:58 AM
Thank you, Alastair. I’m so glad you enjoyed these.
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February 4, 2020 at 8:14 PM
Great stuff! Among my favourites are 3, 10 and 12. Have a great week, best wishes, Mr C 🙂
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February 3, 2020 at 4:24 AM
Thank you, Mr. C. I tend to avoid taking photographs where the main subject is at an angle. In #3 I initially considered the ladder to be the main subject, but in order to get the guy wires showing beyond the yellow plastic, I had to get the ladder at an angle. That changed the focal point for me, so that the yellow plastic things were the main subject. It was an interesting change in the way I do things.
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February 4, 2020 at 9:05 PM
Certainly with No.3 the adjusted focal point paid off.
A little collaborative project that I curate called 9in45 is a way of removing many of the factors we automatically like to control when taking pictures. Each time I have done it I feel rewarded and learn a little along the way and other participants equally seem to enjoy the experience! The link below will take you to the site and there is a page that explains more (The ‘What is 9 in 45’ page 🙂 )
Should you feel inspired to have a go, you might also consider contributing to the site. Naturally it has evolved from where it began and myself and others have included a few words about the images submitted. Sticking to the rules of 9 in 45 is key…! It would be great to have your images and experience on the site…
Best wishes
Mr C 🙂
https://takeninephotosinfortyfiveminutes.wordpress.com
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February 5, 2020 at 4:45 AM
I will definitely consider it, Mr. Cafe. I love the idea of finding something interesting wherever one happens to be.
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February 5, 2020 at 5:23 PM
Great. Give it a whirl and see how you find it. No need to submit the images. It’s a fun exercise. Godd luck… 🙂
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February 5, 2020 at 7:02 PM
Ooops!!! That should be ‘good luck’ 🙂
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February 5, 2020 at 7:03 PM
Fine set; as always! 🙂
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February 3, 2020 at 4:58 AM
Thanks as always, Harrie.
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February 4, 2020 at 9:06 PM
Excellent, Linda! I really dig the yellows!
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February 3, 2020 at 7:02 AM
Thank you, Peter. I only noticed how many yellows I had in this batch after I downloaded. Glad you like them.
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February 4, 2020 at 9:07 PM
Very well seen set of images, my friend. 🙂
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February 4, 2020 at 4:44 AM
Thanks, Adrian. I’m pleased that you like them.
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February 4, 2020 at 9:08 PM
#’s 3 and 4 are wonderful, and I like the restraint I sense in all these treatments.
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February 5, 2020 at 8:54 AM
Thank you, John. I think #3 is my own favorite. I was really anticipating seeing it on download and hoping it turned out.
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February 5, 2020 at 7:39 PM
Beautiful pictures!!
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February 6, 2020 at 3:36 AM
Thank you, ien. I enjoyed your embedded George Carlin video.
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February 6, 2020 at 4:16 PM
What fun – I’m glad the temperature moderated a bit. The yellow progression in #1,2,3 is fun but what it leads to – the third photo – is a real gem. Seriously, that is one fine photo. I like #5, 6, & 7 together too, but each one’s wonderful on its own, too. Oh, that’s glass in #6 – I see you! 🙂 I love #9, it’s beautifully balanced and so interesting. Then #10, which doesn’t have as many different elements, surprises one with the little ivy holdfast details and the shadows that follow the vine so closely. I like the way vine reaches across the great divide. #11 could only work if it was framed just so, but you knew what to do, and it works, IMHO anyway. #12’s a great finale – it’s almost as if the person who painted the wall wanted to celebrate that sumac, don’t you think? They put it on stage! I’m glad the sun was out. 🙂
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February 6, 2020 at 4:46 PM
The third photo is my favorite of this lot, so I’m especially glad that you like it, Lynn. Yes, that is me in #6, with my parka hood up. Even after the nice things you so frequently say about my photos, my head isn’t that swelled. I took #10 before I zoomed out to take #9. I was also struck by the balance of the elements there. I almost didn’t include #11 despite being overly fond of the shadows; had to talk myself into allowing it on the blog. About that wall behind the sumac? It’s all the same color metal cladding. The wall actually angles back, then forward again so that the colors look different, at least in a photograph. If the sun hadn’t been out, the effect would not have been as interesting.
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February 8, 2020 at 3:51 PM
I didn’t think your head was swollen…that’s funny about #11 because it does have a different look from many, but I think not all your photos. It’s less evenly treated across the frame if that makes any sense. Wow, I can’t believe that about the last photo – I would never have guessed. Even knowing that, it’s hard to read the photo that way. Perception!! 😉
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February 10, 2020 at 4:32 PM
I don’t know if we’re talking about the same thing regarding #11, but I just studied it again. I think this is what was going on in my head when I was deciding to include it in this post or not: Gut said yes. Head said no, the left-most stripe is not as comprehensible as the rest of the photo. The dead leaves get lost on the bricks. Today, restudying the photo, head said that’s OK; I like how the leaves match the mortar in color. (BTW, both gut and head like the interplay between the thing itself and its shadow.) Did you follow the links in my reply to Steve Schwartzman? They show other aspects of this unusual building. See https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/2017/07/23/more-jazzy-windows/ and https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/some-walls-in-oberlin-14/ and https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/sumac-and-all-that-jazz/.
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February 11, 2020 at 10:16 AM
Linda, I really like numbers 12, 10, and 6. I swear #6 looks like an abstract painting I have seen. The sumac in #12 looks like a Japanese garden. When I look at your posts from my cell it seems to insist that I respond to you on WordPress. Of course if I’m on my cell I don’t hav any passwords with me, so I give up. I just remembered that hadn’t looked at this on my computer, which is more rewarding to begin with. But that’s why you don’t get a response from me sometimes. I looked at it on my phone and then responding went out of my brain. Lynda
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February 8, 2020 at 8:19 AM
Thanks, Lynda. The abstract painting you see in #6 is some misadventure that has befallen one of the windows in the Oberlin Public Library building.
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February 8, 2020 at 4:04 PM
Dear Linda, I’m a fan, I really, really love these pictures, your compositions are magical, these are the pictures that I would like to make, every one of them should hang on a wall and you should stare for weeks at them, not just scroll away in a few seconds, and off to the next whatever…..It probably is a photographers destiny on the internet, there is so much beauty to find and there is so little time…big hug from the Netherlands….;-)
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February 17, 2020 at 3:47 PM
Thank you, ien. You’re very kind. Big hug back. I agree: there is so much beauty to find and such little time to find it. We just do our best, don’t we.
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February 17, 2020 at 4:20 PM