More Wandering around Downtown Oberlin, February 2020
February 16, 2020
Last Sunday I wandered around downtown Oberlin again. Four of the photographs in today’s post are variations on ones I’d taken during previous downtown wanderings. It’s fun for me to compare the new with the old photos, and on the chance it might be fun for you, I’ve included the old ones here.
1 The old ticket booth of the Apollo Theater, photo taken last Sunday
2 The old ticket booth of the Apollo Theater, photo taken April 30, 2017
3 The old ticket booth of the Apollo Theater, photo taken last Sunday
4 The old ticket booth of the Apollo Theater, photo taken May 29, 2017
5 I wonder how many of you are able to identify this nicely rusted object.
6 Backside of storefronts, photo taken last Sunday
7 Backside of storefronts, photo taken April 30, 2017
8 Alley still life, photo taken last Sunday
8 Alley still life, photo taken November 21, 2018
9
10 Tree shadows on old painted wall sign, photo taken last Sunday
11 Tree and old painted wall sign, photo taken May 5, 2018
12
Romancing Reality 
Linda, That number 7 is really curious. Who painted it. It’s almost trompe-l’oeil. You are always finding interesting things or making everyday things look interesting. Lynda
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February 16, 2020 at 10:26 AM
Thanks, Lynda. I’m sure the wall in #7 was more trompe-l’oeil when it was newly painted. I think I’ll leave downtown Oberlin alone for a while now. As you know, it’s a very small downtown, and I had a harder time finding interesting subjects last Sunday. I hope spring will give me a fresh perspective, though I’m sure I’ll check out my old haunts to see how they are doing.
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February 16, 2020 at 1:26 PM
Love the old wall signs
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February 16, 2020 at 10:27 AM
Thanks, Sue. There aren’t too many of the old ones left.
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February 16, 2020 at 1:27 PM
😊
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February 16, 2020 at 3:49 PM
A sense of wonder at everyday objects and scenes is a gift. The way you have cultivated it is masterful.
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February 16, 2020 at 12:34 PM
I’ll admit that breathtaking vistas intimidate me. I’m much more comfortable photographing everyday objects and scenes. Thank you for your gift of words, Michael.
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February 16, 2020 at 1:33 PM
It may surprise you to hear me saying this, but breathtaking vistas often intimidate me too. One has to contemplate them for quite some time to decide what to focus on. But it takes a keen, sensitive alertness and being precisely in the here and now to spot things like your shot number seven. And real artistic ability to compose and frame it.
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February 16, 2020 at 1:50 PM
Ah, you bring me to one of the reasons I do photography: it keeps me in the here and now better than anything else. Taking photographs is my way of meditating. Yes, it does surprise me that breathtaking vistas often intimidate you, too. You photograph them so well.
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February 16, 2020 at 2:08 PM
Here’s one way of looking at the intimidation: one tends to be permeated by the overwhelmingly large vista. The trick is to turn the tide and permeate it. Do you have more personal control over permeating rather than being permeated. Best of all is equal parts of both. It all starts with slowing way down and taking a deep breath.
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February 16, 2020 at 5:17 PM
You make it sound easy, Michael. I’ll try to remember what you’ve said the next time I encounter an intimidating vista.
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February 16, 2020 at 7:18 PM
Or an intimidating anything. It takes practice. Lots of practice.
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February 16, 2020 at 7:26 PM
Is that a door to a coal chute in #5?
When I look at your photos, no matter when they were taken, I see a photographer with an eye for details. Someone who examins things closely and appreciates the beauty them. I see a photographer who can point out the less obvious things in a scene, capture it beautifully and share it.
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February 16, 2020 at 1:12 PM
I think it’s a coal-chute door, too. . . . Details are easier for me to see than the big picture. That does’t always work in my favor in life. I’m glad that it works for you in my photographs. Thank you, Ken. Them’s mighty nice words.
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February 16, 2020 at 7:19 PM
The interplay of tree shadows and painted sign in #10 is especially nice.
I also guessed a coal chute.
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February 16, 2020 at 2:27 PM
Thanks, Steve. I’m glad you like that sign. . . . I didn’t think so many of you would recognise a coal chute. I remember taking a nap at my grandmother’s house and hearing the coal shoot down the chute as it was being delivered. I think I even remember the sound.
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February 16, 2020 at 7:23 PM
The first four photographs make an excellent presentation about scale – I was fooled into thinking the first one was of a large space on a street. It’s wonderful to be fooled like that! #6 has so much information – I like the way you presented it straightforwardly (I realize I’ve said that to you before). This year’s #8 is brilliant and I like seeing the previous version, that’s also great. #9 is a small gem. The final photo feels like the gift of a bouquet given at the end of a performance. Another nice ramble, Linda, and I like the sprinkling of older phtoos mixed in with the new. A mental stretch leads me to say we’re both thinking about the malleability of time. 🙂
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February 16, 2020 at 2:44 PM
The first photograph makes me think of the archway to a human-sized stage, so I’m seeing a different scale, too, even though I know perfectly well what it is. Glad you enjoyed being fooled. “So much information”: that’s a more elegant way of putting it than the words I told myself about #6: I said, “It’s such a lovely muddle.” Oops, I didn’t realize I had two number 8’s. I was hoping you could tell that it was the same patch of wall behind the objects in each photo. Maybe my silent brain thought you’d get it if I gave both photos the same number. 😉 I have a little collection of flag photos, and #9 fits right in. I love what you say about the last photo! And I’m glad you like the mix of old and new photos. I like your mental stretch, and I think you may be right.
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February 16, 2020 at 8:02 PM
I, too, thought that what I was seeing in the first picture was much larger. In the absence of objects to compare to, our minds were free to imagine a different scale.
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February 17, 2020 at 5:36 PM
Oo, I like that, Steve: “our minds were free.” Here’s to freed minds.
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February 17, 2020 at 8:50 PM
A lovely muddle is good. I see that a lot. 🙂 I’m glad you liked the reaction to the last photo – it was just one of those quick feelings. Mental stretch, a very good thing! 😉
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February 23, 2020 at 11:56 AM
Liked and shared. Thank you.
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February 16, 2020 at 5:50 PM
Thank you, Outosego.
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February 16, 2020 at 8:02 PM
Most welcome !
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February 16, 2020 at 8:03 PM
Fine set, Linda!
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February 17, 2020 at 4:35 AM
Thank you, Harrie. Glad you like these.
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February 18, 2020 at 8:49 PM
All good pictures, Linda, but number 7 is really outstanding! Adrian 🙂
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February 18, 2020 at 4:33 AM
Thanks, Adrian. I think the wall probably looks better in disrepair than it did when new. Glad you like the photo.
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February 18, 2020 at 8:02 PM