Wisconsin Interlude—2
October 3, 2021
In the morning of our leaving day, my daughter and her wife took me on a sidewalk tour of an industrial part of Madison. We walked home up Willy Street. Although I enjoyed all the time I spent in nature on this visit, my favorite photographs are from this walk.
1 I saw so many grids on the walk. Here’s the first.
2 Many were grid upon grid.
3 I don’t understand how wire this thick can be woven.
4 This grid photograph includes one of my favorite things (to photograph): rust.
5 Grids can have unintended uses.
6 Several buildings in the area are clad in corrugated steel.
7 This one was painted—and rusted.
8 This one had its regularity interrupted in a different way.
9 I like buildings that inadvertently display their history.
10 Here’s a closer look at the top of the 2.
11 A little mix and match of styles
12 A decommissioned mailbox in the neighborhood offered an abstract design where a mail slot used to be.
13 Another grid, another opportunity for a plant
14 A closer look
15 It took a while to figure out that the red object is an outdoor fire escape lying on its side.
16 The dried Pepperwort (Lepidium campestre) reminds me of some henna tattoos.
17 A construction site nearby offered this mystery.
18 And pavement offered this one.
19 “Which Buddha” was the question in a Willy Street antique store window.
20 You won’t find “Willy Street” on a map, but the locals never say “Williamson Street.”
Romancing Reality 
Always great to sneak around on an industrial site. Fine set, Linda!
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October 3, 2021 at 3:53 AM
It is fun, isn’t it. Thanks, Harrie.
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October 3, 2021 at 1:20 PM
As always, your your inquisitive and perceptive eye caught a lot of interesting images. Ordinarily I don’t have a clear favorite in someone’s collection but this time I do. #16 is wonderful. The layers, shapes and design are appealing and the delicacy of the pepperwort a real treat for the eyes. A very nice complete image, Linda.
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October 3, 2021 at 4:40 AM
Thank you, Steve. You picked my own favorite.
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October 3, 2021 at 1:23 PM
These may be my most favorite batch ever! Maybe because I was with you and saw all of these things with my own eyes, and now get to see them through yours. Wow!
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October 3, 2021 at 8:09 AM
Thanks, Tam. Thanks for showing me around!
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October 3, 2021 at 1:25 PM
Great grids! I concur with the previous commenter’s first sentence.
I initially saw #12 at a much larger scale, as if it were the side of a building.
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October 3, 2021 at 8:43 AM
Thanks, Steve. I like thinking of the panel in #12 as the side of a building.
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October 3, 2021 at 1:28 PM
Yes, completely agree about 4, the rust does it for me too! 🙂
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October 4, 2021 at 9:17 AM
Glad to hear it, Adrian. Thanks for weighing in.
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October 4, 2021 at 10:17 AM
A lovely set, Linda.
#15, which oddly (?) was the “preview” image that showed up on my phone, had me thinking you had stopped by an abandoned horse racing track–I had thought it was an over-grown starting gate.
And then #17 had me thinking you stopped by an art supply store–those pipes look quite like illustration pens stacked up in their rack.
I enjoy photos that make me question my perception, something which yours often do. It is a good habit, I think: questioning perceptions.
I would pick the Buddha on the right as he is displaying my favorite mudra–the “earth-touching” mudra. I like to think of him saying, “Here. It starts here. (and ends here too!)”
#6 is an absolute cracker. I have learned so much about abstraction in photography from looking at your images. Now I just have to learn how to apply what you have taught me!
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October 4, 2021 at 11:06 AM
Thank you, J. Alex Pan. Never having seen a horse-racing starting gate, I had no misconceptions when I saw the object in #15, though I didn’t identify it right away. You’re so right about the pens! After reading your comment I had a look right away at mine, and sure enough, there is a strong similarity. There is a reason I don’t do much to help viewers figure out what object I’ve photographed: I am most concerned with depicting materiality itself. Check out my Matter Matters document at the top of this page. I’m not going to choose a Buddha; they’re all good. But thank you for your explanation of which you’d choose. I think the composition in #6 is a bit weird, but maybe that’s why I framed the building that way.
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October 6, 2021 at 8:32 PM
Oops! I meant #12 was the cracker! I love the abstract shapes and colors and all the things that my mind wants to make of the old mail slot and its “face”.
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October 6, 2021 at 9:05 PM
OK, J. Alex. Duly noted. Glad you enjoyed that one. I had never seen a mailbox like that, but my guess is that there are more all around the country.
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October 7, 2021 at 10:49 AM
Oh, a wonderful post, Linda, I can see your delight in all these sights. I like the way the images progress from severe grids to a grid with a plant to other assorted views. I have to admit that I find #5 a relief after #1-4. 🙂 #6 is really inspired – those arcs and the rust stain, and the way you framed the image, just perfect. Well seen!! In #8, it’s the green “fingers” that make the photo sing for me. The numbers are terrific! I like the mailbox. And once more it’s the plants that make the photos really nice for me, in #15. Pepperwort – I didn’t know its name but I’ve seen it, probably thousands of times in places like these. The construction site “stuff” is another nice find. The pavement poetry is lovely. 😉 The Buddhas, their friend, and the pointing finger are inspired! A sweet tableau, followed by a bright cone family. This follower is glad that you went to Wisconsin! 🙂
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October 8, 2021 at 5:31 PM
It’s funny how I couldn’t stop seeing grids. Maybe there just are more in industrial areas; I thought I was being ultra aware of them that day. I’m so happy you like the composition in #6. I really wasn’t sure; the elements seem rather sprinkled in. I think my friend Janet would have said, “I don’t know where I’m supposed to look.” Regarding your comment on #8, I’ll say that you make me glad I didn’t yield to the temptation to remove those green fingers in Photoshop. The bump is what I had in mind about an interruption to the corrugation of the steel, but as I continued to look at the photo I decided that the green fingers were another interruption. Since posting these images I came across another shot of the numbers in #s 9 and 10. Identical! That is, identical framing but with paint less weathered. Every time I photograph Pepperwort, I have to ask David for its name; it just won’t stick. I love this plant in its dried form. Thanks as always for your thoughts, Lynn. You keep me going.
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October 15, 2021 at 1:59 PM
I know what you mean about not knowing where to look but that didn’t occur to me with #6. Glad you didn’t try to remove the greenery in #8, I still think it enlivens the image. That’s funny about finding photos of those numbers that you’d taken before. Regarding trying to remember Pepperwort, check this idea out – it’s probably edible, so next time you see a fresh one, take a taste – I bet that will do the trick! Apparently, if the seeds are young (which they probably aren’t by now) they taste peppery. This is assuming it’s this one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidium_campestre
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October 15, 2021 at 4:21 PM
(And look what Johnny said about #6 – great minds think alike). 😉
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October 8, 2021 at 5:32 PM
Wellllll . . . Look at his correction. Not #6 after all. 😉
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October 15, 2021 at 2:01 PM
🙂 🙂
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October 15, 2021 at 4:13 PM