And I don’t know why
Leica M6 – Ilford HP5 – Rodinal 1:50
Let’s keep this short and sweet. Sometimes a scene grabs you and you have to capture it. I saw this as I was leaving work. It had been raining all day and was rather dreary when I left, sometime around 5:00 PM. Usually the parking spaces would be full and, as it was around 5:00 PM … let’s just say that good parking spaces were easy to come by.
As I walked to my car, I saw this tree and the pattern that it had worn in the paint on the wall behind it. Or perhaps the tree has protected it from the fading effects of the sun. I didn’t investiage. I started to ignore it, but felt that I simply must take this shot. I went to the car, grabbed the Leica, took about 3 shots, and went on to shoot other things.
Perhaps my mind was receptive:
A very receptive state of mind… not unlike a sheet of film itself – seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second’s exposure conceives a life in it. — Minor White
Why I took the shot, I may never know, but I felt that I could not ignore it. I’m sure that I’m not alone in this. 
The world of acronyms and I understand the code, but I only played at the edges of those processes. I was not too serious and it always seemed easier for others to develop and print.
I am glad you stopped and photographed an image when there was a glint in your mind. I don’t know how many times I have gone by something and then wished later I had taken the time to explore further and actually photograph something.
I am trying to pay attention more and when that first inkling strikes, stop, figure out why it caught my eye and then hopefully photograph it.
Its just like my snow eggs on my new blog.
http://niels-henriksen.blogspot.com/
There was feeling I had looking at the clumps, I am not sure that I really captured it but I did try and even tried again. The weather will eventually overtake the objects.
I do hope you go back again and at different times.
Maybe you could get some orange pylons (humour) and mark spots as temporarily out of use. Then move them, photograph and dash.
Niels Henriksen
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It is like the old, “Why did you climb the mountain?”
“Because it was there.”
Same with with photographers, because it was there.
It is a photographer thing, non-camera toters wouldn’t understand.
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Paul Reply:
January 24th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Don, I suppose that you are correct. Because it was there!
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Oh no, you’re not alone, not a bit. Haha. Some subject matters are like magnets to you, and you don’t have a clue why. That’s the charm in it, that you go intuition to some extent.
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once you can see …. you cannot unsee
its a lovely shot
I am sure there is much there to explore psychologically but in any case, the shot alone is nicely seen.
>>> Gina
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Ignoring the word around us dulls our sense. I think we all need to stop, look and take a photo more often. Reduces stress, clears the mind and is just darn fun! And, your not alone in this.
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I was laughing when I read your post because most of the time, that’s the ONLY reason I snap the shutter, because it calls to me. Why over-analyze it? It’s kinda why a Leica exists, my friend.
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