Sunday, January 02, 2011

Gourd afternoon


It came from the earth
Laval, QC, November 2010
[Click photo to embiggen]

There's nothing earth-shattering about this scene. As best I can tell, it's a kind of squash - please don't laugh at my ineptitude, as I'm vegetatively challenged - and I found it languishing in the middle of a mall. The Carrefour Laval mall, to be precise, where I had come with my mom to find shoes*.

I liked the color, the light, the texture, and the fact that I made people stop and stare when I pulled my camera out and started shooting. I half-expected the rent-a-cops on Segways to swoop in and subdue me with plastic zip ties, but they were nowhere to be found. Later on, I discovered them hanging around the popcorn stand near the food court. I did not offer to show them my photos, and my mother wisely shot down my suggestion to invite them over to watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

So somehow, a picture of a partially deformed vegetable becomes one of my favorites of the year. Not because it rewrote the book or set some new photographic bar. But because it was an everyday find that I stumbled across only because I was looking for it. Because in 2010, photography, to me, anyway, became an integral part of my day-to-day life. As I ponder the kinds of things I'll see through the lens in the year to come, pictures like this remind me why I do the photography thing in the first place.

Your turn: How will you grow as a photographer in 2011?

--
*The mall was good to me that day. Please see here for another, earlier, entry. And please see here to share more favorites from 2010.

14 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

For me, I always try a new technique... I am hooked doing macros.. I discovered how to capture droplets hanging from tips of leaves. wow was that a turn on!. lol... I look for the simplest objects and notice the details... The more ordinary seems to work for me.. Some shots which most wouldn't think of taking, I've done...Karen S. knows about my header on my page and she laughed when I told her how I got it...

Dawn said...

Hahahaha....oh your posts always make me chuckle!
When you said you took this in a mall....it made me think of your other mall shot from a previous post...and how much i detest malls;))
Good for you for taking the beauty home with you...and I sure would have liked to hear the result of the response to your offer to watch Mall Cop with them all;))

My family is now used to me laying down on the ground for walks as I snap my silly (much in need of a new version) camera.....I can only imagine what I would do if i had a "real" camera:)
One day.....
Again...love your choice of a picture here!

21 Wits said...

It also is special to you, because it links a memory of a time well spent with MOM! I get tears just knowing that I can't do that any more! But I will grow in photo techniques one snap at a time and by following the pros! Happy New Photo Taking Year!

Rebecca said...

i got a new digital camera for christmas of course now i have to figure out how to use it

Pearl said...

Happy New Year Carmi. Love your story.

My photographic goals? My technical skill with manual settings, more skill in taking portraits.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Your mother is a wise woman.
~

Anonymous said...

[Click photo to embiggen???????

ccaarrmmiii!!!!!!!!!! ;)

Vicki said...

Great post! As photographers, I think that so many ordinary things shout out to us. It can be the color, the shape, how the light catches it that draws us to it.

Growth for me would be taking better portraits ... which is kind of an oxymoron because that's what I do for work. But for work, everything is set up and in a precise setting. Also, macro photography. Hubby bought me a macro lens for Christmas and I can't wait to start shooting! :)

Alexia said...

10 points for the post title! I love a good pun. And lots of points for seeing this shot. What a lovely warm colour, and the texture is great.

My goal for the year - to do better with manual settings. And to get the macro lens that wasn't in my Christmas stocking...

One unanswered question for me is: what was this unaccompanied squash doing sitting in the middle of the mall??

Prettypics123 said...

Hi Carmi,
I like the scene you captured. I really like the colors in this shot. I'm doing a daily shoot project for the year. And I find that photographing with a particular element in mind takes more effort for me. I'm already learning new things and anxious to learn more.
Levonne
A Camp Host's Meanderings & Levonne's Pretty Pics

colleen said...

Hi Carmi, I love the warmth this photo evokes.

My photographer's resolution is to get my camera fixed!

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Bobkat said...

Nice capture. I love the form and colour of this squash and the fact that 'The Man' left you alone to capture it. I am always half expecting someone to put their hand on my shoulder and tell me I can't take photos also. The main problem over here in the UK is that people in scenes can get offended if they think they are in your shot.

Happy New Year - looking forward to seeing more of the world from your perspective in 2011.

Anonymous said...

I'm toying with the idea of picking up my stepfather's old SLR and loading a roll of film into it. That would be a huge challenge for me because digital freed me from the bonds of waste-not and wait.