Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Thematic Photographic 36 - Up

Look behind you
Toronto, ON January 2009
[Click to enlarge]


The scene:
It's a bitterly cold morning on the downtown streets of Canada's largest city. I'm on my way from one meeting to another, and have a bit of time to shoot a few pictures as I walk the few blocks outside.

The air is amazingly clear, lit brilliantly by a blinding winter sun. I haven't brought my SLR - too much space in the laptop's bag - but I brought the next best thing: our point-and-shoot. I'm not a slave to the camera, and I hardly believe that "the camera takes great pictures." People take great pictures; the camera is merely the tool.

I get some odd stares from the few pedestrians brave enough to walk the streets this morning. I suppose they've never seen a guy in a suit and trench coat waving a camera above his head before. I think to myself that I should do this more often, then, to soften them up a bit. I smile at the thought before tucking the camera back into my pocket and continuing on my way.

Your turn: I think I need to spend more time exploring glass buildings. They're hellishly fun to play with. What other forms of architecture turn your photographic crank? Let me know, and I'll try to shoot them - and share them here, of course - in the weeks to come.

41 comments:

PillowNaut said...

Had a feeling UP would follow DOWN ;) Since I am 5 feet tall, to me, most of the world is UP. I've studied architecture, and am impressed by Greek-influenced styles, particularly Corinthian columns. But of course, I had to choose something space-y for mine! For humans, this is a unique UP!

http://pillownaut.blogspot.com/2009/02/up.html

bobbie said...

"Up" it is! Your photo is perfect of course. No tall buildings around here, but we shall do what we can.

Mojo said...

I'm a big fan of stone myself. there's an organic beauty about it that nothing else can replicate.

But. It doesn't yield up awesome reflections like these!

I went "up" on a slightly smaller scale for my opener, but your shot reminded me of one I have that's similar... and got a similar reaction from the passers by.

For now, I leave you with:
Thematic Photographic #36: "Up" v.1.0 - Hello Up There!

Fifi Flowers said...

Great photo... LOVE skyscrapers and city life!
ENJOY!
Fifi

Beverly said...

I actually put up a photo for up today, surprise, surprise!

kenju said...

Pyramids turn my crank, Carmi! Got any of those?

awareness said...

I love the reflections and the light dances from sky scrapers. Great photo Carmi...

mine is up...waaaay up.....and a little naughty too. I think you will recognize it....hey, you may even be able to see the darn thing from your front porch in london. If what's her name from Alaska could see Russia from hers, you're bound to be able to this the building I posted from your vantage.

http://mayfairplace.blogspot.com/2009/02/it-makes-every-male-feel-small.html

Anonymous said...

I have been waitting for up, and here is my attempt

mo.stoneskin said...

Brutalist industrial shots crank my wheel. I've been meaning to head out and get some for a while. Give it a go!

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone, here's my up photo

Unknown said...

Mine is up. And in stark contrast to yours in terms of landscape! :-)

http://thepaganeye.blogspot.com/2009/02/thematic-photographic-up.html

Anonymous said...

Great! Mine's up in the sky too.

Anonymous said...

Excellent...the reflections are perfectly composed in the windows.

Daryl said...

My kinda guy ... just this morning I am sure the other person waiting in the bus stop shelter thought me nutz shooting the sky and the sunlight hitting the bldgs ... there is something about very early morning skies that fascinate me ... that's a neat photo ..

barbie2be said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
barbie2be said...

holy cats! pillownaut was in first?

here's mine:
up

photowannabe said...

This shot is a true prize winner Carmi. I love the reflection of the other buildings and clouds. A+++

Mamapippa ... said...

Mine's up !

http://mamapippaphotography.skynetblogs.be/post/6712885/in-de-boom-----in-the-tree----

Pamela said...

You found some wonderful reflections in UP, as well as a dizzy look skyward. Wow. Nice shot.

I went walking with my little point and shoot today, and I have some "UP" results, too.

Anonymous said...

http://www.babylonezoo.fr/photo.php?no=235

Institut du monde arabe - Paris 5em
architectes Jean Nouvel & Architecture-studio 1987

Gabbi said...

Gorgeous photo, I love that something so modern and imposing can seemingly blend into nature.

bobbie said...

well, I said there were no tall building around here. But of course, I was wrong. There are the lighthouses. I'm not sure how tall the Cape May Lighthouse is officially, but there are 199 steps inside. That qualifies as tall. My pictures are up.

http://bobbie-almostthere.blogspot.com

InventingLiz said...

I actually posted this photo yesterday before I knew you would be doing UP this week, but it seems to fit!

http://inventingliz.blogspot.com/2009/02/flag-tower.html

David Edward said...

all brick church buildings - in low light

Anonymous said...

I missed out on "down" last week, but when I saw "up," I just had to add my $.02.

Catherine said...

I found this photo of a pylon in my files, which seems to fit the theme. I hope you like the angles (I seem to remember we did "angles" a while back)
I love the reflections on your building photo

Barbara said...

I'm all packed UP for a trip to Norfolk to see my son ship out for 6 months. So my Thematic Photographic is a bit unconventional, as you will see here.

Anonymous said...

Ok Carmi, I have finally got an up picture to share. I hope everyone is "up" to it. Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Light and Voices said...

Great skyscrapper shot! Here is my post:
http://lightandvoices.blogspot.com/2009/02/thematic-photographic-up.html
Joyce

Lulda Casadaga said...

I'm new here and I'm going to try this one...thanks for the chance to showcase some pics and fill up my blog. :)

Anonymous said...

Great photo! It reminds me of my younger years growing up in New York City!

bobbie said...

I posted one more photo today:

http://bobbie-almostthere.blogspot.com

srp said...

In NYC you really do feel like a mouse when looking up.... but such fabulous architecture! My UP is here.

Anonymous said...

UP we go!

http://rosneath.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/up/

belleek

Jax said...

totally forgot to post this!
http://writerjax.blog-city.com/thematic_photographic__up.htm

~j said...

haven't managed to play for awhile. it's fun to see a bunch of new faces here.

here's my "up" for the week -

http://lantman2468.blogspot.com/2009/02/thematic-photographic-up.html

DNLee said...

Here's my up! submissions
http://urban-science.blogspot.com/2009/02/wordless-wednesday-wonder-up-yonder.html

Mel Fraase said...

Love this shot! I really like old pieces of art deco on buildings. It's fun to get tight shots of something that might otherwise go unnoticed on a large building.

Here's my "up" photo for the week...
http://fraasefamily.blogspot.com/2009/02/thematic-photographic-wordless.html

Anonymous said...

oooh! I'm late!! but I think I had a bit of a melt down when trying to post here last week. So here is my up

http://rosneath.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/up/

Nikki - Notes of Life said...

This is a bit of a late entry, I'm afraid, I hope that's OK! - http://notesoflife.co.uk/?p=205

Eaton Bennett aka Berenice Albrecht said...

I really like the towering aspect of this photo and the buildings mirrored in the glass. Great photo.