We had an awesome collection of children’s books when the boys were little. One of our go-to stories was Goodnight Opus by Burke Breathed. It’s a classic—especially for those of us who started our little ones out on Goodnight Moon. Definitely check it out if you haven’t read it. My favorite line?
“I can’t really say how this happened next:
After two hundred ten times,
I departed the text.”
I departed the text. Exactly! That jumped into my head as I was preparing this post. Bear with me, there is a connection with my photography.
Sure, I’ll take the expected shot. I have no problem going with the flow. But I’m always on the lookout for a slightly different perspective on it. My own photographic version of departing the text.
I think it stems from my first, almost accidental, different perspective photo. It was 1986 and I was standing on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. I looked up and there it was—a totally different take on the tower. Oh, I’m sure plenty of people before (yeah, and after me) took the very same picture, but it was a new perspective for me. I took a couple shots aiming straight up from that level, then, when I got back down to ground, aimed my camera up to capture a similar shot of the entire tower.
Since then, I’ve always kept an eye out for something just slightly unusual. Perhaps that says something about my personality—that I’m just slightly off base.
Living in DC, there’s no shortage of interesting structures to photograph. One of my favorite buildings is actually one of the newer ones: the National Museum of African American Culture and History. We watched it being built and as soon as they started putting the bronze corona panels in place, I knew it would make for some fantastic photos.
Whenever I’m down by the Mall, I’m compelled to take a picture of it. Even from a moving vehicle. I’ve captured it from all sorts of angles. We even used it as the setting for our 2017 holiday photo. That’s when I snapped one of my favorite, slightly different shots of it. A corner of the top tier.
It’s a fascinating building from afar, but I do love seeing the detail up close. And I love how they change when the sun hits them. I’m seriously obsessed!
I’m always on the lookout for ways to depart the text. So, don’t be surprised when I share more examples in the future!