Koi Pond

Koi Pond
Originally uploaded by JKEL

The idea on this day was to focus on some details at the Japanese House & Garden at the Horticulture Center. Pretty soon, some Koi fish surfaced right below me, not at a good shooting angle, but suddenly I knew I had to wait to see if they would swim into a good spot on the pond for me. It didn't happen quickly. Also, some of the fish were a bit drab or washed-out gold - - I was waiting for the brightly-colored one who kept diving down deep and surfacing briefly in unexpected places. That's right, he was being coy. Wasn't this supposed to be a stress-free outing? Finally, he surfaced briefly in a good spot and I reeled him in quickly with my shutter finger. It was worth the wait. JKEL

Chinatown

Chinatown
Originally uploaded by JKEL

Sometimes they come easy and sometimes, well, you just have one of those days. I had this shot in my head for a while so I decided to make it a reality on this misty Monday night. I don't live in Center City, but it's only a short ride away on I-95, uh, except I ran into a sloooow crawl in due to some police activity. When I arrived I took one shot of another subject, and the batteries promptly gave out. Okay, I've got more, but I'm sensing a bad pattern here. I set up in front of a parked car - - the owner shows up and I have to move. Then a guy wants to mug for the camera, and soon after a guy driving by yells out "you're not taking pictures of the bridge, are you?" Okay, I know when it's time to go home. JKEL

Celtic Dragon

Celtic Dragon
Originally uploaded by JKEL

Who knew this large, splashy mural existed? A bit of curiosity on my part led me to this one. There had been an Inquirer piece about real people being incorporated into Philadelphia murals complete with photos, and then there was a brief mention of a Celtic-themed mural at the Hackett School, with no photo. Umm, I guess it was up to me. Yeah, I was curious, but no way did I expect it to be this large and intricate, with three-dimensional elements on the dragon. I was glad I had come to check it out. As usual, what seems obvious now in the way I shot this took a bit of trial and error, and I hope I have done it justice. JKEL

City Skyline

City Skyline
Originally uploaded by JKEL

This was a bit of an unconventional skyline shot for me. I shot this last September while at a Philliies game at Citizens Bank Park. Usually I use a tripod for these type of shots, but I sure wasn't going to schlep a tripod down to the ballpark. However I still needed to keep the camera steady, so what I did was balance the camera on the narrow railing in the concourse facing the skyline, lined up a 1 second exposure and set the timer to insure against camera shake. Then I held my hand below the railing to catch it in case something happened to upset the balance, because it was all a bit precarious. There were a few anxious moments there, but I'm glad I was able to capture this view. JKEL

Swan Reflections

Swan Reflections
Originally uploaded by JKEL

I always make a visit to FDR Park in the winter because there are usually some swans in the lake, as well as geese, mallards, gulls, etc. I'd been here a couple of times this winter with not much success at all, but on my last visit I kind of got a sense of where the swans liked to hang out. Last Sunday I grabbed my boots (it's very sloppy footing with melting snow puddles and mud) and headed directly where I thought they might be. There they were standing just at the water's edge, slipping into the water as they spotted me and giving me quite a show. I almost wished that I could just watch and not worry about how to shoot it all. This was an experience I won't soon forget. JKEL

Benjamin and Deborah

Benjamin and Deborah
Originally uploaded by JKEL

As a rule, when I go out shooting I have a specific target in mind that I have a great interest in, and I usually have thought about several things: What time of year would be best? What time of day would be best? What do I really want to show & what's the best way to go about it? Then there are times like on this shoot when there was no thinking, just a feeling that I should visit Franklin's grave. It's not Ben's birthday or date of death, the cemetery is closed, I already have a photo of this, so why am I here?Then I see the flower. I'm glad I'm here. There are some bars that I have to poke the camera through to get the shot, but that's fairly easy and then it's done. R.I.P. Benjamin and Deborah JKEL

P.D.A.

P.D.A.
Originally uploaded by JKEL

I remember at least 2 times that I passed by here that I tried to get a good photo of the Clothespin, but I was either shooting into the sun or looking at an ugly gray sky. In a way I'm glad I failed then because I was only looking at it as I had always seen it - - as only a clothespin. At some point I became aware that it can also be seen as two people in a loving embrace - - was I the only one who never saw this? I finally arrived here one day on a good sky day, and slowly shot from varying angles until I was satisfied that the P.D.A. was clearly evident, and I was happiest with this one. Now I have to wonder - - what else do I need to look at in a different way? Maybe everything. JKEL

Illuminations

Illuminations
Originally uploaded by JKEL

I had just decided to head home after shooting the Mummers' parade, and as I ducked down Juniper, well, here it was - - quite an eye-catcher. I soon realized that I had read something about this light installation some time ago, but it had somehow crept to the dark corners of my mind and I never got to photograph it. So I did. End of story, right? Not exactly, because I wan't happy with how I captured it on New Year's Day, so I returned a few weeks later to make it right. Well, I never said I was the model of efficiency, did I? Let there be light! JKEL