snowday at the court

Crooked, I know. The backboard was not a photographers friend in this one at all. If there is one thing you will know about me as a photographer is that I love my straight lines. On a normal day, I would have tossed this image due to the lines not all being parallel. However, this photo was not produced while I was out on a walk, or planned in any way for that matter. I’m not one to stop and just take a picture of something I see and I would say that is 100% my downfall as a photographer. I allow myself to miss great shots just at the inconvenience of pulling out my camera. On top of that, I absolutely hate shooting in the cold because of the aluminum brick that turns to an ice block 10 minutes after being outside being in my hands, and a good pair of gloves makes it hard to operate the camera so I tend to skip out on winter-time shots as a whole. (I am trying to be better about this, but every year without fail, the first time I shoot in under 30 degree temps is my last for the season).

I happened to have my camera in my bag on my way home from work after a snowy morning, and drove by this park. I noticed that the court itself had no snow on it, and I was intrigued, was it a heated court? Was it freshly salted? But why? It’s less than 10 degrees, no one should be playing ball today. So for the first time in a long time, I pulled a quick u-turn (legally), parked my car at a small market next to the park (legally), and walked across the street to snap the shot (I did jaywalk here, oops). This is not something I normally do, and it felt weird as cars drove by all staring at me wondering what I am doing outside taking pictures of a basketball hoop in -5 degree temps with wind chill. At the end of the day I got an image or two that, maybe I’m not the happiest with. However, I did tell myself “No. This time, park the car and get your camera out and put yourself in the uncomfortable situation” and that’s not something I do and I’m proud of myself for that.

I plan to do this more often, and would use this as my new years resolution, but I have driven passed about 7 things so far in January alone that would have been potential shots and I missed out. I also plan to do this blog more often. It is nice to type some things out for a change. Thank you for taking the time to read this far, if you have. I’m no English major that is for sure, but this will give me something to help work on that aspect of my life, so I appreciate your time and patience with this piece of work moving forward.  <3

- staysulty