Typewriter Graveyard – While exploring the California desert near Joshua Tree I stumbled across a Wild West town called Pioneertown. It turns out the town was started as a movie set in the 40’s by Roy Rodgers, Gene Autry and others. This group of old typewriters was set up outside as an art exhibit. While Apple designs may look cool and all, the beauty of this old Remington still stands out.

You can see more of my work at http://www.samobiker.com

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For those of you who hold my wife in high esteem- as I tend to do most days- I must tell you she is, indeed, fallible. She actually had the audacity to question my judgement when I stated I was going out to take photos. “Why not wait awhile? It will be golden hour soon”, she said. I hate when someone echoes my own words back at me. Golden Hour! I taught her that. And now she feels the need to question my judgement, restrict my creativity? I gave her the famous Emilio Pasquale stare that has left people quaking in their boot heels in the past. “Well,” she said, “if you’re not going to listen to me I might as well go along for the ride”. Not only did she not quake, she collared and leashed the neurotic chihuahua we’re dog sitting…

The last Sunday in September and here, out at Coney Island, fishermen throw their lines while others sit back and take in the Sunday sun. I took out my iPhone. Autumn seems so far away.

“Autumn has caught us in our summer wear”
~ Philip Larkin

I’ve tried a little humour for this weeks post. My previous shots have been a little on the darker side. This shot is cropped on the righthand side I once read somewhere that if it is cropped it’s not a street shot. I don’t abide by such rules, It’s my image I’ll do as I please. I Still I think it made for a nice shot and tells a story. What do you think?

Participation in Monochromia has encouraged me to seek out subjects that will convert beautifully to B&W (as opposed to in the past when I would convert mostly when the color didn’t turn out quite right.  Hey … Just being honest here).  Anyway, there was much about this gas lantern that drew my eye, in particular, the flame.  Yet no matter how I processed the image, I just wasn’t able to get that lovely orange glow to stand out sans color.  While somewhat disappointed with that, it wasn’t until I got home that I realized that I’d caught the reflection of a flag hanging in front of an adjacent building.  What a nice happy accident!

Okay all you photographers out there: how would you have emphasized that flame?

If you’d like, check out Life on the Bike to see other images from my brief visit to Charlottesville, VA last week.

This photo, in color, was among the first photos I posted to VisualVenturing.com.I thought I would revisit it with my “B&W eyes.”

While approaching the tip of Île Saint Louis in Paris with my husband and daughter, we spied this bride and groom posing for photographs. The wedding dress just took my breath away, and with the backdrop of the Seine, I just had to take a photo.

Now, four years later, I realize this was my first attempt at street photography, before I was even aware there was such a thing. I remember very quickly raising my camera to my eye, snapping the picture, and just as quickly walking away. I thought for certain someone was going to come up behind me and grab my camera out of my hands, yelling at me in French that I had done something illegal. But of course, they were paying…